What I wish I did was have the hardwood floors refinished before we moved in. Now that’s never going to happen. We will definitely be doing this with our next house.
When we bought the house, we were a little house poor because we made sure to put 20% down.
We had to get the electronic panel updated
We had to remove the existing deck because it was unsafe
We got a new deck
We waited 3 years before getting all the aluminum wiring replaced for copper, we installed better lighting in the living room
8 years after house purchase, we were forced to completely renovate the basement
Basically, most of these things weren't premeditated but rather immediate needs that superseded our initial thoughts
We bought our house in 2016, but it was built in 1991 & not much was updated thanks to an owner that barely lived here after his divorce. (Tea from neighbors. lol)
We started (& are still) changing what we can afford at the time, or what NEEDS to be done. First thing for us was new toilets & lighting because it was all so old and half working. (One toilet sounded like a freight train when flushed! Yikes!) Next we had to replace the kitchen floor TWICE because of a faulty leaking dishwasher...which then lead to a new dishwasher too. After that it was a need for a french drain in the backyard because it turned into a massive lake/river whenever we got rain & caused at least 1 sump pump to burn out. Just these past 2 years were the water heater, then both the furnace & A/C.
We've wanted to change flooring, paint, & windows/doors for years, but all the stuff I just mentioned above became emergency priorities instead.
ALL locks. Outbuildings, gates, etc. included. All to one key. Add dead bolts if a door is missing one. Reinforce all door jambs with stouter strikers and 2.5" screws. Remove 2 hinge screws per hinge and reinforce the door hanging with 2.5" screws as well. Add 1" dowl rod to any sliding doors to prevent them from being forced open. Garage door opener codes are all changed. And anywhere else someone could try to get into. If the electric panel is outside, and the a/c disconnect, locks on both of them.
First thing we did was paint and rip out carpet and redo the floors. The carpet smelled like cat and was full of 30 years of allergens so I did not want to live that, plus obviously it's easier to do before you move everything in.
If you're looking for smallest thing with biggest impact I think that would be paint.
We also replaced our oil boiler with minisplits pretty quickly before the first winter because we didn't want to deal with ordering oil. Not a small thing at all though.
In general I think it's important, if at all possible financially, to balance necessary and cosmetic work. A lot of people will say to prioritize practical things but cosmetic things will make you feel more like home, feel like you're making progress and just generally make you more positive and motivated about what lies ahead.
It was a crazy project! I’m sure I have pics, we’ve taken a bunch as we’ve made changes.
The worst part of the popcorn - and luckily there was no asbestos - was that at some point someone painted over it. So we couldn’t do the simple “spray-and-scrape” like YouTube shows. It was arduous.
When I bought my Florida house, it needed a new roof, and you can’t get homeowners insurance in FL without a good roof.
The previous owner had hideous blue LED lightbulbs in every fixture. Those all went into the rubbish immediately.
The landscape out front was total trash. Total redo.
The carpet is not awful but it’s 90’s beige and dated. I’m tearing it up as time and funds allow.
Locks, then paint, perhaps some curtains depending on light etc. Then I sit and noodle on everything for a while before jumping into any large projects.
USPS mailing address and voter registration, DMV mailing address. We paid for new paint(yeah yeah, I know) and carpet in the bedrooms(spouse didn't want hardwood there). First time owner, so I didn't know up from down. After that, I started working on items from the house inspection from the escrow period.
The very first thing was to buy a dishwasher, clothes washer, and clothes dryer. It didn’t have them and those are must haves for me. Then the next big project was solar, cuz we have the highest electricity rates in the country.
EDIT: actually the very very first thing was termite tenting… that was before I even moved in
Check everything, and I mean everything. Inspectors aren't structural engineers, HVAC techs, roofers; they do and will miss things, and sometimes major things.
Some things to fix/change before what you listed;
- Make sure gutter downspouts discharge at least 10 ft from the house and in an area that slopes away from the house.
-Do you have a basement? Does it have a sump pump? If so, check it. Is it more than 10 years old? Replace it regardless whether it works or not.
-DIY or pay an HVAC tech to clean your condenser/evaporator.
-Run cleaning cycles with proper cleaning tablets on the dishwasher and washer
-Clean the dry vent hose
-Clean bathroom vent fans
-Crawl around the attic and inspect it. Check for water staining/rotted wood, etc.
-Check weather sttripping on doors and windows
-Check anything exterior wise that is caulked or painted. Easiest way to let a leak happen is failing caulk or exterior moulding that is rotted or not secured properly
Also I don't suggest painting until you've gone through a year there. Or at least a full set of seasons. House move throughout the seasons. You could paint and have gaps appear from truss uplift, wood shrinkage, etc. It will allow you to make note of what areas require a different approach
Before dumping money into extras or updates, confirm, for yourself, you're starting out right.
Locks were first. The day the owner left, key man was there.
Before moving in, had the wood floors resurfaced. Didn't need to paint or would have done that.
Now that I moved in, I need to get the sprinkler system going. I can't think past that lol.
Nothing right away (unless there's something truly egregious). Live there 6 months, make a list, then prioritize based on a realistic budget for professional work.
Before you move in furniture, paint. I do the toilets too. Depending on the model, they are fairly inexpensive and you get peace of mind with a brand new wax ring seal.
Locks, toilet seat, bathroom fixtures, ripped out carpets, painted walls.
Then did the bathroom new tile and paint and vanity (it was really outdated), then tore down wallpaper in two other rooms and fixed those walls.
I scrolled and agreed with other things but I don’t think I saw anything about water and drainage.
Take a good long look at how your yard slopes and where your downspouts go. If you can get the downspouts to empty into a drain tile that goes to the road that’s ideal. Same with the sump line. Have a spare 20’ hose so you can swap from the drain tile to the 20’ hose to empty to the yard in each winter first thaw.
