After renting for decades and saving up for years, your dream of homeownership is finally coming true. You close on your home next week, and you could not be more excited to move in and start making the place your own. To make the transition into homeownership as smooth as possible, consider the following words of advice:

Find a Great Handyperson

Unless you are a stellar DIYer who can tackle all sorts of jobs, consider finding a reliable handyperson who is trustworthy and can help with all sorts of home projects. Ideally, you want someone bonded and insured who can take care of anything from installing light fixtures and ceiling fans and repairing appliances to doing drywall repair and other issues that may come up in your new home. As for how to find this jack or jill of all trades, you can join neighborhood groups on social media and ask there, or you can ask your new neighbors.

Meet Your Neighbors

Getting to know your neighbors is a great thing to do once you are moved in. Smile and wave at people walking by with their dogs, and if you feel comfortable doing so, knock on the doors of the homes adjacent to yours and introduce yourself. Everyone has seen the For Sale sign on your lawn, and people are typically excited to meet the new kids on the block, so to speak. Having a good rapport with your neighbors will your new home that much more enjoyable, and it’s also nice to have people you can call if you need someone to take in your mail and newspaper when you are away.

Invest in a Home Monitoring System

You have put in a lot of time and effort to buy this awesome new home—now it’s time to protect it, your belongings, and your family with a smart home monitoring system that is both budget and user friendly. While you might be tempted to change the locks on your doors and call it a day, it is also wise to consider working with one of the home security companies in your area. A home security service can not only help with the installation of a home monitoring system, including cameras, smart locks, and more, but it will also offer an extra layer of security with professional monitoring.

Stay on Top of Regular Maintenance Chores

Your landlord may have taken care of many regular tasks and chores in your rental, but now it’s all on you. This is a good thing because it means you are now a proud homeowner, but it is also essential to stay on top of these chores so the various systems in your homework and they should. A good example of this is to change your furnace filter at least once every three months or every two weeks during renovation projects. If you have an HVAC unit, the filter should be changed every month to keep the cool air going during the summer. You may also need to regularly prune bushes and trees, clean out gutters, cover vents in the winter. If you have a pool, keep the chemicals well-balanced and the filter cleaned. Granted, you can have your handyperson help you with some of these chores, but it’s best to figure out what needs to be done and when and then create a schedule to help you keep on top of things.

Enjoy Your Home Sweet Home

You have worked so hard to achieve your goal of homeownership—you definitely deserve a lot of hearty congratulations. Now, by finding a handyperson, getting to know your neighbors, looking into a home monitoring system, and setting up a schedule of regular household chores, being a homeowner will be the wonderful experience you have always imagined it to be.