Okay,

so you bought a house.

Now what?

So you bought a house.

Now what?

Like walk into your new door and you're like, cool.

Yeah.

Now what?

, now what?

Do not be shy about asking your.

Agent about some of the details and some of the what ifs like hey

if this happens, what do I do?

Hey, I mean cuz especially for the first time homebuyers

Welcome back to millennia.

What?

Welcome back to millennia to millennia Are

we like WWE?

introducers or

No, no, I have a movie voice.

I actually did voiceover.

I did a voiceover work for a, for a project in Baltimore, uh, at, at

my school and I was, uh, at the.

The movie voice in a world.

That's true.

Yeah.

Yeah, I don't know I would be

the first to get fired knows that it was that guy

it was that guy I think it was a Geico commercial

like the Don LaFontaine.

He was the movie.

He's a movie guy He fucking he died.

He died like three years ago But he was like he did all those trailer all those

previews for all those movies like in the 80s and 90s in a world You know,

do you say anything else?

Yeah in

a world Well, no, but it's just like, there is a world where,

well, if real estate doesn't work out, then

you can do voiceover work.

Well, actually, I think that'll be replaced by

chat GPT, but you know, anyway.

Okay.

So what are we talking about today?

Oh, that's quite a seg, by the way.

Quite a seg.

You okay?

You seem, seem like caught off guard.

You up for this?

Yeah.

I'm up for this.

Okay.

So you bought a house.

Now what?

So you bought a house.

Now what?

Yeah, so I wanted to talk about this today just because that is, this

is something that a lot of, um, you know, we, we obviously have clients

and that's something that comes up.

Congratulations.

You bought a house.

We're either sending you this or I just realized that I'm looking at the wrong

camera.

Yeah, we've got, we've got some B roll going today, guys.

Um, No, but, uh, you know, real estate's really great at getting people to the

settlement table, but then, you know, really great agents, and I like to put

ourselves into that category, is humbly, is, you know, advise people after that.

Right, so you

don't just like walk into your new door and you're like, cool.

Yeah.

Now what?

Now what?

And so I

want to create this episode, uh, for everyone

obviously on our, you know, of our clients who settle on a property.

This is for you.

I wanted to create this episode just because then I can send this to

my, our clients to say, okay, this, these are the things that you do.

This is stuff I never got when I bought my house.

That would have been very beneficial.

That's why we're, that's why we're full service.

That's

great.

So what do we got?

Uh, you want to, uh, go over it or do you want to, uh, go back and forth or you go

back and forth?

Sure.

Sure.

Okay.

I mean, we can start with.

Safety.

Yes.

Change your locks.

So you're required, so the seller is required to bring every, uh,

copy of a key that has ever existed to settlement to give to you.

But you don't know that, like, Aunt Jem, Aunt Jerry, I was going to say Jemima,

I

was going to say Aunt Jerry and then whatever, anyway.

You don't know that, like, aunts, uncles, like, friends, distant

cousins, whatever, that watched their dog once doesn't have a key.

For safety measures, go in and change all the locks.

Yeah, it's also just, uh, you know, home renovations

that took place five years ago.

There's a guy, a contractor who had a key because they were on vacation.

Like, you just never know.

Um, a lot of times, uh, your insurance company or if you have a

home warranty, there is a free rekey.

Because they are incentivized to make sure that your property is secured.

A lot of people also install ring cameras, um, a lot of houses

now that come with them, um,

If it's written in.

If it's, no, they come with it unless it's, unless it's not written

in.

So people, there was a huge thing guys, like 10 years ago when these

ring cameras started coming on where, um, they're considered like the same as

like a thermostat or a light switch where they are actually affixed to the house.

So if you don't actually write it into the agreement of sale that

you, uh, are taking it with you, it actually goes with the property.

A lot

of people forget that.

So the way that I used to describe people, what comes and what goes

is if you take your house, you flip it upside down and you shake it.

If it falls, then it's personal property and it leaves.

If it doesn't, then it stays.

And a lot of people bought their ring cameras and bought their nest thermostats.

