The One Email Every Homeowner Should Have

The second you close, set up a second gmail. Something dumb like 123mainst@gmail.com works fine.

Every time you touch the house, forward the receipt there. Roof, flooring, HVAC, a deck you finally build in year six. Anything that's a real improvement, not routine maintenance.

Why bother: those receipts raise your cost basis, which is the number the IRS uses to calculate your gain when you sell. Higher basis, lower taxable gain. It only matters if your profit is going to clear the $250K (single) or $500K (married) exclusion, but if you're in this price range, you'd rather have the folder and not need it.

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