Buying · Resources
You're under contract. Here's everything that still has to happen.
The offer was the hard part emotionally. What follows is the part where careless details cost real money — and where a checklist does more good than advice.
Free printable
Everything in this article is on a 4-page checklist you can print, put on the fridge, and check off as you go. Enter your email and it's yours.
Most buyers treat the accepted offer as the finish line. In practice, it's the starting gun on thirty to forty-five days of deadlines, paperwork, and one very specific fraud risk — followed by a first year of ownership where the small things you skip become the expensive things you fix.
None of this is complicated. It's just easy to forget when you're packing boxes and coordinating a move. So here it is in order, phase by phase.
Read this one twice: verify wiring instructions by phone.
Criminals monitor real estate email threads and send convincing "updated wiring instructions" in the final days before closing. The email looks right. The logo looks right. The account number is theirs.
Before you send a dollar, call the title company at a number you looked up independently — not one from the email — and confirm the instructions verbally. Money sent to a fraudulent account is frequently gone for good.
Contract to keys
Before closing.
- Call the title company at a number you looked up yourself before wiring a dollar — wire fraud is the single most expensive mistake in this process
- Review the Closing Disclosure and compare it to your Loan Estimate line by line
- Do the final walk-through and test every appliance, faucet, and outlet you can reach
- Confirm all agreed repairs were completed — get receipts where work was done
- Do not open new credit, finance furniture, or change jobs before funding
- Confirm homeowner's insurance is bound and effective on the closing date
The first 24 hours
Day one.
- Rekey or replace every exterior lock — you have no idea how many keys exist
- Test every smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector
- Find the main water shutoff, the electrical panel, and the gas shutoff before you need them
- Reset garage and alarm codes
- Put the closing packet somewhere safe — fireproof box, safe, or secure digital backup
Settling in
Week one.
- Transfer every utility into your name and confirm billing is live
- Update your mailing address, and your driver's license within 30 days as Utah requires
- Re-read the inspection report room by room and prioritize what actually needs attention
- Photograph every room and major system — date-stamped move-in condition is worth a lot later
- Write down appliance model and serial numbers with warranty dates
Getting ahead of it
Month one.
- File the Utah primary residential exemption with the county assessor — it can cut your taxable value substantially
- Change the HVAC filter and note the size on the furnace so you never guess again
- Start a home maintenance calendar and a repair fund
- Meet your neighbors — in a small town this is genuinely practical, not just polite
Protecting the investment
Year one and beyond.
- Service the HVAC twice a year, spring and fall
- Clean gutters after the leaves drop
- Inspect the roof after the first winter
- Flush the water heater annually
- Pump the septic every 3–5 years and test well water annually if your property has them
- Review your homeowner's insurance coverage against current rebuilding costs
A local note
In Juab County, the utilities question is different.
Buyers moving here from the Wasatch Front often assume city water, city sewer, and curbside everything. Plenty of properties around Nephi, Mona, Levan, and the outlying county run on a well, a septic system, secondary irrigation, or some combination — each with its own maintenance rhythm and its own cost when ignored.
If your new property has any of the three, put the maintenance dates on a calendar the week you move in. A septic pump-out is a few hundred dollars. A failed drain field is five figures.
Common questions
What buyers ask me at this stage.
Take it with you
Print the checklist and work it in order.
Four pages, every item above, with boxes to check. If something on it raises a question about your specific home, call or text me at 603-915-6884.
General educational content. Closing procedures, tax exemptions, and property systems vary. Speak with your title company, lender, county assessor, and a licensed Realtor about your specific situation.