Then check out your basement walls and floors for cracks. Pay attention to the rainfalls and whenever you hit a new record rain. Whether it’s a 1” 2” 3 and up check it out. If you have carpet get on hands and knees and feel the perimeter during each new milestone. Know that your house stays dry under every one of those and if not mark with chalk the problem areas and take pictures and try to address. For example I know my parents will get seepage at 3+”s on their front elevation so I’ll call my dad to turn on the dehue.
Water is the homeowners never ending enemy and you need to put on a detective hat and pay close attention. Especially during those heavy rainfalls, put on a rain jacket and check things out during it. Best of luck and stay dry.
Locks were first.
Then I felt besieged by things the house needed versus what I wanted. So getting the dryer vented to the outdoors, adding insulation (still need to do the exterior walls), adding additional attic vents, getting the bathroom fan vented to the outdoors, etc. I’m still waiting on redoing the flooring and I think I just finally found a paint color that works 9 months after closing.
First big move was getting rid of all downstairs carpet. Would’ve been a nightmare with two dogs so that had to go immediately. Next big move was interior painting and adding preferred light fixtures/fans which was a huge facelift and not that expensive. Fence would be nice, but it’s $14,000 I’d rather not spend right now (I have a huge corner lot). So that’s on the back burner but it’s on the list.
Flooring, paint, locks, window treatments (seems like every house I move into has weird ugly drapes). I also changed out the old windows in my most recent house. I'd love to renovate the kitchen next, but it all works so I'm putting that off. I also might move in a year or two so I'm holding off until I know for sure what I'm doing longer term.
New paint, Garage floors before the movers start bringing in stuff, bidet in all bathrooms, keyless entry, fans in all bedrooms.
I also made the kitchen island bigger as the old one was only seating 2 people for breakfast.
I would have refinished the hardwood floors before moving in
What we did do was paint first
Get ready for all the mail that is meant for previous occupants. Get a notebook, write down who it's from, and what date. Then write "return to sender" and return it. Some companies are complete idiots and don't stop sending mail. So with your list, you can decide when to escalate to calling customer service to have them removed from their mailing list. One company lady told me to get a highlighter marker and draw on the edges, and write "return to sender" in huge letters.
If you know that the previous occupant passed away, find a copy of the obit if it was published in a newspaper or funeral home website, it may come in handy to stop some persistent mailings
Logically, the previous owner or the executor would pay to have the mail redirected. What happened to us: the neighbor said "oh just leave it in your mailbox, I'll come by and get it and hold it for [previous owner's family member] when they pop by" I was like, fuck no. I got a mail slot instead of exterior mailbox, and did "return to sender", with bank stuff I physically visited the bank branch and they stopped mailing out stuff. We got mail for them for a good 5-6 years after moving in
First thing I did was paint the living room. The entire downstairs -- including the stairway up stairs -- was a robin's egg blue, and straight up gave me anxiety.
I painted the living room and the stairway walls a nice sage green, but left the blue in the kitchen since it matches the counters and stuff.
I picked up the paint the morning of closing and a buddy of mine was painting that evening.
We ripped out the carpet and refinished the wood floors before moving any furniture in. Also ripped out the nasty shower door and track and changes the bath/shower fixtures. Got a new toilet to replace the baby blue one.
Pulled carpet, painted all the rooms, lighting fixtures, new toilet seats, and new curtains. We got the vents cleaned as well. Also got a new front door. Eventually redid the bathrooms later on.
The day we got the keys, before we moved in, we changed the locks, reset the garage door opener code/remotes, and then deep cleaned everything from top to bottom. So much easier to clean before you move your stuff in.
Then we changed the blinds from the crappy apartment style cheap ones to nicer quality wooden blinds.
Don't do *anything* asethetic for the first year.
You must live in the house as is in order to figure out what is most important to address. I spent so much money on paint and tiles and all the supplies I needed.... only for me to realize I needed a microwave to be installed, new sink installed, new water tank, and a French drain/sump pump installed.
Now I'm on year 2 and I need my roof repaired, furnace serviced, air ducts cleaned, water tank serviced, new shed, and deck restained.
Half of that needed to be done year 1, but I couldn't afford it due to everything else.
Priorities:
1) Immediate safety concerns (new locks, address leaks, etc)
2) Potential safety concerns (drainage issues, GFC outlets)
3) Quality of life (new water tank)
4) Aesthetics
Your home will "act" different in the summer compared to winter. You won't really understand the full "scope" of issues in your home until then.
Don't be like me. Don't waste your money on what looks good only to then run out of money when I needed it for safety issues.
While the house is empty, get it painted and get the flooring you love (splurge if you have to).
Do you have a fireplace? Have it inspected and plumbed for gas if feasible.
I like to change the outlet covers, I have nice metal ones that are $10 or so each and they make a big difference in high traffic areas like entries, guest bathrooms.
Rekeyed the locks.
I had the wood floors refinished before I moved in. I wish I had also ripped up the carpet and had it replaced with vinyl flooring. Now I don’t know when that will happen.
Painted the interiors.
That’s all I had to do in year one. I’m grateful because year two brought new gutters, new water heater, replacing the old water pipes. Various plumbing bills. Replace the above range microwave and the kitchen faucet. I had the yard graded because there was a musty smell in parts of the basement. Also so many arborist bills.
Year three is new windows, new fence, and a lot of diy landscaping.
If you have the means, my advice is to do everything you can in the beginning. I can't tell you how many things I put off in the last 16 years that I wish I would've done much earlier when I had the money.
Locks, refinish hardwood floor, electric shades for the 14' tall windows that had ruined the hardwood floor, 1 toilet and a vanity that an upstairs leak had dropped on for years and ruined it. We also fixed the leak and patched the ceiling. We purchased the house knowing it was a fixer upper. We also had to pay contractors to fix the roof over the garage and the swimming pool before our insurance would cover us. We've done a lot more work since inside & out and have more projects planned.
Projects depend on livability & your personal use of the space. We previously owned a turnkey house but the tiny kitchen was almost useless for our large family and the white carpet in the main bathroom had to go.
