Buying a house can be one of the most exciting times of your life, but it can also be one of the most stressful. That’s why we’re here to help make it easier on you and your family with a few things to do after buying a house.
Overview of the House Buying Process
If you’ve never bought a house before, you might not know exactly what goes into the process, but that’s okay. When beginning your search for a house, the first thing you should do is get pre-approved for a mortgage. It’s important to know how much home you can afford, what type of down payment to budget for, what your monthly mortgage payment might look like, and what type of loan program you’ll use to finance your home.
Consulting with a mortgage professional should address all of your loan approval questions, as well as uncover any potential challenges that may complicate the transaction.
Throughout the multiple steps to the home buying process, you’ll want to make sure you have the right team on your side. This includes a real estate agent, appraiser, title company, home inspector, insurance agent, and lender. Each of these individuals has an essential role to play in the purchase of your home and it’s important that they’re able to effectively communicate amongst one another, in order to properly execute on decisions together.
Once you’ve been pre-approved for a mortgage, it’s time to work with your real estate agent to look for a home that fits not only your needs, but your qualifications. After finding a home that you’re qualified to purchase, your agent will submit your offer to either the listing agent or the individuals selling the home.
When your offer on a house gets accepted, you’ll begin a series of events such as the final mortgage approval, appraisal, inspections, and other requirements that will likely be stated in the contract between you and the seller.
And now for the closing — a successful closing requires everyone on your team to come together at the same time and be on the same page, with numbers and figures that match. Once the transaction successfully closes, you finally become the owner of your new home.
So now what? What’s next? Check out our list of 4 things to do after buying a house.
4 Things to Do After Buying a House
Repainting
One of the first things you’ll want to do before moving into your new home is repaint. Not only can painting get a bit messy (so it’s good to do it first, before anything else), but it will also really help your house start to feel like your home by adding your personal touch. And if you’re up for it, you can paint the outside too, really giving it a new look and feel. But remember, painting a house is a marathon, not a sprint. This gratifying project can become grueling if it isn’t approached properly and methodically.
Most importantly, make sure you really love the color that you decide on and will continue to love it in the future, so you don’t have to go through the entire painting process again down the road.
Installing Hardwood Floors
Now that you’ve got your house painted, you can install some hardwood floors to really give your home the look you want. The installation of hardwood floors can drastically improve the look and feel of any house, quickly taking it from dull and boring to a fresh and modern look. Hardwood floors are becoming more and more popular among homeowners and homebuyers for a reason: besides looking great, there are plenty of benefits that they provide. You can read about that and more in our blog Everything You Need to Know About the Installation of Hardwood Floors.
Remodeling Your Kitchen
Where does your family spend the majority of your time together? If we were to guess, there’s probably a good chance that it’s in the kitchen. From rushed weekday breakfasts, to family dinners, to hanging out around the kitchen table or island throughout the day, there’s no place that screams family more than the kitchen. So why not give it the remodel that both it and your family deserve?
Making updates to your kitchen can seem like an overwhelming task at first, but it doesn’t need to be, as long as you have an idea and direction in which you would like to go. To transition your cooking space with a high-end kitchen renovation, you just need to put a plan in place and execute that plan. And it doesn’t even have to be expensive. Check out some of Our Favorite Ideas for a High-End Kitchen Renovation.
Basement Remodel
Does your new house have a large basement with a lot of potential? Before you begin using it as throwaway storage space, consider what it could be instead. What if you were to remodel it and turn it into a useful living area? Doesn’t sound like a bad idea, huh? It would be a shame to let all of that potential go to waste when you could easily make use of it and improve the quality of your family’s life. If you’re interested in pursuing a basement remodel, you should check out some of our Great Ideas for a Finished Basement for Adults, and if you have kids in the house, take a look at these 9 Crafty, Cool, and Crazy Ideas for a Finished Basement for Kids as well.
The Importance of Working With a Licensed Contractor
Making some of these remodels by yourself may seem appealing, but we recommend working with a licensed contractor to ensure that the work is done right and done the first time. Our team of experts is able to handle renovation projects with ease, so you won’t have to worry about the potential problems that come with doing it yourself. It’s easy to run into the risk of injuring yourself, constructing something incorrectly, or simply not having the required knowledge to complete a project if you’re working alone.
Remember This Before Jumping into a Home Renovation Alone
Before you jump right into a renovation, you should know where to find a team of experienced designers and contractors that can help make your new house exactly what you’re envisioning.
Our team can provide you with the direction, vision, and execution you need. Let us be the ones to give your home the right look and feel. At Malek Construction, we work hard to make you feel right at home. Contact us today, and we’ll help you build the home of your dreams.
