The first step to owning your new home is taking ownership of the house keys; at this point, many Vancouver homeowners will opt to change the door locks. It may seem unnecessary, but it helps to guarantee your new home is secure.

You could also look to enhance your security with digital door locks, which can be unlocked using an app on your phone. It’s also worth having a backup option to have a key safe fixed somewhere outside your home. This secure box will allow you to keep spare keys outside the property and can distribute the code to anyone you wish.

It is crucial to ensure your new Vancouver home is sufficiently stocked with smoke alarms and CO2 detectors. You should one on each floor and they should be in the correct working order. If they aren’t, check the batteries (or wiring if they are hard wired). If you are in any form of doubt, you should look to replace them at the earliest opportunity. Smoke alarms and CO2 detectors are proven to save lives.

Whether you have purchased a resale home or invested in a new build, installing LED lights within the first year is a wise move. LED lights are much more energy efficient and last longer than traditional lights, helping you save on your energy bills. Should you come to resell your home, many prospective home buyers also favor these cost-effective methods to reduce bills already being in place.

Furnace filters that aren’t changed regularly can have a negative impact on the air quality in your home, and potentially your health and wellbeing. This will also cause your furnace to wear out prematurely, so it is ideal to be one of the first things you change when you move into your new Vancouver home.

Another method to improve the quality of the air in your home is to clean out the ducts. Air ducts will get clogged up with dust and dirt over time; this is entirely normal.

Moving into your new Vancouver home is the perfect time to check, clean, or even replace air ducts where required. If you are purchasing a new build, you should still check and clean them from any build-up of excess dust and debris left over from the construction.

Insulation plays a major role in keeping your home warm over the cold winter months. Prior to purchasing a home, you should carry out due diligence checks. Ensuring there is sufficient insulation should be a priority factor in these checks.

If you find the attic has been insufficiently insulated, you will want to ensure you top it up as soon as possible, even if you purchased your home in the summer months.

Not having proper insulation fitted means that heat will not be kept in your home properly, causing spiraling costs over winter. A lack of insulation is also one of the factors to the creation of dampness and mold. This is not only a risk to your health but can also be damaging to your property and belongings.

Leaky or damaged pipes can lead to irreparable damage from flooding or expensive fixes at the very least. It is important to check the status of the plumbing during your initial due diligence inspection, as well as when you first move into your new Vancouver home.

Do a full walkthrough to inspect under your sinks and around the pipes, checking for faucet leaks or leaky pipes. Any minor but repetitive dripping can be annoying, but also a cost incursion on the water bill. Ensure your toilets work correctly and aren’t cycling water constantly. Over a quarter of water consumption in your home will come from toilet usage, so faulty toilets that are repeatedly running water will be costly to run. If you are looking to renovate your bathroom when moving in, consider installing a high-efficiency and low-flow toilet that can save on water consumption.

Surge protectors are a helpful piece of equipment designed to minimize or prevent damage to electrical devices in the event of a power surge. Electrical appliances aren’t always cheap to fix should they become damaged in any sense.

If your home is fitted with brand new, ultra-modern appliances, then a surge protector is the best way to protect them. A large electrical surge can cause damage to all appliances in your home, which will take a considerable budget to repair.

If you’re moving into your new Vancouver family home, or intend to start a family there, or if you have any pets, then you will understand just how important your children and pets are.

You will want to ensure you protect both your family and pets from being harmed by any works being carried out in your home, whilst also protecting your new property from any damage that could potentially be caused by them. Looking to fit gates in doorways and staircases, and hiding any exposed wires (whilst also making sure access to restricted places for children and pets is in place) are all important parts of ensuring your new home is safe for children and pets.

Lists are one of the most established methods of staying organized, and can certainly help to keep track of the maintenance of your new home. Prior to moving in, you should create a thorough checklist to tick off any and all tasks that need to be completed or things to be inspected before settling in.