And then they got the buyers get real upset on walkthrough day

when they see it's not there.

So I just had a listing, heavy listing.

Uh, and I was very specific to make sure, cause I know that like my guy

is very high tech and has like, it's.

It's like straight up smart house and he plans on taking it all

with him and doesn't like, it does not plan to transfer it.

And I was like, first things first, we write that in as an exclusion because

otherwise you'd be very upset when I tell you that it needs to stay.

I've, I've bought two.

I've bought two.

So, um, because they've told me, they've told me that they want to take it.

And then, you know, the, the, the chaos of an offer, sometimes I got, I got, I,

I did that in like 2016 and 17, I have not forgotten, uh, again, the other

thing is to just keep in mind with, uh, with the, uh, that software is that

there's a There is a like, kind of a whitewashing that the seller has to do

to that and they have to verify that they've taken their password out of that.

Mm-Hmm.

, like outta that hardware.

Otherwise, that's actually written into the contract, is it?

Mm-Hmm.

. Yeah.

So, or

it's it's written into the list or?

No, it's written into the agreement of sale.

It's, uh,

that they will like, disengage all the stuff,

but in practicality it's a page

13.

Kind of like just section about this big, it's like the internet of things.

Mm-Hmm.

like the IP.

I, I two p, something like that.

It's, uh, basic or IOP or something.

Yeah.

And it's basically just saying that you have to wipe all data and all history

from anything that stays with the house.

So like if you had a smart thermostat, all like auto scheduling

or all history of everything.

Yeah.

Or like any cameras, any like backlog footage or absolute, any account

information has to be completely wiped before transferring it over.

Sure.

But this is all stuff that gets done.

beforehand.

So this is a, if you were to buy our house and you can get this all set up, but if

you purchase a house that you did get this transferred into, and like you adapted

onto your like ring camera or any of your nest sort of things, it's worth going back

and make sure that the seller did do all of that so that their account is not still

in there and they're not still watching you and getting all of your footage.

Okay.

Uh, I will take the next one.

Okay.

Okay.

Keep in mind, something is bound to break.

Yes.

It will happen.

Even though this is the one I totally put

on there as the first thing.

That's okay.

If long as gravity exists and there's RPMs going

through a piece of equipment in your house, something's going to break.

So, and

it's going to happen.

So shortly after, it almost always

happens, hopefully not like the day after, but yes, it will happen.

And that is exactly what our realtors are here for.

That's what insurance is there for.

If you have a home warranty, that's what that's there for.

Do not be shy about asking your.

Agent about some of the details and some of the what ifs like,

Hey, if this happens, what do I do?

Hey, I mean, cause especially for, for the first time home buyers, um, they

don't, they've never had to file a claim.

They don't know what to, to, to, to do.

They've never lived in that style house.

So like, you know, I had someone who lived in a condo and then they

moved into a, like a house and.

Um, you know, they had water in their, their lower level and they had lived in

like the third story of a condo building.

So they had never had any kind of experience with like water infiltration.

So

it's a really good segue to another one.

What's that?

Review and understand your insurance policies and your

home warranties and understanding the difference between each of them.

So a lot happens when you're under contract and like you have

to get your insurance policy before you can close in your house

before a mortgage can be issued.

There's so much going on that chances are you're like, uh huh.

Yup.

Sure.

And even with like the best insurance agent, you probably just kind of like

whipped through it and forget all of it by the time you actually live in your house.

So going through those, either like calling up the insurance agent again and

saying, okay, now the dust has settled.

Now I can actually adequately process this information.

Can you please tell me what is actually covered and what is not?

And ask, now you've had a chance to be in your house for like a week or two

or like a month, and you can thank.

Oh, what would happen if this happens?

And again, specifying, understanding the difference between what would be covered

under your insurance policy and what would be covered under a home warranty.

And if you don't have a home warranty, look into getting one.

Yes.

And we'll put in the show notes, our episode about insurance because you need

to make sure that you have utility line coverage and you have all the replacement

costs and everything like that.

And.

