Tips for House Buyers After Closing
- Adam Garrett
- Aug 16, 2023
- 10 min read
Updated: Sep 5
In this article, I'll be sharing tips for buyers following closing on real estate.
Rebate?
In some cases, buyers will get a rebate after closing. One of the most common examples is when a buyer has a large earnest money deposit and is receiving down payment/closing cost assistance that exceeds the proceeds that they need to come to the table with. If the funds will be coming directly from the closing company, they should be available within 2 business days of closing in VA per a legal requirement. If they'll be coming from a 3rd party, it can take longer, since the funds will need to get to that 3rd party from the closing within those 2 business days, and then those will need to be processed, which can take a few more business days at times.
Initiate Mail Forwarding & More Mail Tips
You may want to initiate mail forwarding at this time in case you haven't done it already.
Instructions & information for varied mail situations:
1. Cluster Boxes (multiple mailboxes in your neighborhood owned by USPS instead of owned by the HOA)
You will need to bring a few forms of ID/ paperwork to USPS to prove your address.
Closing papers are 1 option.
"Homeowners need to bring identification with them to the USPS such as
a) a government--issued picture ID card (e.g. your driver’s license with street address referenced to the mail box) or b) pieces of official mail, such as 1) current utility bill plus (2) a vehicle registration with the Homeowner’s name and address on them."
2. Installation Guidelines for mailboxes
3. “If privately owned or maintained by a landlord, apartment complex, condo association or other housing group, then that management is responsible for maintaining the box including keys.”
4. PO Box
Sign(s) at the Property
The listing firm or their sign company should be by the house to pick up the sign within 1 week after closing. If it's not up by then, please let me know so that I can alert the listing agent. The listing agent or an assistant should be picking up any lockboxes, often faster than large signs that would require digging.
Changing Locks, Garage Doors & Other Coded/Wifi Enabled Security
It's a good idea to change any locks, codes, etc. accessible from the exterior. It's also a good idea to shift things on anything wifi-enabled to disable any prior accounts' accessibility. If security cameras convey, don't forget to change the password/account so that former owners can't do any snooping, & to delete data from prior access before you purchased the home so that you have plenty of space in memory, if that space is limited.
Keeping in Touch with Your Buyer's Agent
I like to keep in touch with my former clients, and there are a few ways that I like to do that. 1. I like to connect with others on social media, as I have enjoyed for over 15 years.
Here are my personal profiles where I'd love to connect if you are a member of them:
A. Facebook (I am the most active here & I also use Facebook for event invitations for events that I host at times)
B. Instagram
C. Twitter
D. Linkedin
2. If you would like to connect more regarding real estate, finance (focusing on points, debit cards, travel, & credit cards), & faith, each of those links is for a Facebook group or page I lead.
If You Don't Have a Home Inspection, Get One
If you didn't perform a home inspection, & didn't receive a home inspection from any prior buyers, it's a good idea to get one. Agents, Adam Garrett included, aren't typically also licensed as home inspectors, and while Adam can think of at least one exception where he pointed out more physical negatives than the home inspector did, a home inspector will typically point out more substantive defects of a home than your agent will. It's not unusual for known defects to ideally be addressed sooner rather than later. Also, if the seller was hiding "latent defects" such as painting right over top of mold without addressing it first (which some sellers do), you will likely be better off catching issues right away rather than long down the road, and if your home inspector doesn't catch those issues and they appear later, you will also be better off from a legal perspective. A seller's defense in those scenarios is stronger if you didn't get a home inspection right away after closing. If you'd like a list of inspectors in SE VA and you're Adam's client, ask Adam for his list.
Related:
Detailed Questions for Home Inspectors
Consider Additional Inspections
If using a contract like a REIN Standard Purchase Agreement, the volume of inspections you request as part of the home inspection contingency can negatively impact your chances of winning an offer. That's not true of the VR Contract of Purchase, since you can get a wide variety of inspections with the VR agreement without getting the sellers to agree to exactly which ones you do up front.
If you've purchased and didn't get as many inspections as you would have liked to during the time of the contract, it's a good idea to consider if you'd like to add any more inspections or contractor estimates to the list. The home inspection will often list that which could be good to investigate further & the limitations of the scope of the home inspection. It's best to make that investigation if you didn't earlier on in the purchase process. With foundations, even if the home inspector stated that settlement cracks appeared cosmetic, it's not a bad idea to investigate further with a specialist.
For instance, it wouldn't hurt to freely borrow Adam's radon detector if you're Adam's client to test for radon even if you're in a zone with low levels of Radon, since elevated levels of radon are less likely, but still possible, even in zone 3, especially in places like James City County, Mathews County, Poquoson, Prince George County, Williamsburg, York County there can be higher levels than many other zone 3 counties, & even the lowest counties can still have a fraction of a percent of homes where it's a problem.
Image courtesy EPA
Some inspections are possible DIY. For instance, you can test ethernet cable ports yourself and should test each one that's present, even on new construction where I've seen these be improperly installed before. Don't wait until after a 1-year new construction warranty is over, either.
Warranties
See the pre-closing buyer article, and go to the section titled, "If Getting Warranties, Have Them in Effect on Day of Closing". If you're getting warranties, late is better than never!
If Purchasing New Construction &/or if Other Warranties are in Place
If purchasing new construction, it's a good idea to schedule right around the time of closing a home inspection for soon before a year out from your closing, that way you won't have to worry about arranging for it last minute. If other warranties are in place, whether provided by option or state (i.e. Virginia) implied warranties, it's a good idea to at minimum look at things thoroughly yourself and ideally have a professional look at them soon before the warranties run out.
