Closing day is the finish line for the build and the starting line for everything else.
The first week in a new construction home is different from moving into a resale. Nothing has a history. No previous owner left you a note about which breaker runs the garage. On the other hand, everything is under warranty, everything is new, and a handful of things you do in the first seven days will save you real trouble in month eleven.
Here is the list we give our buyers, in the order it actually matters.
What Should You Do the First Week in a New Construction Home?
In the first week, locate the main water shutoff and breaker panel, set up utility accounts, register manufacturer warranties for the HVAC, water heater and appliances, change your address, and start a running list of small warranty items rather than calling about each one. File for your homestead exemption before the county deadline.
Everything below expands on those six things.
Day One: Walk the House Before the Boxes Come In
You had a walkthrough before closing. Do a quieter version once the house is yours and empty, because an empty house shows you things a furnished one hides.
Find and photograph these five things:
- The main water shutoff
- The breaker panel, and label anything that is not already labeled
- The HVAC filter location and its size
- The water heater and its settings
- The irrigation controller, if you have one
Then open and close every window and door, run every faucet, and flip every switch. Ten minutes of this in an empty house finds more than an hour of it later, and anything you find goes on your warranty list rather than into a phone call.
Take photos of the walls before furniture arrives too. If a drywall seam shows up in month eight, a picture of that wall on day one is a useful thing to have.
Set Up Your Utilities and City Services
Some of this happens before closing, but the pieces that get missed are usually the city ones.
In Broken Arrow, the city bills water, sanitary sewer, refuse, stormwater, streetlight and LifeRide together on one monthly statement, and new customers can start service through the city’s utility billing office or its online portal. The city notes a $30 non-refundable initiation fee on the first statement and a $100 refundable residential deposit.
Electric and natural gas come from separate companies. In this metro that is Public Service Company of Oklahoma for electricity and Oklahoma Natural Gas for gas, and both need to be in your name as of closing day, not the day you move furniture.
Other cities we build in handle billing differently, so confirm which services come from the city and which do not for your specific address. Trash pickup day is worth asking about while you are on the phone.
Register Your Warranties in the First Week
This is the step most likely to be skipped and most likely to matter.
Your Capital Homes home comes with a one-year builder-backed limited warranty covering defects in workmanship and materials. That coverage is ours and it starts at closing; nothing is required from you to activate it.
Manufacturer warranties are different. The HVAC system, water heater, and appliances each carry their own coverage from their own manufacturer, and registering them at closing is what activates full coverage and puts you on the list for recall notices. That registration is on you, it takes about twenty minutes, and it is genuinely difficult to reconstruct two years later when something fails.
While you are at it, find your Homeowners Service Handbook. It came with your closing packet and it contains the full warranty terms, maintenance schedules, and seasonal care guidance for your specific home. Put it somewhere you will find it in eleven months.
Our complete guide to what the warranty covers, how long it lasts, and how to use it has the full picture.
Start a Warranty List, Not a Warranty Call
Some settling in the first year is normal and expected. Drywall seams show, doors stop latching cleanly, trim separates slightly at the joints. None of that means anything went wrong. It means a house made of wood is drying out and moving in an Oklahoma climate.
The efficient way to handle it is a running list rather than a call every time you notice something. Note what the issue is, where it is, and when you first saw it. Then submit them together.
Non-urgent items batch well. Urgent ones do not, and anything involving heating, cooling, plumbing or electrical after hours has emergency contact information in your warranty book.
To submit a request, use the form on our Customer Care page or email warranty@capitalhomes.com. Our office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and you can call or text (918) 630-9633 or (918) 612-8025.
One thing worth knowing up front: the builder warranty covers defects, not routine maintenance or damage from alterations. Replacing a filter is yours. A door that will not latch is ours.
File for Your Homestead Exemption
This one has a deadline, and missing it costs you a year.
Oklahoma’s homestead exemption removes $1,000 of assessed valuation from your primary residence. The Tulsa County Assessor puts the resulting savings at roughly $91 to $142 a year depending on where in the county you live.
The requirements are specific:
- You must be the homeowner of record living on the property by January 1.
- The deed must be notarized on or before January 1 and filed with the County Clerk on or before February 1.
- Applications must arrive no later than March 15 to take effect for that tax year.
- You do not have to reapply every year, but you do have to file again if you move or change the deed.