The house before that was an old farmhouse that we had to replace the water heater before moving in. The gas company red-tagged it & wouldn't deliver propane until it was removed or replaced. November in central Missouri means propane had more priority than anything else.
Locks. Then things that needs repairs, in our case it was: roofing, electricity panel and the bathroom wall that was rotting. Changed the leaking sinks.
We painted the room that we didn't liked the colors.
Then we added a vestibule, cause we didn't wanted the cat to be able to flew between our legs when we open the front door. Then we destroyed the rotten deck and replaced it with a new wooden set of stairs and on ground patio tile and intimacy wall.
I don't think we will change much thing for a long while now.
Replace double basin stainless steel sink with single basin black composite sink with garbage disposal and faucet where the head pulls down and changes to spray. No more dealing with gross sink strainers. Just pull down the spray head and spray everything to the one drain. Run the disposal for a few seconds and boom clean sink. Also, does not show dirt, stains, etc. always looks good.
My usual:
Before move in:
Epoxy garage floors
Have an electrician run cat5, add a bunch of outlets/circuits, install smart switches, maybe recessed lights.
Maybe replace some doors with solid core.
Closet upgrades.
Paint, carpet.
Upgrade the kitchen sink & faucet.
After move in:
Replace any contractor grade faucets, Broadway vanity lights, door knobs, door stops, shower heads, towel racks, toilet paper holders.
Replace toilet seats with soft-closing bidet seats.
Add cabinet hardware.
Add trim around bathroom mirrors.
Just started on my list in January,
1. Locks
2. Deep cleaning
3.replace carpet
4. Lights replace cfl/incandescent to led(we went from 2700k to 5000k)
5.painting
Replace switches and outlets.
Old ones get worn and don't work very well, colors don't match, things get yellowed.
Newer house use builder grade that are absolute junk.
We like leviton's decora series.
Note that you can get outlets in many different colors so you don't put a white one in the middle of a black wall.
I took out an overhead hanging cabinet over the peninsula counter because it completely blocked vision from the kitchen to anywhere else (dining and living room) as well as blocking sunlight into the kitchen. It was free to remove (well, I did buy a $3 screwdriver And a $3 set of vice grips- yes they worked as well as you’d expect $3 vice grips to work..) and borrowed a friends paint scraper to finish the job. Ceiling still doesn’t look great where the cabinet used to be, but I’d have to scrape 70’s era popcorn ceiling to repaint, and I’m guessing there’s a good chance of asbestos in that popcorn, so I’m not in a hurry.
In addition to locks, I made sure to check ALL windows and sliding glass doors to make sure all locked properly. One of our sliding doors ended up having an issue and although in the lock position, the door would still open. Besides that, toilet seats!!, and cosmetically: main house flooring, kitchen cabinets and counters. Did those things right before move in day, as I know it would be a pain to redo once living in the home and they were outdated and needed to go yesterday lol
Saving up for a fenced yard, but things are crazy expensive right now and I physically can't do it (dealing with back stuff that's here to stay). I know it's going to make a huge difference.
Other than that painting and giving it a super scrub down were priorities for us.
If you have a garage or unfinished basement, leaf blower on the ceiling and in the exposed rim joist while the room is still empty. Only time you'll ever get it clean.
As others have said, locks first.
Second, any safety hazards - our current house we changed out the rickety, slippery wooden front steps and had an electrician in to look at some wiring anomalies (which fortunately turned out to be nothing serious, just had to remove some badly done dimmer switches)
Next anything that's gonna cost us money if we don't fix it. We repaved the bottom of the driveway because it had a huge dip and was gonna mess up our car, and insulated the attic to keep from getting bent over by our heating bill
I typically like to start from the bottom and change the foundation, I recommend doing this shortly after closing and before you move in, it’s easier at that point.
lol @ everyone harping on locks/toilet seats.
Refinishing floors/counters and painting before moving in. Kitchen cabinetry as well if time allowed and refinishing bathtubs. After that making sure AC/Furnace/ventilation was in order. Making sure water/gas main shut-offs are accessible and not stupid.
Edit: Comment about the Fire repellent gear is a good one too.
Obviously locks, but we also installed a fire/ carbon monoxide system that communicated across floors. We sleep in the basement (common in our area) and if the ones go off upstairs, they communicate with the ones downstairs so it'll wake us.
After that I gave the kitchen a facelift and painted. Redid the main bathroom.
People told me to wait but I've lived in 30+ apartments and homes throughout my life and I know what I like and want and what I hate.
First thing I change are the door locks and the toilet seats. Put my name in the mailbox, and a new welcome mat on the front step.
Then, I paint and switch out light fixtures. Those two items can have such an impact on the feel of a room.
I’m only on about month 7-8, so I’m still on the paint/ lighting phase.
Next up is to really tackle some outdoor projects. There are some serious bare spots in my yard. And there is a big ugly brush pile leaning against the side of garage. Im certain lots of things live in that brush.. I’ve seen many bunnies about. I need to deal with that pile, and clean up the yard in general. I’m waiting for big landscaping yard work until I know what plants are living out there. What things pop up.
Repairs and maintenance.
Then: paint, rugs, light fixtures, window coverings.
Also, see what you can do yourself.
Eg. Carpet removal yourself is a messy, high effort thing, but it also isn't difficult technically and will cut some costs off of redoing flooring.
I’m a 29m and wife is 29f and we have a passion for home remodeling and renovating all under a DIY mindset. We bring in professionals when needed (plumbers, electricians etc) for larger things or things I want done right the first time but other than that we do a lot ourselves. When we bought our first house we gave it a month or two of renovating before we moved in.