I just posted something on the millennial, uh, Instagram page

about the worst insurance.

I think actually, I think that was about car insurance.

But guys, like, the insurance business, especially right now,

is an absolute race to the bottom.

And they will, uh, try to, knowingly or unknowingly, they will try to skimp

on coverages in order to get the best price, but it will not cover you,

and it is worth its weight in gold.

I've had three insurance claims in my life.

One was, uh, And in fact, uh, one was the floor in my house heave

due to moisture in my crawl space.

The other one was a third floor, third story toilet that

overflowed through my entire house.

Believe me, you want coverage.

So that's a good one.

I got a roof for 350 and actually I just had this conversation

with one of my clients saying that, you know, and if there is like, Really bad

weather, like heavy winds or whatever.

It's worth getting up on the roof and seeing if it did any damage so that if

something does happen to it, that you can be sure to file the claim for it.

When it happens, there

is also guys, there are so many changes coming to insurance and

that's for even people who have their nose clean, um, with trees and flooding and

act of God, like flood insurance, like is like, even in an area that doesn't flood.

If, if, even if you have.

Most people don't realize that flood insurance doesn't actually

cover water coming into your house.

Um, I'm, I'm sorry, flood insurance only covers water that comes into

your house, but even then, it doesn't cover, it usually doesn't

cover your personal property.

So if you have a basement, water comes through your window well

and comes in from the outside.

Um, it doesn't cover your personal property.

It doesn't cover the drywall.

It will literally just cover, like, making sure that there's, like, no mold in it.

Uh, mold in the house, so it's not very good, but you can get a lot of coverages.

You just need to ask.

So that's definitely a good one.

I'm glad you brought that one up.

Thanks.

Um, and unfortunately we have too much experience with bad

insurance claims and bad companies, so that's why it's a good one to bring up.

Okay.

Next,

uh, schedule merit, regular maintenance.

Yeah.

So things like servicing the HVAC, that's a big one.

So, I mean, this isn't, so this isn't something you're going to do necessarily

immediately unless it hadn't been done and chains are on the seller's disclosure.

When you purchased your house, it'll say when it was last serviced.

And if you don't know, you might as well just check it.

Uh, so there's like regular scheduled maintenance for that.

There's even just switching out air filters as small as that is.

It's something nobody ever told me.

And it wasn't, I

remember that, you know, that meme where it's the guy just covered

it, the coal miner covered in dust.

And it's like, this is your air filter.

This is your air filter looking at you every time you pass by your furnace.

That's mine.

Yeah.

And it just, it chokes and like, you can literally double your,

like the electric usage of the amperage coming through that thing.

Cause it is trying to like, it's literally trying to like suck air through a rock.

I'm

not going to lie.

I'm so good at giving advice and terrible at taking it because my,

my air filters look like a 72 year old woman who has been smoking three

packs a day for the past 16 years.

I

mean, where, where you pull it out and like puffs come out.

Yeah.

Uh, no.

And it's, it, that is a really good, um, A really good one.

That's an easy one though.

If you

haven't even thought of your air filter yet, Go check it.

Go check it.

Go

check it.

And I'm not judging

you, but go check it.

Yeah, like have mercy on your HVAC equipment.

Plus it extends the life.

Like you just imagine if you're choking out your HVAC, uh, system,

it is going to It's going to just, it's going to be harder on it.

It's not going to last as long.

The other thing is too, and this is a big one that people forget,

especially this time of year in May, June, July, set up your landscaper.

If you were not going to mow your yard, a lot of times what happens, people.

Buy a house and then they take two weeks to move in and they pull up to

the, they pull up to the property with the moving truck and like, Oh shit.

I totally forgot to mow the grass.

I forgot to buy a lawnmower.

Next thing you know, you're walking through a complete like forest.

With grass up to your shins and you're like, whoops.

And then you're popping wheelies with a lawnmower that you buy off Facebook.

And this,

this segs into another perfect one, which is

introduce yourself to the neighbors.

And if the neighbor has a landscaper, just get the number and just say, Hey,

can you pop over and cut my lawn too?

