Device Advice

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Real Estate

DEVICE ADVICE

Emilia Benton

When you’ve bought a house, it’s easy to feel like the hard part is done. You finally saved up for that down payment, made an offer, and closed the deal. Now it’s time to celebrate before packing up and moving in, right? h You may be bringing along staples like furniture, linens, and kitchenware from your current living situation – even if most of it is secondhand or has seen better days. But it’s easy to be caught off guard by other expenses that you discover you need right away. You may be dreaming of a comfier couch or a dining table, but it may make sense to focus on these time-sensitive purchases first.

A lawn mower

While not the most fun home-related purchase, a lawn mower is a significant cost (often up to $2,000 if you’re looking at riding ones). And, even if you haven’t moved in yet, your new lawn is growing as we speak, which means you need to bite the bullet on this expense sooner rather than later.

If you don’t mind a little more work, or you don’t have too much lawn to tend to, go for a push mower over a self-propelled one, and you can save a couple hundred dollars.

Your homeowner’s association likely has specific requirements, too, so you’ll definitely need to stay on top of lawn care.

Non-fixture appliances You may be lucky enough that you found a home that was already equipped with top-of-the line appliances. However, non-fixture appliances like refrigerators and a washer and dryer often aren’t included in a purchase contract. Food and clean clothes are basic things you’ll need right away, so you really can’t procrastinate here. These are big-ticket items so double check whether you need an electric or gas hookup before adding it to your shopping cart.

Window fixtures

Blinds or shades are often something you take for granted when renting, since they’re pretty much always there when you move in. However, whether or not they’re included in a home purchase depends on what type they are.

Because blinds and shades are typically attached to a window, they’re considered fixtures and are left behind by the previous owners. Meanwhile, drapes or curtains that you affix to a rod are viewed as personal property, and therefore something that won’t come with a new home.

It may depend on how many windows you have and how customized your project ends up being, but according to HomeAdvisor, the cost of a window treatment can range from $115 to nearly $2,000.

A router

In today’s day and age, good Wi-Fi is a must for most people, as we toggle between a million browser tabs and stream all of the shows. And during the current COVID-19 pandemic, it’s a necessity for working from home.

A good router will give you the most optimal performance for your devices. We love the D-Link DIR-878, which will set you back about $200.

Now that you also likely have more square footage to work with, or you have a partner and kids who are using devices throughout the day, you may even want to consider going for a mesh router.

Security cameras

With lots of improved features, security cameras have quickly evolved into a must-have item. They can give you peace of mind as you monitor your home from your personal devices – whether you’re on your couch, at work, or on vacation. You can quickly alert the police if you need to, or simply ask a neighbor to hold on to a delivered package if you can’t get to it quickly.

Among the best indoor security cameras we’ve tested, the Logitech Circle 2 has both a well-designed app and wire-free setup and costs around $250, though we also recommend the Yi Dome Camera 720p as a more budget-friendly option around $100. When it comes to the outdoors, we’re fans of Google’s Nest Cam, which comes to a total of $200, and then a little bit more per year if you opt for some extra perks with the premium subscription.

Smar t lock

Once you have the keys to your new home in your hands, you’ll be swapping them out for a new set of your own, anyway. Changing your locks should be one of the first things you do as a new homeowner, and, unsurprisingly, you have options there, too.

You might want to consider a smart lock, as it comes with the ability to lock and unlock your door from anywhere, and to set individual keypad codes for guests and visitors.

We love the $250 Schlage Encode for its easy set-up and recurring passcodes you can create for your babysitter who only drops by on Thursday nights.

A fire extinguisher and smoke alarms

As a tenant, you don’t have to put much thought into fire safety, as your landlord or management will typically take care of that to meet their own legal requirements.

However, you likely won’t find a fire extinguisher in your new house, and it should be at the top of your list since it’s a matter of your own health and safety. Our top picks for putting out small and medium fires cost up to $75, and are easy to handle even if you’re unfamiliar with them.

As far as smoke detectors, you may want to replace the units yourself, and keep in mind that there won’t be someone else regularly inspecting them to make sure they’re properly installed and functioning.

You can choose either battery-operated or hardwired options for the Nest Protect, our best smart smoke detector that monitors for both smoldering and fast-burning fires and also sends notifications to your phone. At $120 each, they also have a built-in carbon monoxide alarm.

Vacuum

When you’re dealing with more square footage, you’ll quickly see that regularly cleaning them is a must, and a tried-and-true vacuum can make the task much easier. Some of the very best we’ve tested, from cordless to canister, reach up to four figures, but we have plenty of affordable recommendations, too. For $100, you can nab the Bissell CleanView, which performed well across the board in our lab tests.

You may also find that you want to purchase multiple vacuums depending on how many surfaces you’re dealing with – from carpeting to area rugs and hardwood – or if you’ll be cleaning up a lot of pet hair. In that case, consider the Shark NV752, which at $300 can handle cat and dog hair, and also easily navigate stairways and under furniture.

Toolbox

Once you’ve moved into the world of homeownership, you’ll no longer have a landlord on call to make repairs. You’ll want to have a well-stocked toolbox (with essentials like a screwdriver and hammer) on hand for this, as well as to install new fixtures, frames, hanging plants, and other decor.

Our favorite starter kit, Stanley Mechanics Tools Kit, covers most of the basics and will cost you about $60.


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