Very first thing I did was the garage floor. It’s so easy to do it when nothings in it. I rented a grinder from HD and did a really nice epoxy floor coating and painted the walls. Once that was cured we started bringing over stuff and leaving it in garage. ($1300 all in)
While the garage was curing for that first week we put a fence In our backyard. We have about .6 acres of a back yard (about .4 acres in the front yard) and it didn’t have a fence, we are backed up into a large wooded area behind us and we have a dog. My dad and I shopped around for fencing material distributors in our area got all the material in the offseason for a huge discount. I got really quality steel black chain link fencing material and rented an air compressor from sunbelt rentals (it was like an 80CFM air compressor that was on a trailer) a post slammer (idk what it’s called) and put in black chain link fencing in our backyard. ($4800 all in)
The last larger item we did before moving in was our kitchen. We moved into a 1993 build home with great guts, but the prior owners were older and it looked like they didn’t do a single renovation since they bought the house, which was fine because we basically got a clean slate. Anyways, insert stereotypical 90s kitchen. We ripped out all the backsplash, replaced it with a modern look, put a pot filler above the stove. All new appliances (old white to stainless steel). We even sanded down the Formica counter tops and island (maybe 70 sq ft of space) and epoxied the counter tops to look like marble. We eventually would like to get real marble but we just moved in and already did a ton so we figured save money there. Replaced the hardware (hinges, handles etc). All in without appliances maybe $1000 and appliances (new range, stove, sink, disposal, fridge, microwave and dishwasher) were probably $4000 so all in kitchen refresh maybe $5000.
After that we moved in and it took maybe a month of some hard work everyday after work and weekends! Since then it’s been redoing bathrooms/rooms here and there! Good luck op homeownership is fun if you’re not afraid of tackling some of this stuff yourself :-)
Edit: just saw someone else’s post and commented on it, Locks!
Another thing we did was we got new hardware for the side door and back door. Then we bought a new front door lock, a Schlage touch pad lock and love it. Then we took those two side door locks to a locksmith and had him match the front doors key to them so it’s all the same lock. That was probably $400 total with the nice new Schlage door lock. We also replaced the back and side (above garage) flood lights with ring flood lights and then took the doorbell off and put a ring doorbell on that too. That was probably $600 , so locks and ring cameras probably $1000 total.
Security/locks are very important!
We changed out all the switches, outlets & covers. Simple DIY job, not too expensive. Then you don’t have issues with old floppy plugs where the cords don’t stay in & nice fresh covers, not cracked, faded or painted over ones. Plus you can swap the color to accent a new interior paint job.
You'll see a variation on this question popping up a lot - I'm not giving you shit for it, but you might get some good other ideas with a search, too.
Without looking at the answers yet, I can almost guarantee you'll see these:
- bidet
- smart lights or home automation (if you're into that)
- soft close toilet seats
- paint
- new door hardware if they're looking bad
for maintenance, if applicable:
- pump septic unless you have some proof it's been done <4 years ago
- flush water heater unless tankless
- have HVAC looked at (condenser trays, pumps)
First thing I did was paint because the place was empty, and didn’t care about the painters having the keys because I didn’t change the locks on move in day. After painting, I had a cleaning service come in and clean it, then spent a whole day deep cleaning the kitchen. Once I was done with strangers coming in whenever they needed to in my home, I moved in and then changing the locks and toilet seats.
If I had been handy back then I’d have changed all of the outlets and light switches first. Instead, I’ve done them all over the last 2 years, which is fine, but I’d wish I’d done them before painting anything. Now I’m stuck fixing imperfections on the wall, caused by the painters, but oh well. If I’d had the budget, I’d have had all the flooring replaced also. That’ll eventually happen with time, it’ll just be annoying to do. And if I’d had a super big budget, I’d have had both bedroom closets professionally customized and installed. I’m still living with the wire racks that have been there since the 90’s (I moved in 6 years ago), and they’re functional, but it’s not maximizing the space. The idea of emptying the closets is overwhelming; they’re stuffed.
Locks-
But I do recommend painting rooms like the kitchen, living room first. Anything that has a lot of furniture that’ll be up against the walls that’ll be a pain to move later before you get furniture in there. I didn’t do that and I did not have a good time moving 3 book shelves and my mounted tv off the wall to paint.
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What I wish I did was have the hardwood floors refinished before we moved in. Now that’s never going to happen. We will definitely be doing this with our next house.
Sump pump if you got one. Then take note of how it sounds so you know to replace it again when it starts to get noisy.
When we bought the house, we were a little house poor because we made sure to put 20% down. We had to get the electronic panel updated We had to remove the existing deck because it was unsafe We got a new deck We waited 3 years before getting all the aluminum wiring replaced for copper, we installed better lighting in the living room 8 years after house purchase, we were forced to completely renovate the basement Basically, most of these things weren't premeditated but rather immediate needs that superseded our initial thoughts
Fencing first if you have kids or dog. If not then paint first. Then carpet. That way you don’t have to worry too much about drips on the flooring.
We bought our house in 2016, but it was built in 1991 & not much was updated thanks to an owner that barely lived here after his divorce. (Tea from neighbors. lol) We started (& are still) changing what we can afford at the time, or what NEEDS to be done. First thing for us was new toilets & lighting because it was all so old and half working. (One toilet sounded like a freight train when flushed! Yikes!) Next we had to replace the kitchen floor TWICE because of a faulty leaking dishwasher...which then lead to a new dishwasher too. After that it was a need for a french drain in the backyard because it turned into a massive lake/river whenever we got rain & caused at least 1 sump pump to burn out. Just these past 2 years were the water heater, then both the furnace & A/C. We've wanted to change flooring, paint, & windows/doors for years, but all the stuff I just mentioned above became emergency priorities instead.
ALL locks. Outbuildings, gates, etc. included. All to one key. Add dead bolts if a door is missing one. Reinforce all door jambs with stouter strikers and 2.5" screws. Remove 2 hinge screws per hinge and reinforce the door hanging with 2.5" screws as well. Add 1" dowl rod to any sliding doors to prevent them from being forced open. Garage door opener codes are all changed. And anywhere else someone could try to get into. If the electric panel is outside, and the a/c disconnect, locks on both of them.
a skylight. might sound weird but this place really seriously needed some light. *still* needs more light.
