A first-time buyer called me the evening of her closing day.
She had signed the papers. She had gotten the keys. She had stood in the driveway of her new home in Burnsville for a long moment just taking it in. And then she called me with a question that I have heard in some version from almost every first-time buyer I have ever worked with.
“Okay, Lesley. I own a home now. What do I actually do next?”
It is a completely reasonable question that almost nobody prepares buyers for. The entire homebuying process is focused on getting to closing day. The education, the preparation, the advice, the checklists, all of it points toward that moment when you sign the final document and receive the keys. What happens after that moment is largely left to the buyer to figure out on their own.
The first few weeks after closing are genuinely important. There are practical tasks that need to happen in a specific order. There are safety steps that are easy to overlook in the excitement of moving in. And there are financial and administrative items that buyers who skip them sometimes discover they needed to handle much earlier than they realized.
Here is a clear and practical guide to what to do immediately after buying a home in Minnesota.
The Very First Thing: Change Your Locks
Before you do anything else, before you unpack a single box, before you hang a single picture, change the locks on every exterior door of your home.
This sounds like an obvious step but it is one that a surprising number of buyers skip or delay, and it is genuinely important for your security.
When you close on a home, you receive keys from the seller. But you have absolutely no way of knowing how many copies of those keys exist and who has them. Previous owners, former tenants, contractors who worked on the home, neighbors who were given a spare, family members of previous owners who visited regularly. Any of them might have a key to your new home, and most of them have no idea you just moved in.
Changing your locks is inexpensive. A standard deadbolt replacement runs between twenty and sixty dollars per lock at a hardware store, and installing it is a straightforward DIY task for most homeowners. A locksmith can do the job for all your exterior doors in an afternoon if you prefer professional installation.
This single step gives you complete certainty that you are the only person with keys to your new home from your first night there. Do not skip it.
Locate Your Home’s Critical Systems and Shut-Offs
In the first day or two of homeownership, before anything goes wrong, take thirty minutes to walk through your home and locate every critical system and emergency shut-off.
Find the main water shut-off valve and make sure you know how to operate it. In Minnesota homes, this is typically located in the basement or mechanical room, often near where the water supply enters the building. Knowing where this is and being able to turn it quickly in a pipe emergency can be the difference between minor water damage and a disaster.
Find your electrical panel and confirm that the circuit breakers are labeled accurately. If they are not labeled, spend an afternoon with a helper testing which breaker controls which area of the home and labeling them clearly. This is a frustrating task to do in the middle of an electrical emergency.
Find your gas shut-off valve if your home has natural gas service, which most Minnesota homes do given the climate. Know where it is and know the basic principle of how to operate it, though in an actual gas emergency you should leave the home immediately and call the gas company rather than attempting to operate the valve yourself.
Find your HVAC system including your furnace and any air conditioning equipment, and locate the filter access point. Knowing where to change your furnace filter is more immediately practical than almost anything else in this list, since Minnesota’s heating season is long and a dirty filter is one of the most common causes of reduced efficiency and premature system failure.
Locate your water heater and note its age if it is visible on the unit. Minnesota homes sometimes have aging water heaters that are approaching the end of their useful life, and knowing the age helps you anticipate whether replacement is on the near-term horizon.
Set Up Your Utilities Immediately
Utility setup is one of the administrative tasks that needs to happen immediately after closing and ideally before or on your move-in day. We cover this in more detail in the next article in this series, but the core principle is simple.
Contact your utility providers before your closing date and schedule service to transfer or begin in your name on the day you take possession. In Minnesota, this includes natural gas, electric, water and sewer if separately billed, and trash and recycling service.
The specific providers depend on your location. Xcel Energy serves much of the Twin Cities metro for both gas and electric service. CenterPoint Energy handles natural gas in many areas. Some suburban communities have their own municipal water and sewer billing. Your closing documents and your Realtor can confirm which providers serve your specific property.
Do not assume utilities will automatically transfer to your name. They will not, and showing up to a home with no heat on a Minnesota winter night is a genuinely miserable experience that is entirely avoidable with a single phone call made before closing.
Do a Thorough Documentation Walkthrough
In the first few days of homeownership, before life gets busy and you adjust to the new space, do a thorough documentation walkthrough of your entire home and property.
