Drew’s 7 Tips for First-Time Homeowners
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So, you’re considering buying or just bought your first home? Congratulations! That’s a huge accomplishment. You toured houses, made an offer, finalized all the paperwork—it takes a lot to get it all done. But now that the house is officially yours, you might be wondering what you need to do to make sure you, your family, and your new house are set up for success. Luckily, Drew is here to help you navigate your to-do list so you don’t miss a thing. He and Jonathan just finished building their parents’ new house, and Drew’s joining Jim and Joanne Scott at their home today to share his best tips for first-time homeowners. To ease your mind and make sure you’re covering all your bases on this new journey, look to these tips to help get you started.
When you buy your first house, there’s a lot to think about—from keeping your house and family safe to building out your decor dreams. But before the fun stuff can happen, it’s important to cover the basics first. Drew is walking you through the most important steps to mark off your checklist before settling into your new home, as well as some security items and sustainable upgrades to consider for your family’s specific needs. In this week’s Ask Your Brother YouTube video, Drew Scott is sitting down to talk through all the advice and suggestions he has for every first-time homeowner, including must-haves and even some favorite products that have helped him in his own home.
1. Get an Inspection Before Moving In
“It doesn’t matter if you have a new house or an older house that you’re buying—you should always have an inspection done. Then, take that report and tackle all those projects before you move into the home,” Drew says. This one is super important! An inspection will save you a lot of unnecessary headaches down the road.
“If you feel that you’d prefer to have the seller take care of all the issues with the property, you can do that. Or, you can ask them to bring the price down, and then you’ll put the money into it with somebody you trust,” he says. “I always like to do it myself, because I know it’ll get done right.”
2. Replace Your Locks
“I strongly suggest a smart lock,” Drew says. “Having a digital code or something you can access from your phone is so much better. When you have guests come over, you can give them their own code, and then once they’re no longer staying with you, you can delete it. That way, you don’t have random people with access to your home.”
“I call Jonathan a ‘random person.’ Every now and then I’ll just delete his access to my house just for fun,” Drew jokes.
3. Set Up a Security System
“A smart home makes me so much smarter than I actually am,” he says. “And having an alarm system that I can activate from a keypad, or from my phone, or even just using my voice, is always handy.”
It’s not just limited to security cameras either—there are glass break sensors, motion sensors, and even carbon monoxide and smoke detectors that are smart-enabled, too.
4. Consider Sustainable Upgrades
“De-carbonizing the home is one of the healthiest things you can do for your family,” Drew says. This could mean installing solar paneling, an induction range, a tankless hot water system—the list goes on. Sustainable upgrades aren’t just good on the environment, they’re also healthier for your family and can even help you save serious cash.
5. Locate and Map Your Emergency Valves
One of the most important tips for first-time homeowner is to locate all the necessity items and valves in your home in case of emergency. “The electrical panel, the gas shut-off, the water shut-off; On top of that, your alarm system, your router—anything you might need to know, you should have a whole list of that,” he says. Drew even has a digital clone of his home on his phone to help map out these important places.
6. Get a Toolkit
“It’s all the little things—whether it’s hanging a picture or fixing a loose doorknob—you want to make sure you have the right tools at home to make life easy,” he says. “Nothing is worse than when you have one thing that you use every day that just bugs you, like a loose pull on a cabinet.”
7. Find a Reliable Maintenance Person
“Small issues can become big issues if you don’t take care of them! Find yourself a handy person; a maintenance person that can help you at your house and make sure that everything is keeping the way it should,” Drew says. And for bigger renovation projects, consult our guide on how to find and hire a reliable contractor here.
Happy home-owning!
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