Home Buying Tips
Your New House Checklist: What to Do Before and After Moving In
June 20, 2026 · 8 min read · By Pure Equity Realty
Closing is the start, not the finish. This new house checklist walks South Florida buyers through what to handle before, during, and after move-in, hurricane prep included.
A good new house checklist splits the work into three stages: before you move in, moving day itself, and the first weeks after. Handling tasks in that order keeps you from paying two utility bills at once, moving into a dirty house, or skipping a basic security step. Below is the full list for South Florida buyers, with the hurricane prep that most generic guides leave out.
Print it, save it, or work through it on your phone. The point is to spread the load so nothing lands on you all at once during a stressful week.
Key takeaways
- Start your new house checklist before closing: line up utilities, movers, and a deep clean.
- Change the locks and test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors on day one.
- Update your address with USPS, banks, your employer, and the county before mail piles up.
- South Florida buyers should add hurricane prep: shutters, an insurance review, and a supply kit.
- Keep closing documents and warranties in one folder for taxes and future repairs.
Before you move in: two weeks out
The best time to knock out the boring tasks is before you are surrounded by boxes. Confirm your closing date and move date, then book a mover or a truck early, because good crews fill up fast in peak season. If your schedule allows a gap of a day or two between closing and move-in, use it. An empty house is far easier to clean, paint, and inspect than a full one.
Make a plan for the first night. Pack a box of essentials you can find fast: medications, chargers, a change of clothes, basic tools, toilet paper, and a shower kit. Walk your future rooms in your head and decide where the big furniture goes so the movers are not standing around waiting for directions.
Set up utilities and services
Call every utility at least a week ahead and schedule service to start the day you take possession, not the day you unpack. Overlapping a day at both homes beats arriving to a house with no power or water. Here is the core list to transfer or open:
- Electricity and, if applicable, gas
- Water, sewer, and trash or recycling pickup
- Internet and any TV service, scheduled early since installs book out
- Home or pest-control accounts you plan to keep
Ask the seller or your agent who the current providers are so you are not guessing. Write down account numbers and start dates in one place. If you are still comparing homes and monthly carrying costs, our home affordability calculators help you plan utilities and payments before you commit.
Moving day: what to handle first
On move day, protect the house and yourself. Lay down floor runners or old sheets in high-traffic paths so movers do not scuff floors. Keep your essentials box and all closing paperwork with you, not on the truck, so nothing important disappears into a sea of cartons.
Do a quick walk-through before the truck leaves. Confirm the seller left behind what the contract said they would, from appliances to garage openers to pool equipment. Locate the main water shutoff, the electrical panel, and the breaker labels now, while you are thinking about it, so a future leak or outage does not turn into a scavenger hunt.
Direct traffic instead of carrying every box yourself. Label rooms with sticky notes on the doors so movers can read where each carton goes, and mark the boxes you want opened first. Keep pets and small children out of the path of a loaded dolly, ideally in one closed room or with a sitter. A little coordination on the front end saves you hours of moving furniture twice.
Security and safety in the first 24 hours
You do not know who has a copy of the old keys, so change the locks or rekey them on day one. Replace or reprogram garage remotes and any smart-lock codes. If the home has an alarm system, set up your own account and codes and cancel the seller's monitoring.
Test every smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector, and put in fresh batteries. Find the fire extinguisher or buy one for the kitchen. Note the locations of the gas shutoff, if you have gas, and the main breaker. These are five-minute tasks that matter enormously the one time you need them.
Deep clean before the furniture arrives
An empty house is the only time you can reach everything, so clean before you fill the rooms. Focus on the spots you will never touch again once the furniture lands: inside cabinets and closets, behind where the fridge and washer will sit, ceiling fans, vents, and baseboards.
Change or clean the air-conditioning filter right away, since South Florida systems run hard and a fresh filter helps them keep up. If the home has carpet, a professional cleaning before move-in gives you a clean baseline. This is also the easiest moment to paint a room or two, patch nail holes, and swap out any dated fixtures while the walls are bare.
Give the kitchen and bathrooms extra attention since those are the rooms you will use on night one. Wipe down the inside of the refrigerator and the oven, run an empty cycle in the dishwasher and the washing machine, and check under the sinks for any sign of past leaks. Finding a slow drip on day one is a minor fix. Finding it after a cabinet full of dishes sits over it for a month is not.
Change your address and update records
File a change of address with the postal service so your mail follows you, then work through the accounts that mail or bill you. Missing a statement because it went to your old address is a common, avoidable headache.
- USPS official change of address
- Banks, credit cards, and loan servicers
- Employer, payroll, and tax records
- Driver's license and vehicle registration with the state
- Voter registration, insurance, and any subscriptions
Update your homeowners insurance to the new property and confirm the effective date matches your closing. If you bought in a flood zone, make sure flood coverage is in place, because a standard policy does not include it.
The first month: settling in
Once the essentials are handled, slow down and learn the house. Find and label the breaker panel, the irrigation controller, and any water-treatment system. Locate the sewer cleanout and note when the septic tank, if you have one, was last serviced. Meet the neighbors, since they are your best source on trash days, contractors, and the quirks of the block.
Keep a simple home file, digital or paper, for warranties, manuals, permits, and receipts. You will want it at tax time and every time something breaks. If you paid points or certain closing costs, some may have tax implications, so save the settlement statement and check with a tax professional. Reading more first-time-owner guidance on our real estate blog can help you avoid the common early mistakes.
Hurricane-season prep for South Florida homes
This is the section generic checklists skip. In South Florida, storm readiness belongs on your move-in list, especially if you close between June and November. Learn how the home is protected before the first watch goes up.
Find out whether the house has hurricane shutters or impact windows, and if it has panel shutters, confirm all the panels and hardware are present and labeled by opening. Know where they are stored. Review your insurance for wind and flood coverage and ask your agent about a wind-mitigation inspection, which documents features that can lower your premium. Build a basic supply kit with water, non-perishable food, flashlights, batteries, a first-aid kit, and copies of key documents. The National Hurricane Center and Ready.gov both publish family preparedness lists worth following.
Do a dry run before the season peaks. Practice putting up one or two shutter panels so you learn the system while the weather is calm, not while a storm is a day away and the panels are stiff. Trim any tree limbs that hang over the roof, clear the gutters and downspouts, and know your evacuation zone and route. Keep some cash on hand and your car fueled, because power outages can knock out gas pumps and card readers for days.
Frequently asked questions
What should be the very first thing on a new house checklist?
Set up utilities to start the day you take possession, then change the locks on move-in day. Power, water, and security are the three things you cannot function without, so they come first.
How far ahead should I schedule movers and utilities?
Book movers as soon as your closing date is firm, ideally two to three weeks out, and schedule utilities about a week ahead. Internet installs often take the longest, so request that one early.
Do I really need to change the locks if the house is new to me?
Yes. You cannot know how many copies of the old keys exist or who holds them. Rekeying or replacing locks on day one is cheap insurance and takes less than an hour.
What paperwork should I keep after closing?
Keep the settlement statement, the deed, the title policy, any warranties, and the inspection reports in one folder. You will need them for taxes, insurance claims, and future repairs.
When should I start hurricane prep in a new Florida home?
Right away if you buy during storm season, and before June otherwise. Learn where the shutters are, confirm your wind and flood coverage, and build a supply kit before a storm is ever in the forecast.
Still house hunting or just closed? Contact Pure Equity Realty and we will point you to trusted local movers, inspectors, and insurance contacts to make the move easier.
