To Do's After you close escrow on your home in San Ramon CA, Dublin CA or Danville CA.

A Checklist From Real Estate Expert Scott Summers

When you walk out of the closing office as a new home owner, one of your main concerns is making sure that you do everything to protect your new investment. So how do you do that? The first thing you should do is seriously consider is having a locksmith come over and re-key the locks. Even if it is a new home you won't have any idea who may have a key.  These days, bank owned homes are common and often, banks will use the same key pattern on all of their properties, so there could be dozens of people who can gain access.   It is best to make the home secure and have the locks changed at the same time. The mountains of papers that you received at closing are extremely important. Make sure that you keep them in a safe place where you can put your hands on if they are needed. There is often document issues that needs resolving or a question that requires answering.  There is a good chance you will need them at tax time as well.  Putting them where you can find them quickly may avoid headaches down the road. About two to three weeks after closing, contact the county recorders office to confirm that title is in your name.  In Contra Costa, can you call Contra Costa County recorder or try looking at http://www.criis.com/index.html  In Alameda county, try looking here http://rechart1.acgov.org/localization/menu.asp These sites can be a bit clumsy, but your Realtor can help you out if you need it. Make sure that you have verified having the utilities worked out. If you are purchasing from someone it is best to have them transferred instead of disconnected and reconnected. This will avoid a delay in service. Some companies will even waive the connection fee if they do not have to send someone out to the home twice.  Builders can even make this arrangement if you let them know before closing. It is highly recommended that you chronicle your possessions after you have moved in. The best way to do this is to videotape everything in the home as well as the home itself. This will serve as an invaluable tool in the unfortunate event that something happens. Your memory will never be able to take the place of live footage and you will encounter less resistance from your insurance company if you have to prove something was present. Also, make a detailed written list, too. Keep a copy of both in at least one location outside of the home, such as a safety deposit box. To get a Free list of homes that meet all of your specifications, please contact me anytime. Scott Summers – Realtor    

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 24th, 2011 at 5:31 pm and is filed under Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.