Take photos and video of every room, every system, every appliance, every exterior surface, and every area of concern that the inspection identified. Note the current condition of everything so you have a clear baseline record of what the home looked like when you moved in.
This documentation serves multiple purposes. It creates a record for insurance purposes if something is damaged or lost. It gives you a baseline to compare against when you are evaluating the progress of any deferred maintenance items. And it helps you remember which things were existing conditions and which things developed during your ownership, which can matter in warranty situations or when you eventually sell.
Store these photos and videos somewhere accessible and backed up, whether in cloud storage, an external hard drive, or a dedicated folder on your phone.
Address Safety Items From Your Inspection Report
Revisit the inspection report from your purchase and make a list of any safety-related items that were noted but not addressed before closing.
Your inspector may have noted missing or malfunctioning smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors that need replacement, a handrail that needs securing, an exterior step with a gap that creates a trip hazard, or any number of other items that affect the day-to-day safety of living in the home.
Minnesota law requires that a smoke alarm be located within ten feet of each bedroom and on each level of the home. Carbon monoxide alarms are required on each level of any home with a fuel-burning appliance, attached garage, or fireplace, which in Minnesota means practically every home given the prevalence of natural gas heating.
Test every smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector in the home in the first week of ownership and replace any that are not functioning properly. These devices are inexpensive and the investment is not optional.
Address any structural safety items, such as securing loose handrails, repairing exterior steps, or fixing gates that do not latch properly, in the first few weeks of ownership rather than letting them sit as deferred items.
Start a Home File and Organize Your Documents
Closing on a home generates a significant amount of documentation, and establishing an organized system for storing and accessing these documents in the first few days of homeownership saves significant time and frustration later.
Create a dedicated home file, whether physical or digital, that contains your closing documents, your title insurance policy, your homeowner’s insurance policy, your inspection report and any specialist inspection reports, documentation of any warranties transferred from the seller, and appliance manuals for any appliances included in the sale.
Add to this file any permits, warranties, or documentation for work you have done to the home since closing, and get in the habit of storing new home-related documents there as they accumulate.
When you eventually sell the home, this file becomes one of the most valuable things you can hand to a buyer, because documentation of permits, warranties, and maintenance history significantly increases buyer confidence and can smooth the transaction process.
Meet Your Neighbors
This one is not administrative or practical in the way the other items on this list are, but it is genuinely worth doing in the first week of homeownership.
Introduce yourself to your immediate neighbors. This is especially important in a Minnesota context, where neighbor relationships tend to be warm but reserved and where the first introduction often sets the tone for years of interactions.
Good neighbor relationships have practical value in homeownership. Your neighbors are the people most likely to notice if something looks wrong with your home while you are traveling. They are the people who can tell you the informal history of the neighborhood, including things that would have been useful to know before you bought. And in Minnesota’s winter, having neighbors who look out for each other, whether watching for ice dams, checking in after a major storm, or simply helping push a car that has gotten stuck, genuinely matters to the experience of living in a community.
Handle Administrative Changes Immediately
The administrative tasks that accompany a change of address are easier to address immediately after closing rather than letting them accumulate.
File a change of address with the United States Postal Service to ensure your mail is forwarded from your previous address. Update your address with your employer, your bank and financial institutions, your insurance providers, your subscriptions and services, and any government agencies including the Minnesota Department of Revenue for tax purposes and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety for your driver’s license.
Register your vehicle at your new address with the Minnesota Department of Motor Vehicles if your address change crosses registration boundaries, and update your voter registration to your new address through the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office.
These administrative tasks are individually small but collectively significant, and completing them promptly prevents the frustration of discovering months later that important mail or notifications have been going to the wrong address.
Understand Your Homestead Exemption in Minnesota
Minnesota offers a homestead classification for property tax purposes that reduces the effective property tax rate on a home that is the owner’s primary residence. To receive the homestead classification, you need to apply through the county assessor’s office in the county where your home is located.
In most Minnesota counties, you can apply for homestead classification online through the county’s website, and the application is straightforward. The deadline for applying to receive the homestead classification for the current tax year varies by county, so confirming the specific deadline for your county promptly after closing ensures you do not miss the window.
