What Should I Keep After Closing on a New Home?
The paperwork and details worth saving, and the ones you'll wish you had in year three.
Set up one folder, physical or digital, on move-in day. Most of what's worth keeping arrives in a single stack at closing, gets put somewhere reasonable, and is unfindable the first time you actually need it.
Warranty and legal
- Your warranty document, with the coverage periods by category. See what a warranty covers
- Every manufacturer warranty and registration confirmation
- The signed build contract and every change order
- The final punch list and confirmation that items were completed. See the final walkthrough
- Closing documents, deed and title insurance policy
- Certificate of occupancy
- Final survey and plot plan
The house itself
- Your plans. Keep a copy. You'll want them for a future project, a deck, or a basement finish.
- Appliance and equipment manuals, with model and serial numbers written somewhere you can search.
- HVAC filter size. Write it inside a cabinet door. This one small note saves years of guessing.
- Paint colors, including brand, line, sheen and the room each was used in. Ask for this before closing, not two years later.
- Flooring, tile, countertop and cabinet product names, for repairs and future matching.
- Any leftover materials: tile, flooring, paint, siding. Label them and keep them somewhere dry.
- Septic and well documentation, if applicable, including the system design and the water test results.
Take photos before the walls close
This is the one people wish they'd done. Before drywall goes up, walk the house and photograph every wall, in order, with something in frame for scale. Five years later, when you're hanging a heavy mirror or running a wire, you'll know exactly where the studs, wiring and plumbing are. Ask us and we'll make sure you get the chance. See site visits during construction.
Start a maintenance log
A simple running note of what was serviced and when: furnace, air conditioner, water heater, sump pump, gutters. It makes warranty conversations easier, it makes selling easier, and it makes you the person who actually knows when the furnace was last touched. See year-one maintenance.
Know four things
Where the main water shutoff is. Where the gas shutoff is. Where the electrical panel is and whether it's labeled. Where the sump pump discharges. Learn these at the walkthrough, not during an emergency.