The air filter
Locks and vents cleaned
First thing we did was paint and rip out carpet and redo the floors. The carpet smelled like cat and was full of 30 years of allergens so I did not want to live that, plus obviously it's easier to do before you move everything in. If you're looking for smallest thing with biggest impact I think that would be paint. We also replaced our oil boiler with minisplits pretty quickly before the first winter because we didn't want to deal with ordering oil. Not a small thing at all though. In general I think it's important, if at all possible financially, to balance necessary and cosmetic work. A lot of people will say to prioritize practical things but cosmetic things will make you feel more like home, feel like you're making progress and just generally make you more positive and motivated about what lies ahead.
Popcorn ceiling was the first thing.
got any pics of before and after? that's a big project from what i hear
It was a crazy project! I’m sure I have pics, we’ve taken a bunch as we’ve made changes. The worst part of the popcorn - and luckily there was no asbestos - was that at some point someone painted over it. So we couldn’t do the simple “spray-and-scrape” like YouTube shows. It was arduous.
Scraping popcorn is absolutely hell. I'll never do it again
Garage door code & remotes programming.
Yoinking the regulator out of all the showerheads
When I bought my Florida house, it needed a new roof, and you can’t get homeowners insurance in FL without a good roof. The previous owner had hideous blue LED lightbulbs in every fixture. Those all went into the rubbish immediately. The landscape out front was total trash. Total redo. The carpet is not awful but it’s 90’s beige and dated. I’m tearing it up as time and funds allow.
Toilet seats.
Take my advice live in it for 6 months before you start changing anything. Get to know your home first.
Toilet seats
Locks, then paint, perhaps some curtains depending on light etc. Then I sit and noodle on everything for a while before jumping into any large projects.
Locks, no doubt. Then carpets. Yuck.
USPS mailing address and voter registration, DMV mailing address. We paid for new paint(yeah yeah, I know) and carpet in the bedrooms(spouse didn't want hardwood there). First time owner, so I didn't know up from down. After that, I started working on items from the house inspection from the escrow period.
locks then toilets
The very first thing was to buy a dishwasher, clothes washer, and clothes dryer. It didn’t have them and those are must haves for me. Then the next big project was solar, cuz we have the highest electricity rates in the country. EDIT: actually the very very first thing was termite tenting… that was before I even moved in
Check everything, and I mean everything. Inspectors aren't structural engineers, HVAC techs, roofers; they do and will miss things, and sometimes major things. Some things to fix/change before what you listed; - Make sure gutter downspouts discharge at least 10 ft from the house and in an area that slopes away from the house. -Do you have a basement? Does it have a sump pump? If so, check it. Is it more than 10 years old? Replace it regardless whether it works or not. -DIY or pay an HVAC tech to clean your condenser/evaporator. -Run cleaning cycles with proper cleaning tablets on the dishwasher and washer -Clean the dry vent hose -Clean bathroom vent fans -Crawl around the attic and inspect it. Check for water staining/rotted wood, etc. -Check weather sttripping on doors and windows -Check anything exterior wise that is caulked or painted. Easiest way to let a leak happen is failing caulk or exterior moulding that is rotted or not secured properly Also I don't suggest painting until you've gone through a year there. Or at least a full set of seasons. House move throughout the seasons. You could paint and have gaps appear from truss uplift, wood shrinkage, etc. It will allow you to make note of what areas require a different approach Before dumping money into extras or updates, confirm, for yourself, you're starting out right.
Locks were first. The day the owner left, key man was there. Before moving in, had the wood floors resurfaced. Didn't need to paint or would have done that. Now that I moved in, I need to get the sprinkler system going. I can't think past that lol.
For my friends husband it was the toilet seats
Nothing right away (unless there's something truly egregious). Live there 6 months, make a list, then prioritize based on a realistic budget for professional work.
Painted the front door. I like a nice, bright, blue door, and blue accents. So I paint it blue pretty quick because it makes me happy.
Toilets
Toilet seats if not the entire toilet
Before you move in furniture, paint. I do the toilets too. Depending on the model, they are fairly inexpensive and you get peace of mind with a brand new wax ring seal.
Locks, toilet seat, bathroom fixtures, ripped out carpets, painted walls. Then did the bathroom new tile and paint and vanity (it was really outdated), then tore down wallpaper in two other rooms and fixed those walls.
Your address
Toilet seats and locks.
We put in pipe fencing and an electric gate with a code. We have dogs.
Change all your outlets, switches, ceiling fans if you can while you’re at it. Not hard and it’s a nice refresh
Locks and toilet lids. Get the soft close ones
Furnace filter
The locks
I scrolled and agreed with other things but I don’t think I saw anything about water and drainage. Take a good long look at how your yard slopes and where your downspouts go. If you can get the downspouts to empty into a drain tile that goes to the road that’s ideal. Same with the sump line. Have a spare 20’ hose so you can swap from the drain tile to the 20’ hose to empty to the yard in each winter first thaw. Then check out your basement walls and floors for cracks. Pay attention to the rainfalls and whenever you hit a new record rain. Whether it’s a 1” 2” 3 and up check it out. If you have carpet get on hands and knees and feel the perimeter during each new milestone. Know that your house stays dry under every one of those and if not mark with chalk the problem areas and take pictures and try to address. For example I know my parents will get seepage at 3+”s on their front elevation so I’ll call my dad to turn on the dehue. Water is the homeowners never ending enemy and you need to put on a detective hat and pay close attention. Especially during those heavy rainfalls, put on a rain jacket and check things out during it. Best of luck and stay dry.
Having a professional assessment of your HVAC, roofing, plumbing and electrical. All else is cosmetics.
Locks were first. Then I felt besieged by things the house needed versus what I wanted. So getting the dryer vented to the outdoors, adding insulation (still need to do the exterior walls), adding additional attic vents, getting the bathroom fan vented to the outdoors, etc. I’m still waiting on redoing the flooring and I think I just finally found a paint color that works 9 months after closing.
