Checklist for Closing When Buying Your Crested Butte Home

This is an exciting time as you approach closing and taking possession of your new Crested Butte dream home! In an effort to help my client’s purchase process go a smoothly as possible, I provide them with a list of the local utilities, and recommendations on property managers and service providers along with contact info. Here is my Checklist for Closing when buying your Crested Butte home.

Transferring Utilities

Contact utilities and put them in your name effective the day of closing. Electric, natural gas or propane, water/sewer, trash, telephone, TV/Internet.

Transfer the water well into your name. You will typically sign this transfer form at closing by the title company, but if not, you will want to do this yourself.

Setting Up Services

Have you hired a property manager to watch after your home when you are not there? Now is a good time, as there will be many initial tasks that a local property manager can help you with, including the items below.

It’s a good idea to ask the seller for their list of service providers for contractors, snow removal, and landscaping. These people know your home, and it is a good idea to consider using them. Your property manager may also do some of this work, or have a preferred list of service providers.

You will also need to set up something for mail and package delivery. This may sound strange, but the US postal mail is usually not delivered to your Crested Butte home. Commonly, you will need to rent a PO box if you want to receive mail in your mountain town. FedEx and UPS will deliver to your home. However, if a signature is required and you are in Texas, the item may be returned. Yes, this can all be problematic when purchasing things online and you don’t know how they will ship, but packages that end up on your front porch can be put inside by your property manager.

Who to Contact

Be sure to get contact information for your new HOA so you can get them your contact info. This way you can be notified about meetings and get your monthly or quarterly dues invoices emailed to you. You can also get a list of your new neighbors, etc.

Contact your security system service provider to set up phone numbers and codes. Double check that the system has water detectors, temperature sensors and water main shut-off capability. If not, add this! Water detectors and temperature sensors can be an early warning system to help prevent expensive damage to your vacant home. They provide alerts to you or your property manager and can trip the water valve to shut off your water. The last thing you want when arriving on vacation is to find your house has suffered water damage.

It’s a good idea to contact local movers and storage units as well. Local muscle can be very helpful to move furniture around, especially if you are going to paint, put in new floors, or remodel. It’s a good idea to store stuff temporarily in your garage or a storage unit if you have plans for work to be done. My Checklist for Closing when buying your Crested Butte home comes with a list of recommendations for service providers and a list of contact details for who you will need to call.

When you move into your dream Crested Butte home, don’t expect it to be spotless. The house will probably be broom swept clean, but you may want a “deep cleaning” done. You could do it yourself but it’s probably easier to contact a cleaning service.

Check What’s in the Home

The final part of the Checklist for Closing when buying your Crested Butte home is the physical things inside the home you will want to check up on. You and/or your inspector or property manager will do a final walk-through. Here you should inspect items that were to be fixed and ensure furniture items and appliances are there per the detailed list.

Also make sure you have keys, codes to the gate, garage, security system, and openers for the gate and garage. You will then probably want to change the locks for the home, building, owner’s closet and anything else. It’s also recommended to change the codes for everything.

Most sellers will leave all the instruction manuals for the appliances and such in the home. If they don’t, these can be easily found on the Internet by looking up the brand and model. More important, though, is to ask the seller for a narrative of the operation of the home. There are many peculiarities to every home, and while not required, it is a nice touch for a seller to provide this. Some common examples may be when the irrigation system water should be blown out in the fall and how to do this, or which company the seller has used to do this in the past. Another example may be what temperatures to set the various in-floor heat zones in the home. Typically, the top floors will be set to cooler temperatures than the lower floors since the heat will rise in the home.

Many fully furnished homes will have linens, towels and kitchen items. But you don’t want to sleep your first night in your home in a sleeping bag on the floor and take a shower with no towel, so make sure.

Checklist for Closing When Buying Your Crested Butte Home Final Thoughts

I hope you see the level of detail and time and effort I put into this candid article Checklist for Closing When Buying Your Crested Butte Home.  I have become a Top Real Estate Agent in Crested Butte by helping my clients to make informed decisions. Some decisions are not always easy.

This is representative of what you can expect from me as your agent.

If you need more information on closing and what needs to be done before and after closing – contact me directly to discuss.

Thanks,
Chris.

How can I help you?

I have over 30 years of sales and marketing experience and am a top real estate agent in the mountain town of Crested Butte, Colorado representing affluent clients who are buying and selling their homes and properties. To see featured properties or search the MLS – visit chriskopf.com.

How is the Crested Butte Market doing?  Click this link to see my monthly Crested Butte Real Estate Market Reports.

Get your Free Copy of my Book – The Complete Guide To BUYING Your Mountain Dream Home

Chris Kopf
Broker / Owner
Global Luxury Property Specialist
Coldwell Banker Mountain Properties
chris@chriskopf.com
(970) 209-5405