If You Have a Home Inspection
I recommend going through the inspection & seeing what has urgency to be repaired/replaced based on additional damage that could occur if something fails or if it's a safety hazard. Some buyers like to take a preemptive approach to replacing something older, especially for systems, plumbing, & electrical that are beyond their typical lifespan, where not replacing something could lead to damage beyond the system. For instance, 1 buyer I worked with, where the 25-year-old water heater in the attic wasn't installed properly, & was connected by 1st generation PEX, had their PEX leak within 1 year of closing. While I had shared about home warranties, including suggestions prior to closing, they didn't have one in place. A leak caused $20,000 in damage. Thankfully, it was covered by insurance, but it may have increased their rates as claims often do, especially big ones, just like with many other forms of insurance. Insurance won't typically cover a hot water heater replacement, but in this case they were assisted by insurance. Because the water heater was in the attic, the labor alone was $1800, and the total cost of water heater replacement was $3k.
The home inspector isn't an expert in everything, so the home inspection may recommend that you get another expert opinion on something, and especially if it poses a significant risk, it's typically a good idea to do so.
With any maintenance items or other items that you don't address immediately, be sure to keep a careful watch as time goes by.
If You Have a Home Inspection & Requested Repairs of the Seller
Check the home inspection and if you had a repair request list, compare it to the repair request list (in Hampton Roads, the Property Inspection Contingency Removal Addendum) to be familiar with anything that wasn't covered by the repair request.
Cost-Effective Repairs/Improvements
The kinds of repairs, updates, and other changes that are ideal for a forever home are different than those for a renovation to sell, and those are different than a renovation to rent out. If you'd like any advice on any ideas that you have for things that you'd like to do to the home, just let me know. There are also a number of articles on the subject, like this one.
Here are some examples of items that former clients may borrow from Adam that could help you improve your property:
Basic tool box w/ hammer, screwdriver, allen wrenches, tape measure, small drill
Typical drill w/ set of options to attach to it
Ladders
Electric & propane space heaters
AllRoad Mole Scissor traps
Electric lanterns
30' Doca pole w/ various attachments (window cleaning, lightbulb replacement, dusting, manual saw, etc.)
Pole chainsaw
Related:
Investors: Seasonally Sensitive Pictures If Thinking About Selling or Renting Out Your Property in the Future
Long before you are ready to rent out your property or sell, if thinking about selling or renting, it's best to time your photos (including on property & if applicable, area photos) according to the season, with some seasons being better than others for certain images. These include still photography from the ground, air, and your virtual tour since virtual tours (ideally Matterport, which I always use in my listings) best include exterior, not just interior like typical virtual tours.
Surveys Within 60 days of Closing If You Plan to Put Up a Fence, Add On, or Want Owner's Title Insurance Coverage to Include Encroachment
While land surveys are ideally done prior to closing, many buyers don't have that luxury in part due to competitive offer scenarios where they're trying to limit seller liability to make their offer more competitive. You can open up a can of worms with surveys after closing and there's a problem. That said, you can also save yourself in some cases from adverse possession. Especially if you see no sign of encroachment, and especially if you are planning on adding an addition, detached structure, or anything else close to the property line, it's best to get a survey within 60 days of closing and get that survey to your title company so that title insurance can include the survey.
Air Quality in Your Home
Whether buying a new home or one 100 years old, the air quality can have issues, & you may not know about those issues unless you perform tests yourself or have others perform tests. Your first line of defense is with central air (if you have it), including the filters that your central air relies on. It's important not just for your health, but also for your utility costs and for the lifespan of your central air. In addition to those filters, the air quality of your crawlspace, the cleanliness of your ducts, and the air quality outside, your ventilation to the exterior, and internal air purifiers are factors to consider and keep watch over. If the air quality outside is great, ventilation to the exterior can be a big help, but poor outdoor air quality can negatively impact your interior with increased ventilation to the exterior.
Selecting an air purifier isn't as easy as it sounds. Even well rated & very popular air purifiers may do practically nothing against volatile organic compounds if it doesn't have the right components including sufficient amounts of activated charcoal/carbon. The "budget" option out of HouseFresh's 6 best air purifiers for VOC's article was $428, while the "best overall" was $899. If you're looking at an air purifier that has no mention of VOC's with numbers about the level of protection it can provide, buyer beware. While not as good with VOC's as the budget option above, for those wanting an even lower budget, the Levoit Core 300 is an option with a $100 price tag.
New construction comes with some unique challenges. One of those is "offgassing". If your home's construction was completed within 6 months of closing especially, it's a good idea to have some good electric air purifiers in your home, especially in areas of your home like your bedroom where you sleep and study if you work from home that you might be in frequently. Some even recommend waiting at least 30 days after construction before moving in due to the substantial health issue of offgassing. For more tips on reducing volatile organic compounds in your home, like not bringing them into your home with cleaning products & practicing good ventilation on new construction, go to an article by Indoor Science here.
See my Homeowner Resources Article
For more tips that will be helpful initially and down the road, that typically aren't as urgent as the above, go to my homeowner resources article.
Here are some examples of what you'll find:
Look Into Your Home Insurance Coverage
While buyers with a mortgage are required to have home insurance in most cases, I recommend that even cash buyers get home insurance.
If you are aware of a problem that could become a big deal in the future at any time, it's better to address it sooner rather than later, in part because your knowledge of the issue may impact whether or not insurance will cover it. If you have insurance, it's a good idea to see exactly what's covered and what's excluded in your policy. Here's an example of one segment of exclusions with my insurance, "Birds, Vermin, Rodents, Insects, or Domestic Animals -- We do not pay for loss caused by birds, vermin, rodents, insects, or domestic animals, except as provided under Incidental Coverages."
Virginia law has Rules Governing Standards for the Content of Homeowners Insurance Policies, i.e. Mandatory Property Coverages.
Related:
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