It’s a wonderful feeling when you finally have the keys to your new home in your hands.

You know the ink is dry on the contract, the weeks or even months of searching are over, and you can begin a fresh chapter in your life.

As you step inside, you’re swept up in the feeling of potential for what can be achieved. An avalanche of packing boxes is about to descend on you – and life rarely gets more exciting.

But before this beautiful chaos arrives, it’s a great idea to familiarize yourself with some critical aspects of the building.

Lucky for you, you’ve just bought a home from McNair Custom Homes and we’re only a phone call away if you need something. In the meantime, here are some of the items we think will help get your settled in.

Find a place to keep manuals, warranties, etc. – We’ve given you a lot of info about your new home. Manuals for appliances, warranties for different systems in your home – now you just need to remember where you put it all! Like everyone’s favorite, the “junk” drawer, every home should have a central place to hold all of these important documents that you may need later.
Take some time to read them – Sure you probably don’t need to read every word of every manual, but you definitely should familiarize yourself with the basic functions of all of those appliances and systems. You’ll thank us later when your alarm system goes off accidentally and you need to turn it off!
Find the shut-off valve – This will be located near your water meter. It might be in the front yard near the fence line, or attached to an exterior wall. A third possibility is an underground box with a lid over the top. When you find it, please don’t touch it unless there’s a problem.
Locate the electrical panel – This will be in a grey metal box, either hung in the utility room or garage. Take a look at the labels for the circuit breakers so that you have a general idea which ones control what items.
Get up there – Take a look up in your attic. Since your house is brand new it’s a good idea to get a visual of what it looks like in a pristine state so that you can spot any issues should they ever arise.
Check alarms – It’s never a bad idea to replace the batteries, especially in the smoke alarm. Then you know when they are likely to expire and won’t spend days wondering where the chirping is coming from. While we will install new batteries with your smoke alarms, it is always a good idea to get in the habit of changing them regularly.
Furnace filter alert – Locate your HVAC filter and know how to change it. Leaving these unchanged is one of the most common causes of issues in your HVAC system.
Run the AC – Turn on the air conditioning unit and check it’s running correctly. If you have a ducted system, see if each room is getting the benefit of the cooling system. Set your temperature controls so you can find your comfort level and then program your thermostat so you don’t have to worry about it.
Check the locks – Test all of your keys in the locks. Keys can sometimes be cut a little off, so you want to make sure they all work and that you know what key goes where. Get an extra copies you need made so that you have spares. Welcome home!