File late and it takes effect the following year instead. If your new home is in Wagoner, Rogers or another county, that county’s assessor handles its own filings, so check which office covers your address.
First-Week Maintenance That Actually Matters
A new home needs less maintenance than an older one, but a few things start on day one.
Learn your HVAC filter schedule. Find the size, buy a few, and set a reminder. This is the single most common cause of preventable service calls.
Expect the system to behave differently than your last house. Every Capital Homes home is built with spray foam insulation as standard and is HERS-certified for energy efficiency. A tighter envelope means the system cycles differently and holds temperature longer than you may be used to. That is normal.
Water the sod. New sod and new landscaping need consistent water to establish, and this is the most common thing new owners underdo in the first month.
Watch the yard after the first heavy rain. Note where water sits and where it runs. Grading questions are much easier to raise in year one than in year three.
Test the safety hardware. Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and the garage door’s auto-reverse sensors. Two minutes each.
For seasonal specifics in this climate, our guide to severe weather readiness in new construction covers what your home is built to handle.
Change Your Address Everywhere It Matters
Start with the official USPS change of address, then work through the list that mail forwarding does not cover: driver’s license, voter registration, vehicle registration, banks, insurance, employer payroll, and any subscription that ships you something.
Confirm your homeowners policy is active as of your closing date rather than your move-in date. Those are frequently not the same day, and the gap is the part people miss.
Your First Week at a Glance
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Walk the empty house, photograph walls, locate shutoff, panel, filter, water heater |
| Days 1 to 2 | Confirm electric, gas, water and trash accounts are active in your name |
| Days 2 to 3 | Register manufacturer warranties for HVAC, water heater and appliances |
| Days 3 to 5 | USPS change of address, license, registration, insurance, banks |
| Days 5 to 7 | Start the warranty list, test detectors and garage sensors, set the filter reminder |
| Within 30 days | Watch drainage after the first heavy rain; establish the sod |
| Before March 15 | File your homestead exemption with your county assessor |
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do first when moving into a new construction home?
Walk the empty house before furniture arrives and locate the main water shutoff, breaker panel, HVAC filter and water heater. Photograph the walls while they are bare. Then confirm utility accounts are active in your name and register the manufacturer warranties on the HVAC, water heater and appliances.
How long is the Capital Homes warranty?
Capital Homes provides a one-year builder-backed limited warranty covering defects in workmanship and materials, backed directly by Capital Homes rather than a third-party insurer. Individual components such as the HVAC system, water heater and appliances carry separate manufacturer warranties with their own terms.
Is drywall cracking normal in a new home?
Minor drywall seam movement, doors that stop latching cleanly, and slight trim separation are normal during the first year as a new home settles and materials adjust to the climate. These are typically covered warranty items. The efficient approach is to keep a running list and submit them together rather than calling about each one.
How do I submit a warranty request to Capital Homes?
Use the warranty ticket form on the Capital Homes Customer Care page or email warranty@capitalhomes.com. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and the customer care line is (918) 630-9633 or (918) 612-8025. After-hours emergencies involving heating, cooling, plumbing or electrical have separate contact information in your warranty book.
When is the homestead exemption deadline in Tulsa County?
Applications must arrive no later than March 15 to take effect for that tax year, and the homeowner must be the owner of record residing on the property by January 1, with the deed notarized by January 1 and filed with the County Clerk by February 1. Filings after the deadline take effect the following year.
Do I need to reapply for the homestead exemption every year?
No. Once granted, the exemption continues as long as you occupy the property. You do need to file again if you move to a different home or change the deed.
Which utilities do I need to set up in Broken Arrow?
The City of Broken Arrow bills water, sanitary sewer, refuse, stormwater, streetlight and LifeRide on one monthly statement. Electricity comes from Public Service Company of Oklahoma and natural gas from Oklahoma Natural Gas, both set up separately. Confirm the specific arrangement for your address, since it varies by city.
Welcome Home
The first week is busy, but most of what is on this list takes minutes rather than hours, and doing it now is what makes months two through twelve quiet.
If something is not right, tell us. That is what the first year is for, and our customer care team would rather hear about a small thing early than a large one late.
Questions about your new home? Reach our team through the Customer Care page, or call or text (918) 630-9633. And if someone you know is starting the process, our floor plans and Tulsa-area communities are a good place for them to begin.