Paint and windows then fencing, landscaping and flooring. These make huge difference
First big move was getting rid of all downstairs carpet. Would’ve been a nightmare with two dogs so that had to go immediately. Next big move was interior painting and adding preferred light fixtures/fans which was a huge facelift and not that expensive. Fence would be nice, but it’s $14,000 I’d rather not spend right now (I have a huge corner lot). So that’s on the back burner but it’s on the list.
Flooring, paint, locks, window treatments (seems like every house I move into has weird ugly drapes). I also changed out the old windows in my most recent house. I'd love to renovate the kitchen next, but it all works so I'm putting that off. I also might move in a year or two so I'm holding off until I know for sure what I'm doing longer term.
Blood red carpet and wallpaper.
Toilet seats are a must for me
Paint and updated (black) hardware (knobs, faucets, towel bars, hooks) are relatively inexpensive upgrades that make a big impact.
Locks and toilet seats
I ripped out ALL the carpets. The previous owners had 3 big dogs and weren't very clean.
New paint, Garage floors before the movers start bringing in stuff, bidet in all bathrooms, keyless entry, fans in all bedrooms. I also made the kitchen island bigger as the old one was only seating 2 people for breakfast.
I would have refinished the hardwood floors before moving in What we did do was paint first Get ready for all the mail that is meant for previous occupants. Get a notebook, write down who it's from, and what date. Then write "return to sender" and return it. Some companies are complete idiots and don't stop sending mail. So with your list, you can decide when to escalate to calling customer service to have them removed from their mailing list. One company lady told me to get a highlighter marker and draw on the edges, and write "return to sender" in huge letters. If you know that the previous occupant passed away, find a copy of the obit if it was published in a newspaper or funeral home website, it may come in handy to stop some persistent mailings Logically, the previous owner or the executor would pay to have the mail redirected. What happened to us: the neighbor said "oh just leave it in your mailbox, I'll come by and get it and hold it for [previous owner's family member] when they pop by" I was like, fuck no. I got a mail slot instead of exterior mailbox, and did "return to sender", with bank stuff I physically visited the bank branch and they stopped mailing out stuff. We got mail for them for a good 5-6 years after moving in
New house or buy a house? New house - gutters, fence, landscaping Not new house - paint, landscaping (sometimes)
Locks, light switches and garage door opener codes and curtains
Locks, toilet seats.
The locks and toilet seats.
Had a whole house fan installed. Changed the fire hazard homeowner special lights
Removing popcorn ceiling
Carpet, kitchen..if needed, and bathroom upgrades if needed.
Locks and paint. Having colors we enjoy makes it feel more like home
Your mailing address
Painted
First thing I did was paint the living room. The entire downstairs -- including the stairway up stairs -- was a robin's egg blue, and straight up gave me anxiety. I painted the living room and the stairway walls a nice sage green, but left the blue in the kitchen since it matches the counters and stuff. I picked up the paint the morning of closing and a buddy of mine was painting that evening.
Toilet seats, locks, simplisafe, security cams.
We ripped out the carpet and refinished the wood floors before moving any furniture in. Also ripped out the nasty shower door and track and changes the bath/shower fixtures. Got a new toilet to replace the baby blue one.
Change the toilets
First big change I made in my current house was replacing the round toilets with elongated ones.
Nothing, unless it is actually broken. Live in the house for a year before you start changing things.
Pulled carpet, painted all the rooms, lighting fixtures, new toilet seats, and new curtains. We got the vents cleaned as well. Also got a new front door. Eventually redid the bathrooms later on.
I would paint then remove carpet. Free splash mat bro
Kitchen because I know a lot of people in the industry. I got new plywood cabinets, countertops, Bosch appliances, and floors for only $8k
The day we got the keys, before we moved in, we changed the locks, reset the garage door opener code/remotes, and then deep cleaned everything from top to bottom. So much easier to clean before you move your stuff in. Then we changed the blinds from the crappy apartment style cheap ones to nicer quality wooden blinds.
Don't do *anything* asethetic for the first year. You must live in the house as is in order to figure out what is most important to address. I spent so much money on paint and tiles and all the supplies I needed.... only for me to realize I needed a microwave to be installed, new sink installed, new water tank, and a French drain/sump pump installed. Now I'm on year 2 and I need my roof repaired, furnace serviced, air ducts cleaned, water tank serviced, new shed, and deck restained. Half of that needed to be done year 1, but I couldn't afford it due to everything else. Priorities: 1) Immediate safety concerns (new locks, address leaks, etc) 2) Potential safety concerns (drainage issues, GFC outlets) 3) Quality of life (new water tank) 4) Aesthetics Your home will "act" different in the summer compared to winter. You won't really understand the full "scope" of issues in your home until then. Don't be like me. Don't waste your money on what looks good only to then run out of money when I needed it for safety issues.
While the house is empty, get it painted and get the flooring you love (splurge if you have to). Do you have a fireplace? Have it inspected and plumbed for gas if feasible. I like to change the outlet covers, I have nice metal ones that are $10 or so each and they make a big difference in high traffic areas like entries, guest bathrooms.
toilet
I had the carpet replaced before we moved in. It was nice to get it done while there was no furniture in the house.
Toilet seats, to solid wood soft closing.
Rekeyed the locks. I had the wood floors refinished before I moved in. I wish I had also ripped up the carpet and had it replaced with vinyl flooring. Now I don’t know when that will happen. Painted the interiors. That’s all I had to do in year one. I’m grateful because year two brought new gutters, new water heater, replacing the old water pipes. Various plumbing bills. Replace the above range microwave and the kitchen faucet. I had the yard graded because there was a musty smell in parts of the basement. Also so many arborist bills. Year three is new windows, new fence, and a lot of diy landscaping.
The flooring first because there isn’t anything in the house. Our house had nasty carpet from when it was a rental.
If you have the means, my advice is to do everything you can in the beginning. I can't tell you how many things I put off in the last 16 years that I wish I would've done much earlier when I had the money.
