New Home

What to Record After Buying a House

November 7, 2026 • 7 min read

Closing week is the last time the house is still easy to document. The boxes are not unpacked, the paint colors have not been changed, and the seller’s paperwork is still in a folder on the counter. A month later, that folder is in a drawer you will not open until something leaks.

You do not need a perfect binder. You need the facts you cannot reconstruct from memory: what is installed, how to shut it off, and which papers came with the house.

The first weekend

Do this before you hang pictures. A phone is enough.

Find the shutoffs. Main water, water heater, furnace or boiler, electrical panel, and the gas shutoff if the house has gas. Photograph each one and write where it is. “Behind the furnace” is not a location you will remember at 11 p.m.
Photograph every appliance label. Refrigerator, range, dishwasher, microwave, washer, dryer, water heater, and the HVAC air handler. Brand, model, and serial number are what a repair tech and a warranty desk both ask for.
Note the filter size on the furnace or air handler before you throw the old filter away. Write it on the unit and in your notes.
Walk each room once and photograph anything the inspection called out: a stain, a cracked tile, a window that sticks. This is your baseline, not a punch list for the seller.

Paper that is worth keeping

Scan or photograph these and then put the originals somewhere dry. A photo of a document you can search later beats a folder you cannot find.

Home inspection report, and any repair invoices from before closing.
Seller disclosures and the list of what stayed with the house.
Manuals and warranty cards left in a kitchen drawer. Write the purchase or install date if the seller noted it. If they did not, record “installed before we bought, date unknown.”
Paint colors and brand, if a can or a sticker is still around.
Utility account numbers and the meter locations.
HOA rules, if they apply, especially anything about exterior changes.

Transferable warranties are the ones to read this month. Some appliance warranties follow the product. Some builder warranties follow the house and have a deadline. The card in the drawer is not the same thing as an active warranty. Check the dates.

Systems to name, even if you never open them

Give each major system its own record. You will add service history to that record later.

Heating and cooling, including the outdoor unit if there is one.
Water heater, and whether it is tank or tankless, gas or electric.
Electrical panel: photo of the directory, not a project to relabel every breaker on day one.
Roof, if you know the year it was replaced. If you do not, say so. A guess labeled as a fact will mislead you in ten years.
Sump pump, water softener, septic, or well equipment, if the house has them.
Garage door opener, with the number of remotes you actually received.

When one of these breaks, the useful question is whether another repair is worth it. The repair-or-replace guide is the later step. The first step is knowing the age and what you already spent.

The first month, not the first day

After the weekend walk, add the slower items when you touch them.

Change the HVAC filter and record the date. Put the next change on a reminder. The maintenance library has the recurring tasks most houses share.
Test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Write down how many there are and when the batteries were last replaced, if you can tell.
Run every sink, the dishwasher, and the washing machine once while you are home, and note leaks.
Start the insurance inventory with the appliances you already photographed. Add furniture and electronics as you unpack, not as a separate project.
Save contractor quotes from any work you commission in the first year. Those invoices are the start of the home’s service history.

What you can skip

Do not catalog every mug. Do not retype the inspection report. A photo of each page, or one PDF, is the record. Do not guess serial numbers you cannot see. A missing number is more honest than a wrong one, and you can add it the next time the appliance is pulled out.

If you are renting rather than buying, the same idea applies to your own belongings and to the condition of the unit. Use the apartment move-in checklist before the furniture goes in.

Start the house record this week

AruHome keeps appliances, documents, and maintenance on the phone. No account. One home and the inventory PDF are free. The App Store button opens AruHome directly.