The month leading up to moving into your new home is incredibly hectic—but even once the closing date comes and goes, there will be dozens of to-dos on your task list. Some of them are chores you may already be aware of—40 million people change their address each year, and it might be one of the first things you do once you get the keys.
If you’ve rented before, you may already have a list of things you’ve done to ease the transition to your new address. But if you’ve just purchased your first home in Texas, the laundry list gets a little more complex because it may include understanding escrow payments and property tax strategies.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by everything there is to do, start by breaking items down into categories. You may have lists related to unpacking your belongings, for example, and last-minute tasks to finish at your previous address.
The following checklist list focuses on eight essential to-dos once you’ve bought a new house. If you can take care of these checklist items, managing everything else will be much smoother, and you’ll be in a good position to deal with all the responsibilities of homeownership.
Sign Up for Your Utilities
The first item on your checklist is one that you can schedule in advance. Research your potential service providers for:
- Electricity (you may only have one or two options)
- Water (which is generally municipal)
- Internet
- Trash and recycling
- Gas
- Security
Once you know your move-in date, you can schedule service turn-on and installation appointments. Some of them will take a few days of lead time, so it’s recommended to do this during the last week before you move in. You can also consider services like pest control.
If you’re busy or unsure where to start, ask your realtor if they know a utility concierge they can recommend. A utility concierge can put together a list of options for each utility, negotiate deals with providers for different service-level packages and pricing, and schedule the appointments and start dates on your behalf. These services should be free as the concierge gets paid as a referral partner with the utility companies.
Update Your Driver’s License, Credit Cards, and Delivery Services
Next, create a list of all the administrative essentials and services you use that have your address. The most immediate one is your driver’s license, and you can generally update your address online. Other forms to change include your car insurance, health insurance (be sure to confirm local in-network options), voting registration card, and any bank accounts or loans.
Related: 2024 Preliminary Values for Texas
This is a good opportunity to switch over commercial services that use your address. Consider online shopping accounts and any service that might accidentally deliver valuable items to your old address.
While you can file a change of address with USPS—a highly recommended course of action—that only lasts 12 months. It also only guarantees the correct delivery of USPS packages. It’s far better to file your change of address as a stop-gap measure and immediately change your address across each service so nothing gets lost or forgotten.
File Your Homestead Exemption
If you’re a first-time homeowner, this checklist item might sound completely unfamiliar. Homestead exemptions are provisions that will help you save money on your annual property tax bill. In Texas, the property tax rate is one of the highest in the country, and the exact rate you have will vary based on the county and city you live in. Property taxes are managed on the local municipal level, not the state level, and they generally hover around 2.1%.
Qualifying homeowners can reduce their property taxes by filing their homestead exemption with their local central appraisal district (CAD). A general residence homestead exemption removes $100,000 of your home’s value from school district tax calculations (approximately half of your property tax bill) and provides multiple smaller savings opportunities. It also starts a 10% cap on your home’s taxable value after the first full calendar year you live there.
Under this cap, your taxable value can only increase by a maximum of 10% each year, even if the appraisal (or market) value increases by 15%, 20%, or more.
Filing your homestead exemption promptly is crucial to maximizing your savings and securing the full financial benefits available to you. Many counties in Texas allow homeowners to backdate their homestead exemption for up to two years, so even if you missed the deadline for the current year, you may still be able to apply and receive benefits for the previous two years, provided you met the eligibility requirements. Regardless, filing as soon as possible allows you to unlock savings and enhance the cumulative benefits of your homestead exemption.
Set a Reminder to File Your Property Tax Protest or Sign Up for a Service
The next to-do is also about your property taxes. Homestead exemptions only keep your taxable value lowered, not your home’s appraisal value. The only way to make sure your appraisal value is fair and accurate is to protest your property taxes every spring.
If you’re moving in around April or May, file your protest notice as soon as possible—the deadline is May 15th (or 30 days after you get your notice). It’s important not to miss the opportunity to fight for a fair value as it sets the starting point for all of your property taxes moving forward.
If you purchased your home during another time of year, such as summer break, you have several months before the protest phase of property tax calculations begins. So, set these reminders on your calendar:
- You will receive your property tax bill for the current year in November. The bill will be prorated based on the date you purchased your home. At closing, you should have received either a credit from the seller for their portion of the property taxes or a debit if you owed money to the seller for your portion of the taxes. This prorated amount is typically calculated from January 1st to the date of closing.
You will receive your property tax bill for the current year in November. This should be partially prorated, and you would have received eithr funds or a cost reduction at closing regarding the portion of time the previous owner lived in your home. - Property taxes are due January 31st of the following year.
- You should receive a notice regarding your property’s new value in April, or you can start checking the CAD website for updates.
- File your protest notice by May 15th or 30 days after you recieved the notice to make sure it’s completed before the deadline.
Alternatively, you can sign up for a property tax protest service that will handle every step of the protest process for you—then, you don’t need to set any reminders.
Find Your Water Shutoff and Breaker Box
Electrical and plumbing emergencies are rare, but there will likely be a time when you need to quickly shut off your home’s water or electricity. Take the time now to locate the breaker box (which is usually inside the garage or the master closet) and the water shutoff.
Related: Proposition 4: A Guide to Recent Property Tax Relief in Texas
A few best practices include buying a key to open the water shutoff and labeling all of your breakers so you don’t have to shut off power to your whole house in an emergency. Keys are available at big box stores and let you access the valve under the metal disks near the street around your home.
Change Your Home’s Smoke Detector Batteries
A great but often forgotten safety step is to change all of your home’s batteries for smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. While the batteries should last for years, you can never be sure how old they currently are. Replacing all of them can give you peace of mind and make sure you aren’t woken up by a dead-battery alarm.
Use Your Home Inspection Report as a Checklist of Home Improvement To-Dos
When you purchased your home, you likely had a professional inspector go through it during the option period to find potential problems. Some of those problems may have been resolved during the negotiation process, but you might have a few unresolved issues, such as older sockets, a small leak in the tap, or foggy windows.
Keep your report accessible and use it as a to-do list. You can move through safety- and function-related repairs based on your preferences, or you can make sure they’re addressed when you start making improvements and renovations.
Explore Your Escrow Account
The final essential item on your checklist is becoming familiar with your escrow account. If you have a mortgage, your lender likely created this account on your behalf, and your monthly mortgage payment will include the principal and interest on your loan (the technical “mortgage”), a portion of your house insurance premium, and a portion of your estimated property taxes.
The lender will hold the latter two amounts in your escrow account throughout the year and use the funds to pay your insurance provider and property taxes. Take time to explore the online portal, find the total amounts you will accrue over time, and set up your communication preferences so you never have to wonder about those payments.
Simplify Your New Homeowner Checklist with Property Tax Experts
There’s a lot to do when you move into a new home, even once the buying and closing portions are complete. By completing the items on this to-do list, you can make it much easier to transition into your new home and protect your finances from sudden budget-breaking property tax increases.
At Home Tax Shield, we can help by managing the property tax protest process for you every year. Sign up today to take it off your checklist, and browse our available resources to learn more about Texas property taxes, homestead exemptions, and fighting for fair property taxes every year.