5 Tips for New Homeowners

Buying a new home and anticipating the day you move in can be an exciting experience. There's something about going into a new space and making it your own that just fills us with glee.

But if you've never owned a home before, you might want to consider the following tips for new homeowners to maximize your space, reduce moving day stress and create a smooth transition from your old home to your new one.

Before you dig any holes on your property for cable wires, a new fence, shrubs, or outdoor furniture or equipment, you'll need to call 811, a national dig-safely hotline.

To avoid hitting any utilities when you start digging, call the number first to make sure it's safe to do so.

Calling ahead of time can help you avoid costly repairs or prevent you from knocking out the power to the entire neighborhood. You'll also have peace of mind knowing you're working under much safe conditions.

In the event that a pipe bursts, you'll be glad you know exactly how to shut it off. Imagine gallons of water bursting through the pipes and damaging your flooring, drywall, and your personal items.

That's why it's essential that before you move in, you locate your main water shut off valve so that you can always access it in case of an emergency.

When you buy a new home, you'll probably spend hours painting, arranging furniture, and designing your new home the way you see fit.

But before you set up your furniture, make sure you set up your WiFi along with a mesh network so that it can dictate where your TV stand and your other furniture should go. You might be thinking, what's a mesh network?

A mesh network is an easy solution for improving WiFi speeds and extending your range throughout your home.

A mesh network can create a "blanket" over your entire home, giving you stronger connections no matter where you are.

Every home has a regular maintenance schedule you should follow to keep it in tip-top shape to avoid extensive, pricey repairs.

Buying a new home means there's no landlord to tell you that your pipes are clogged and you need to call a plumber. The best thing you can do to keep your home maintenance on schedule is make a checklist for each month of the year.

Better Homes & Gardens has both a monthly and seasonal home maintenance checklist you can use to make sure you get all of your home improvement and maintenance projects done on time so you're prepared for each season ahead time.

Keep all of your receipts for any home improvements you make so that when tax time rolls around, you’ll have all of your expenses in one place.

Find a safe place to keep them like an envelope or shoe box, or possibly a file cabinet if you have one.

But the most important thing is to keep track of all of your expenses related to your home repairs and improvements because you may be able to get a tax deduction if you add things like solar panels.

Now that you know what steps to take to make moving in a breeze you can start preparing for it.

With the above in mind, you’ll know just what to do to maximize your space and reduce stress once you finally get into your new home.

Take the first step by getting yourself set up with a WiFi network with Cox.