What do you do after a home inspection?
Updated August 2026
The first 90 days in a new-to-you home have a clear order: rekey or replace every lock, find and test the main water and gas shutoffs and the electrical panel, change the HVAC filters, test every smoke and CO alarm, and fix the inspection report's safety items first. Then turn the report into a schedule: its noted system ages tell you which items (roof, water heater, HVAC) to budget to replace, and roughly when.
| Task | Interval | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Rekey or replace every exterior lock | Move-in | $50–300 |
| Locate the main water and gas shutoffs | Day one | 20 min · DIY |
| Find and label the electrical panel breakers | Day one | 30 min · DIY |
| Task | Interval | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Replace all HVAC filters | Week one | $10–30 |
| Test every smoke and CO alarm, note ages | Week one | 15 min · DIY |
| Fix the report's safety items first | Week one | Varies |
| Task | Interval | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Flush the water heater, check its age on the report | First month | 45 min · DIY |
| Build a maintenance calendar from system ages | First 90 days | 1 hr · DIY |
What neglect costs
The trap after closing is treating the inspection report as paperwork that ended at the sale. It is actually a dated map of every system's remaining life, and ignoring it means getting surprised by the failures it predicted. A water heater the report flagged at 11 years fails and floods a finished basement; a roof noted at 22 years starts leaking the first hard winter. Worse are the safety items, an ungrounded outlet, a missing GFCI, a gas leak, a cracked heat exchanger, that are cheap now and dangerous ignored. Turn the report into a schedule with the home maintenance checklist.
Leave these to a pro
Prioritize pros by risk from the report, not by what annoys you first. Electrical hazards (double-tapped breakers, missing GFCIs, aluminum wiring) and any gas or carbon-monoxide finding go to a licensed electrician or plumber immediately, often $150–500 per visit. Have a roofer or HVAC tech quote the big-ticket items the report dated so you can budget: a roof runs $8,000–20,000 and an HVAC system $5,000–12,000, and knowing you are three years out beats finding out in a storm. Rekeying is a $50–150 locksmith call if you would rather not do it yourself.
This whole checklist ships as reminders in OnOtto: every task above, on the right schedule for your home, snooze-proof.
Load this checklist as remindersFrequently asked questions
What should I do first after buying a house?
Handle security and safety before anything cosmetic. Rekey or replace all exterior locks, since you have no idea how many keys are out there, and locate the main water shutoff, the gas shutoff, and the electrical panel so you can kill a leak or a fault fast. Then change the HVAC filters, test every smoke and CO alarm, and knock out the inspection report's safety items. Only after those are done should you move on to paint, fixtures, and the rest of the wish list.
Should I change the locks on a house I just bought?
Yes, and treat it as day-one, non-negotiable. Previous owners, agents, contractors, cleaners, dog walkers, and neighbors may all hold keys, and you cannot know how many copies exist. Rekeying the existing hardware runs about $50–150 for a locksmith, or roughly $15–20 per lock as a DIY rekey kit if the brand supports it; full replacement with new hardware costs more. Do not forget the garage keypad code, any smart-lock user codes, and the door from the garage into the house.
How do I use the inspection report after closing?
Read it as a maintenance plan, not a closed chapter. It lists the approximate age and condition of every major system, so use those ages to build a calendar: a 10-year-old water heater and a 20-year-old roof both go on the near-term budget, while newer items get routine service reminders. Address the flagged safety and deferred-maintenance items first, then schedule the recurring tasks (filters, gutters, water-heater flush) so nothing lapses. The report basically tells you what will fail and roughly when.
Does the seller have to fix everything on the report?
No. A home inspection is informational, not a repair mandate, and outside of specific safety or lender-required items, sellers are generally not obligated to fix what it finds. Repairs are negotiated during the contingency period, often as a credit or price reduction rather than actual work, and many homes sell as-is. So expect to inherit a list of open items at closing, which is exactly why you work through them yourself in the first 90 days, safety first, then by cost and urgency.