That's exactly what I've had.

Three neighbors come up to me and I asked

me who I use to do my lawn.

Does

your neighbor mow your lawn?

I hired somebody.

You hired somebody.

Yeah, it do.

That's your way.

And this is for the men.

Men.

I know you want to be like Lord of the manor and everything like that.

If you live on more than a quarter acre, like just, just pay the, some people

find that really therapy.

Yeah, it's

bullshit.

It's, it's a, I don't know, man,

if you got a ride mower, the wives,

the wives hate it, they, they hate that.

Like they're, they're, they want manly men, but they don't want

men out there for four hours with like clippings and well, somebody

has to mow the yard.

It's like, yeah, here, take the kids for four hours on a Sunday.

You know, the, the wives hate it.

I mean, the wives love it and they love like, you know, drinking coffee and

looking out the window at their burly man, you know, covered in grass clippings.

That's great.

But that's another one.

Introduce yourself to the neighbors, especially in those like first few months.

Cause you just never know.

Um, I bought a house in 2000, uh, we moved in right before, uh, the pandemic

and it was really hard to meet neighbors, but overall, um, It's a great way to

kind of start the, you know, kind of the social perk of like owning a house in

a great neighborhood is to, you know,

I'll tell you what, no better way to meet

neighbors than to have a dog.

Well, that's true.

It wasn't until my friend moved in with me.

And she has a dog that she met.

I had lived in my house for two years.

She was there for two weeks.

All like reclusive and like hermit.

Yeah.

Oh

yeah.

I would hermit.

I go to work.

This is when I was working retail.

I would like, I worked at every shift imaginable all in the same week.

And I went to work, came home hermit.

And between that.

And having a baby too, it was just like, I was just dead to

the world as soon as I got home.

I didn't talk to anybody for as extrovert as I am.

I was also like a, don't bother me, leave me alone.

But she lived with me for all of two weeks and she goes, she knows.

It's the sweet old lady across the street.

She knows my next door neighbor who knows absolutely everything

about everything in our entire neighborhood from when it was built.

We also got the nurses that are next door to me.

And then we also got people down at the other end, the other person with

the German shepherd down the street, but the other tiny dog, and then

the drama that's going on between them and this other neighbor's dog.

And between being like a bus stop mom and a dog owner, she knew the

entire neighborhood more in two weeks than I did in two years.

So get a dog.

Yeah.

Get a dog.

No, but no, but it's also great just for people to kind

of look out for your property.

Uh, people can kind of look out for, you know, look out for each other

and it's also just good for you.

Uh, sociologists have actually studied this where, you know, the, the whole

way we've been building houses for the last 50 years is actually hasn't

been totally beneficial to our own mindset because everyone pulls into

their garage, closes the garage door.

We don't talk to our neighbors nearly as much as we did.

Which is a shame.

I had a great night.

Childhood in terms, well, in terms of, um,

the concrete jungle,

yeah, there was always, there were always kids outside.

There was no asking to go, can I go over to so and so's house?

Like, no, you just go outside.

You see kids, they all hang out.

Can we do a play date?

What's a play date?

You go outside.

There's maybe, I'm sure an adult was watching, possibly,

even then it's not, did you ever see that movie, uh, Belfast?

The

Christopher Nolan one, it's, uh, it's all like

in black and white or whatever.

It was like out like two, three years ago, but it's really interesting because

like all the parents are working or like the mothers are all tending to the house

and the, and it's based in like the, I think like the early 20th century and.

All the kids are just out.

Yeah.

You know, it's just like, it's not

like that anymore.

I mean, from what I've seen, it is, it is, if you live

in like in my, in my community, like, I mean, Ben, Ben

will come and say, Hey, I'm going to run up to, he doesn't ask, he's

just like, Hey, I'm going to run up to Collins and see if he's around.

I'm like, okay.

Cause I just want to know where they are, but I, I just

let them, I just let them go.