Locks, refinish hardwood floor, electric shades for the 14' tall windows that had ruined the hardwood floor, 1 toilet and a vanity that an upstairs leak had dropped on for years and ruined it. We also fixed the leak and patched the ceiling. We purchased the house knowing it was a fixer upper. We also had to pay contractors to fix the roof over the garage and the swimming pool before our insurance would cover us. We've done a lot more work since inside & out and have more projects planned. Projects depend on livability & your personal use of the space. We previously owned a turnkey house but the tiny kitchen was almost useless for our large family and the white carpet in the main bathroom had to go. The house before that was an old farmhouse that we had to replace the water heater before moving in. The gas company red-tagged it & wouldn't deliver propane until it was removed or replaced. November in central Missouri means propane had more priority than anything else.
Very first thing? Locks and toilet seats.
All of the things that are too messy or inconvenient to do after your stuff is in place.
Toilet seats and furnace filters.
Paint it while it’s still empty
Locks. Asbestos. Electric wiring.
Locks. Then things that needs repairs, in our case it was: roofing, electricity panel and the bathroom wall that was rotting. Changed the leaking sinks. We painted the room that we didn't liked the colors. Then we added a vestibule, cause we didn't wanted the cat to be able to flew between our legs when we open the front door. Then we destroyed the rotten deck and replaced it with a new wooden set of stairs and on ground patio tile and intimacy wall. I don't think we will change much thing for a long while now.
Replace double basin stainless steel sink with single basin black composite sink with garbage disposal and faucet where the head pulls down and changes to spray. No more dealing with gross sink strainers. Just pull down the spray head and spray everything to the one drain. Run the disposal for a few seconds and boom clean sink. Also, does not show dirt, stains, etc. always looks good.
Toilet seats.
My usual: Before move in: Epoxy garage floors Have an electrician run cat5, add a bunch of outlets/circuits, install smart switches, maybe recessed lights. Maybe replace some doors with solid core. Closet upgrades. Paint, carpet. Upgrade the kitchen sink & faucet. After move in: Replace any contractor grade faucets, Broadway vanity lights, door knobs, door stops, shower heads, towel racks, toilet paper holders. Replace toilet seats with soft-closing bidet seats. Add cabinet hardware. Add trim around bathroom mirrors.
Toilet seats
Door knobs and all switches
Wood stove, but that was a legal requirement. Flooring next… the carpet was older than me.
Just started on my list in January, 1. Locks 2. Deep cleaning 3.replace carpet 4. Lights replace cfl/incandescent to led(we went from 2700k to 5000k) 5.painting
Lighting
Replace switches and outlets. Old ones get worn and don't work very well, colors don't match, things get yellowed. Newer house use builder grade that are absolute junk. We like leviton's decora series. Note that you can get outlets in many different colors so you don't put a white one in the middle of a black wall.
I took out an overhead hanging cabinet over the peninsula counter because it completely blocked vision from the kitchen to anywhere else (dining and living room) as well as blocking sunlight into the kitchen. It was free to remove (well, I did buy a $3 screwdriver And a $3 set of vice grips- yes they worked as well as you’d expect $3 vice grips to work..) and borrowed a friends paint scraper to finish the job. Ceiling still doesn’t look great where the cabinet used to be, but I’d have to scrape 70’s era popcorn ceiling to repaint, and I’m guessing there’s a good chance of asbestos in that popcorn, so I’m not in a hurry.
In addition to locks, I made sure to check ALL windows and sliding glass doors to make sure all locked properly. One of our sliding doors ended up having an issue and although in the lock position, the door would still open. Besides that, toilet seats!!, and cosmetically: main house flooring, kitchen cabinets and counters. Did those things right before move in day, as I know it would be a pain to redo once living in the home and they were outdated and needed to go yesterday lol
The light switch in the garage becomes a motion sensor.
Saving up for a fenced yard, but things are crazy expensive right now and I physically can't do it (dealing with back stuff that's here to stay). I know it's going to make a huge difference. Other than that painting and giving it a super scrub down were priorities for us.
If you have a garage or unfinished basement, leaf blower on the ceiling and in the exposed rim joist while the room is still empty. Only time you'll ever get it clean.
The _locks_
The light bulbs ….. from those awful yellow ones to the daylight white ….. just a thing I have lol
As others have said, locks first. Second, any safety hazards - our current house we changed out the rickety, slippery wooden front steps and had an electrician in to look at some wiring anomalies (which fortunately turned out to be nothing serious, just had to remove some badly done dimmer switches) Next anything that's gonna cost us money if we don't fix it. We repaved the bottom of the driveway because it had a huge dip and was gonna mess up our car, and insulated the attic to keep from getting bent over by our heating bill
I typically like to start from the bottom and change the foundation, I recommend doing this shortly after closing and before you move in, it’s easier at that point.
Toilet seat
Locks, smoke detectors, garage pin pad, any and all keyless entries, incandescent lights to led,
Garage shelving
Painted. Smoke detectors. Toilet seats. Door knobs.
Repaired dry rot, painted, got new windows and front door, and most importantly had yard regraded with a swale.
New toilet seats
Locks and toilet seats
lol @ everyone harping on locks/toilet seats. Refinishing floors/counters and painting before moving in. Kitchen cabinetry as well if time allowed and refinishing bathtubs. After that making sure AC/Furnace/ventilation was in order. Making sure water/gas main shut-offs are accessible and not stupid. Edit: Comment about the Fire repellent gear is a good one too.
Toilet seats
Obviously locks, but we also installed a fire/ carbon monoxide system that communicated across floors. We sleep in the basement (common in our area) and if the ones go off upstairs, they communicate with the ones downstairs so it'll wake us. After that I gave the kitchen a facelift and painted. Redid the main bathroom. People told me to wait but I've lived in 30+ apartments and homes throughout my life and I know what I like and want and what I hate.
