Moving Into Your New Home
It is exciting to move into a new home, but it’s also a lot of work. Hiring movers is extremely helpful, but there is more involved than simply moving furniture.
The first step should be to get all the utilities set up or transferred into your name. The seller will close their accounts for water, gas, and electricity. It is important to make sure those stay on, especially in cold weather. Coordinate with the seller to transfer accounts if you plan to use the same utility provider.
Second, change the exterior door locks, because you don’t know who has keys to the house. A locksmith can often rekey the existing locks with new keys, so you won’t have to install all new hardware.
Check the smoke/carbon monoxide detectors and replace the batteries. Don’t set yourself up to need to find a smoke detector in the middle of the night in an unfamiliar house if the battery goes out and starts beeping incessantly. Batteries seem to fail at 3am. Learn where they are as soon as you move in.
Change your address with all your accounts, especially banks, financial institutions, and government agencies such as Social Security, so your private information doesn’t accidentally end up in the hands of your old home’s new owners. Also, make sure to change your address with your healthcare provider, life insurance, voter registration, the IRS, and your employer. Be aware that mail forwarding takes an additional two weeks or more to receive.
If you have the luxury of waiting to move into the house, it is a good idea to get it professionally cleaned and painted before moving in. Both cleaning and painting are much easier to do in an empty house, and the results will be more thorough.
Use that excitement to get to work on moving. It is exhausting to move, but it is also important to take care of everything as quickly as possible.
John C. Bennett is a real estate closing attorney and owner of Origin Title and Escrow, Inc.. Since 2003, Origin Title has handled real estate transactions – purchases, refinances, reverse mortgages – quickly and professionally. There will be no surprises, nothing misunderstood. Title searches are thorough and well-reasoned, to avoid unpleasant surprises later down the road. Calculate your closing costs in Georgia or Florida using our calculator or contact Origin Title using this form.