And like, I mean, you know, Jane walks us up to the local park with

her friends and it's like, I mean, I know that there's a lot of worry about

neighbors and a lot of worry about society, but statistically this is the

safest time humans have ever lived.

American society is the safest humans have ever been, despite what you see on

TV and you hear the horror stories, but generally people don't want your kids.

Hmm.

They have, they want kids.

There are days

that I don't even want them.

Plenty of days where I, we're, we're, we're,

we're boarding schools and option.

No.

Um, okay.

So what, uh, what else we got?

Okay.

We also have, oh yeah, that was a big one.

So this should actually probably happen like the day you move in, like

when you're working on, um, changing the locks while you're waiting on the

locks to get changed, go find all of the major shutoff valves in the house.

Actually, that

should take place.

If you get inspected.

That should get, that the inspector should show that to you, but a good refresher.

If you don't get an inspection, you can still get one now

and still find out all about your house and get a post settlement inspection.

Yep.

Um, it's good to do.

I mean, like I said, if you got your house without an inspection, uh, You just

didn't want to have that contingency.

You can now, it is now yours.

You should still know, you know, what you have and what to look out for and

keep an eye on and be able to use that, which is going to segue into planning.

Um, but have an idea of the order of which things should, you know, take

priority in, Maintaining or fixing, etc.

So, yeah, when the inspector comes through, they'll also show you where

all the major shutoff valves are.

So, if there's, if you need to shut off the gas, you need to shut off

the water, you know where those are.

Yeah, uh, and that's gonna seg us into our last point, and

this is my favorite one, um, although the ones we've Then take it away, Seth.

No, the ones that we've gone over are really great ideas, but, If,

uh, I put a lot of people in homes and they have a plan to potentially

renovate the property down the road, have that general contractor in now.

Get the estimate now.

Yes, it's going to go up over time.

It won't be reliable down the road, but it at least gets you an estimate

of like what's possible with the property, what you're able to do.

And I have found a lot of my clients really enjoy the idea of being

able to save towards something.

So if they 000 property or a renovation, you know, as prices

continue to accumulate, I've had a lot of agents or a lot of clients,

they will, They will save for that.

They'll take their bonuses or they will just use the equity and they'll

take out a home equity line of credit.

But it has been really helpful for my clients to understand what is

actually coming down the pike and what it looks like logistically and

you can ask all those questions.

Of that general contractor to talk about process, talk about

pricing, talk about, you know, um,

design and

like all that good stuff.

What's all going to be involved?

Like, do we have to excavate, can we just pop a, you know, just knock

down a wall, that type of thing.

So that's one that I always try to get my clients to do.

Cause like, ah, I don't want to like, you know, I don't

want to waste anybody's time.

It's like, no, no, no, no, no.

Like a general contractor would love to have an opportunity

to, to walk you through it.

And then.

They're also busy.

I mean, they'll give you right away.

Anyway,

they'll give you ideas too.

And better idea of when to do things like we were talking to Brian and Sam

and our last episode or one of the last episodes about when they got their kitchen

remodeled, it would probably be a lot easier to do it in like a spring or summer

when you can use your grill outside or you can eat outside and you don't have

to worry about eating in your kitchen.

And

don't, don't renovate your kitchen in the, in the winter.

It sounds like a raging pain.

I mean you can do it, but it's easier if you've got

a bonus space outside or you have a closed in porch or screened in porch.

Like I remember I did a, my family did a kitchen remodel and we

lived out of a toaster oven on the sun porch for like six weeks.

Yeah.

And to go on the planning piece, it's kind of like the episode where we were

talking about living in your parents basement in order to buy a house.

Like you can live in your parents basement for years and get nowhere.

Well, right.

So, but the whole point that we made in that episode was you could stay

there for years and years and get nowhere if you don't have a plan, if

you have the plan of what you want to do and have your goal, you actually

have something to work towards.

So no, I think this is a great list.

Uh, there's some other stuff, but, uh, I feel like this would be It's

a start and I'm excited to just start sharing this with our clients

because this is like, okay, now what?

And so hopefully you guys found this helpful and we'll see you

on

the next one.