Congratulations! You've just purchased your own home! There are few things better in life than the feeling that where you're living is actually all yours. You no longer have a landlord to answer to or random rises in rent to worry about. However, with home-ownership comes quite a few extra responsibilities. Here are some things to keep in mind as you begin to enjoy your new home:
Regular Maintenance
When renting a place it's easy to just ignore regular maintenance tasks because when something goes seriously wrong you just have to call your landlord to come sort it out. With your own place, however, you'll want to make sure you stay on top of the maintenance as anything that could go wrong down the line will be entirely your financial responsibility. Things like changing your air conditioning filters, checking your dryer vent for lint, checking your garage door works properly, and making sure your roof is still in great condition are just a few of the things that you will want to make sure you stay on top of. (Here is a useful, but not exhaustive, list of some items you'll want to remember: https://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/advice/home-maintenance-checklist/.)
Insurance
If you have a mortgage on your house you will have been required to purchase a certain level of insurance to cover your house should a disaster strike. Make sure you know precisely what that insurance covers and strongly consider purchasing more insurance to make sure you're completely covered, especially if you live in an area that's prone to earthquakes, hurricanes, or other natural disasters. Most insurance companies don't include flood or earthquake coverage in their basic packages, so you'll need to ask to get those added. In addition to coverage for your physical house you'll want to take out insurance on yourself, so if you become disabled or die unexpectedly whoever is living in the house with you won't lose the house due to loss of income.
Get Professional Help with Your Taxes
Now that you're a homeowner your tax situation will have changed and attempting to figure it out by yourself could get complicated. Paying a professional to help you file your taxes (even if you only use them for one year) will ensure that you haven't messed up anywhere and that you'll be getting as many deductions as you can.
Hire Professionals
With the expense that comes with owning a home it can sometimes be tempting to try to make all repairs, both big and small, yourself. However, this can become quite a dangerous thing to do if you're not qualified and try to take on huge projects. If you find a project that's simple (such as just doing some painting or fitting a shelf) then you can save money by doing those yourself. If it's a more complicated problem (such as electrical or plumbing issues) then hiring a professional is the best way to go, so you can be sure that you won't do serious damage to your house or to yourself.