Missing the homestead exemption deadline means paying the higher non-homestead property tax rate until the following year when you can reapply, which can represent a meaningful financial cost for something that takes only a few minutes to address.
Plan for Minnesota’s Seasons From Day One
Minnesota’s climate means that certain home maintenance tasks have seasonal deadlines that new homeowners sometimes miss in their first year simply because they did not know the schedule.
In the fall, which arrives quickly after a Minnesota summer, gutters need cleaning, exterior faucets need to be shut off and drained to prevent freezing, and the furnace needs to be serviced and filters changed before the heating season begins. Depending on when you close, some of these tasks may be immediately relevant.
In the spring, a thorough walkthrough of the exterior is warranted to assess any damage that winter may have caused, including ice dam-related water damage, cracked exterior surfaces from freeze-thaw cycles, and drainage issues that may have developed over the winter.
Understanding this seasonal maintenance rhythm in your first year of ownership prevents the unpleasant discovery of issues that have been developing for months before you noticed them.
Common Mistakes New Homeowners Make in the First Few Weeks
Not changing the locks immediately, which is the single most common and most easily avoidable security oversight.
Failing to transfer utilities before closing and arriving to a home without service, which in a Minnesota winter can create an emergency situation within hours.
Not locating the water main shut-off until a pipe emergency requires it, which in a panic situation creates additional damage and stress that advance preparation would have prevented.
Missing the homestead exemption application deadline, which results in paying the higher non-homestead property tax rate for a full year.
Ignoring safety items from the inspection report because the excitement of moving in overshadows the less exciting maintenance tasks.
Not starting a home file, which creates organizational challenges for years of subsequent homeownership.
Practical Tips for New Homeowners
Make a specific checklist before closing day that includes the first twenty-four hours, the first week, and the first month tasks so nothing gets lost in the excitement of the move.
Schedule the lock change before your move-in date so a locksmith or your own new locks are ready to go the day you take possession.
Set a reminder to apply for your homestead exemption before the county deadline, which you can find on your county assessor’s website.
Take your inspection report out and read it again after you move in, since many buyers find that the findings make much more sense after they have had a chance to walk through the home as the owner and see the items in context.
Frequently Asked Questions
How quickly should I change my locks after closing?
Immediately. The day you take possession of the home and ideally before your first night there. This is the single most important security step in the first day of homeownership.
Do I need to apply for a homestead exemption in Minnesota?
Yes. The homestead classification for property tax purposes requires an application through your county assessor’s office. It is not automatic simply because you occupy the home as your primary residence.
What is the most important safety item to address first?
Smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, followed by any structural safety items noted in your inspection report. These items directly affect the safety of everyone living in your home and should not be deferred.
When should I change my furnace filter after moving in?
Check it immediately. If the home has been vacant for any period or if you do not know when it was last changed, replace it when you move in. Going forward, filters in Minnesota homes with forced air heating should typically be checked monthly and replaced every one to three months depending on the filter type and your specific home.
How long does it take to complete all the first-week homeownership tasks?
Most of the critical first-day tasks including lock change, utility setup confirmation, safety device testing, and shut-off location take only a few hours. The broader first-week tasks including documentation walkthrough, home file setup, and administrative changes can be completed in a weekend with focused effort.
Should I do a walkthrough of my new home before the movers arrive?
Absolutely. Walking through the home with fresh eyes before your belongings fill the space gives you the clearest possible view of the condition, the systems, and the layout, and it is the best time to do your initial documentation walkthrough and locate all the critical systems.
Final Thoughts
The buyer in Burnsville called me back a week after closing.
She had changed her locks on day one, transferred her utilities, located every shut-off in the house, applied for her homestead exemption, and introduced herself to three of her neighbors. She had a home file started, a photo record of every room, and a seasonal maintenance calendar set up on her phone.
“I feel like an actual homeowner,” she said. “Not just someone who signed a lot of papers.”
That feeling of genuine ownership, of knowing your home and being ready to care for it responsibly, starts in the first week. The steps that build it are not glamorous. But they matter.
Lesley The Realtor helps Minnesota buyers navigate not just the path to closing but the practical realities of what comes after, with guidance that continues beyond the moment you get your keys.
Visit https://dreamhomesminnesota.com/ to start the conversation.