New Homeowner Maintenance Checklist: Your First Year
5 min read · Updated 2026-07-07
Nobody teaches you this at closing. You get keys, a mortgage, and a vague fear of the water heater. Here is the first year, organized: what to do immediately, what becomes a monthly rhythm, and the recurring schedule that prevents the expensive surprises.
Week one: learn your house
Find the main water shutoff and test that it turns (this is the single most important thing in this article — in a burst-pipe moment, minutes matter). Find the electrical panel and label unlabeled breakers as you discover them. Find the gas shutoff if applicable. Locate the water heater and note its age from the serial number. Change the HVAC filter and note the size — tape a spare to the unit. Test every smoke and CO detector. Change the locks.
Month one: set the baseline
Read your inspection report again — it is a pre-written to-do list everyone forgets after closing. Walk the exterior: grading should slope away from the foundation, downspouts should discharge several feet out. Check the attic once after a hard rain for any daylight or staining. Start a maintenance record for the house and each vehicle — whatever you use, start it now while everything is fresh, because in three years you will not remember when anything was done.
The recurring rhythm (what to put on the calendar)
Monthly: HVAC filter check, and a 5-minute look under sinks and around the water heater base. Quarterly: test detectors, run water in unused drains. Twice a year: deep-clean gutters (spring/fall), service heating/cooling before its heavy season, check caulk and weatherstripping. Yearly: flush the water heater, clean the dryer vent duct, service the garage door, inspect the roof from the ground.
The tasks are easy. The timing is the hard part — which is why a schedule you do not have to remember beats any list. Maintain That! seeds this exact starter schedule automatically when you add your home, then reminds you as each item comes due.
Never think about this schedule again
Maintain That! builds your home, vehicle, and equipment maintenance schedule automatically, reminds you before things come due, and keeps every receipt with the record.
Frequently asked questions
What should a new homeowner do first?
Find and test the main water shutoff, label the electrical panel, test smoke/CO detectors, change the HVAC filter, and change the locks — all in week one.
How much should I budget for home maintenance?
A common rule of thumb is 1–2% of the home’s value per year (or about $1 per square foot). You will not spend it evenly — quiet years fund the year the roof needs work.
Is my home inspection report useful after buying?
Extremely. It is a professional, house-specific to-do list. Re-read it 30 days in and turn every "monitor" and "recommend repair" into a scheduled task.
What home maintenance is most commonly forgotten?
Dryer vent duct cleaning, water heater flushes, and fall gutter cleaning — none are hard, all are purely a remembering problem.