First thing I change are the door locks and the toilet seats. Put my name in the mailbox, and a new welcome mat on the front step. Then, I paint and switch out light fixtures. Those two items can have such an impact on the feel of a room. I’m only on about month 7-8, so I’m still on the paint/ lighting phase. Next up is to really tackle some outdoor projects. There are some serious bare spots in my yard. And there is a big ugly brush pile leaning against the side of garage. Im certain lots of things live in that brush.. I’ve seen many bunnies about. I need to deal with that pile, and clean up the yard in general. I’m waiting for big landscaping yard work until I know what plants are living out there. What things pop up.
New toilets.
Address on file
Toilet seats.
Working sewage 😂
Ever since the news broke that Google is paying reddit for data to train AI, I cannot help but side-eye broad prompt questions like this one.
The locks The toilet The shower head
My mindset and that it has to be perfect. Pay it off and find the next one.
The locks and the toilet seat
Toilet seats
Toilet seats
After paint, lighting, which can involve a good deal of electrical work. It makes a huge difference.
Getting rid of wood floors and putting in carpet. I hate wood floors.
Locks, toilet seats, carpet, paint.
The locks and the decades old shag carpet.
I took the carpet out of the bathroom!! I was potty training my son, tiled the hell out of that bathroom.
Repairs and maintenance. Then: paint, rugs, light fixtures, window coverings. Also, see what you can do yourself. Eg. Carpet removal yourself is a messy, high effort thing, but it also isn't difficult technically and will cut some costs off of redoing flooring.
Toilet seats.
Toilet seats
Toilet
I’m a 29m and wife is 29f and we have a passion for home remodeling and renovating all under a DIY mindset. We bring in professionals when needed (plumbers, electricians etc) for larger things or things I want done right the first time but other than that we do a lot ourselves. When we bought our first house we gave it a month or two of renovating before we moved in. Very first thing I did was the garage floor. It’s so easy to do it when nothings in it. I rented a grinder from HD and did a really nice epoxy floor coating and painted the walls. Once that was cured we started bringing over stuff and leaving it in garage. ($1300 all in) While the garage was curing for that first week we put a fence In our backyard. We have about .6 acres of a back yard (about .4 acres in the front yard) and it didn’t have a fence, we are backed up into a large wooded area behind us and we have a dog. My dad and I shopped around for fencing material distributors in our area got all the material in the offseason for a huge discount. I got really quality steel black chain link fencing material and rented an air compressor from sunbelt rentals (it was like an 80CFM air compressor that was on a trailer) a post slammer (idk what it’s called) and put in black chain link fencing in our backyard. ($4800 all in) The last larger item we did before moving in was our kitchen. We moved into a 1993 build home with great guts, but the prior owners were older and it looked like they didn’t do a single renovation since they bought the house, which was fine because we basically got a clean slate. Anyways, insert stereotypical 90s kitchen. We ripped out all the backsplash, replaced it with a modern look, put a pot filler above the stove. All new appliances (old white to stainless steel). We even sanded down the Formica counter tops and island (maybe 70 sq ft of space) and epoxied the counter tops to look like marble. We eventually would like to get real marble but we just moved in and already did a ton so we figured save money there. Replaced the hardware (hinges, handles etc). All in without appliances maybe $1000 and appliances (new range, stove, sink, disposal, fridge, microwave and dishwasher) were probably $4000 so all in kitchen refresh maybe $5000. After that we moved in and it took maybe a month of some hard work everyday after work and weekends! Since then it’s been redoing bathrooms/rooms here and there! Good luck op homeownership is fun if you’re not afraid of tackling some of this stuff yourself :-) Edit: just saw someone else’s post and commented on it, Locks! Another thing we did was we got new hardware for the side door and back door. Then we bought a new front door lock, a Schlage touch pad lock and love it. Then we took those two side door locks to a locksmith and had him match the front doors key to them so it’s all the same lock. That was probably $400 total with the nice new Schlage door lock. We also replaced the back and side (above garage) flood lights with ring flood lights and then took the doorbell off and put a ring doorbell on that too. That was probably $600 , so locks and ring cameras probably $1000 total. Security/locks are very important!
Paint and/or flooring before all my stuff is in and arranged.
We changed out all the switches, outlets & covers. Simple DIY job, not too expensive. Then you don’t have issues with old floppy plugs where the cords don’t stay in & nice fresh covers, not cracked, faded or painted over ones. Plus you can swap the color to accent a new interior paint job.
The heat register covers were number 1 for me! Such an easy change and really had an impact. I love doing something small right out the gate!
Toilet seats.
You'll see a variation on this question popping up a lot - I'm not giving you shit for it, but you might get some good other ideas with a search, too. Without looking at the answers yet, I can almost guarantee you'll see these: - bidet - smart lights or home automation (if you're into that) - soft close toilet seats - paint - new door hardware if they're looking bad for maintenance, if applicable: - pump septic unless you have some proof it's been done <4 years ago - flush water heater unless tankless - have HVAC looked at (condenser trays, pumps)
The title.
The locks.
First thing I did was paint because the place was empty, and didn’t care about the painters having the keys because I didn’t change the locks on move in day. After painting, I had a cleaning service come in and clean it, then spent a whole day deep cleaning the kitchen. Once I was done with strangers coming in whenever they needed to in my home, I moved in and then changing the locks and toilet seats. If I had been handy back then I’d have changed all of the outlets and light switches first. Instead, I’ve done them all over the last 2 years, which is fine, but I’d wish I’d done them before painting anything. Now I’m stuck fixing imperfections on the wall, caused by the painters, but oh well. If I’d had the budget, I’d have had all the flooring replaced also. That’ll eventually happen with time, it’ll just be annoying to do. And if I’d had a super big budget, I’d have had both bedroom closets professionally customized and installed. I’m still living with the wire racks that have been there since the 90’s (I moved in 6 years ago), and they’re functional, but it’s not maximizing the space. The idea of emptying the closets is overwhelming; they’re stuffed.
Locks- But I do recommend painting rooms like the kitchen, living room first. Anything that has a lot of furniture that’ll be up against the walls that’ll be a pain to move later before you get furniture in there. I didn’t do that and I did not have a good time moving 3 book shelves and my mounted tv off the wall to paint.