Moving Into A New Home Checklist
There’s a lot of work involved in buying your new home, from finding it in the first place to arranging your mortgage, dealing with conveying and waiting to finally be able to celebrate the biggest purchase you’ve ever made.
That relief and excitement at this new stage of your life is a great feeling, but even then there’s still a lot of work ahead of you before you can actually settle into your new house and enjoy everything that made you want to buy it in the first place.
Yes, you’ve got to move out of your existing home and move into your new one. But don’t worry, we’ve created this moving house checklist of everything you need to know and everything you need to do to make this move as painless as possible.
The Moving House Checklist (Before You Move)
Once you’ve celebrated completing your purchase (congratulations, by the way!) it’s time to get preparing for the move. Here’s what you need to be doing in the countdown to the big day:
2 months before
- Give notice to your landlord – If you’re currently renting, once you’ve got your moving-in date confirmed, you need to let your landlord know when you’ll be moving out. Your contract will tell you exactly how to do this correctly, so be sure to follow the right procedures to avoid trouble further down the line. Make sure you check your notice period at this point and get confirmation of when you will be stopping your rent payments.
- Unleash your inner Marie Kondo – Even if you’re moving into a bigger home than where you’re currently living, the moving process will run a lot more smoothly if you’ve decluttered beforehand. You don’t want to be taking a lot of excess possessions with you to your new home so this is the perfect time to find out just how many things you own spark joy and get rid of the rest.
- Do your research into the new area – You’ll have done a lot of this while deciding whether to move there, but before you actually make that move is a good opportunity to follow up on the useful details that you’ll need to know when you live there. As well as being helpful in those early days post-move (where to go to when you realise you’ve run out of milk, etc), it’s a nice way to keep your excitement levels up.
- Contact suppliers – This essential job is definitely not the most exciting part of moving house but you need to make sure your utility suppliers (gas, electricity, phone and broadband) know that you’re moving out of your current home so that you don’t get charged after that exact date. You may decide to stay with the same suppliers and move the contract over to the new address, so it’s crucial you start this process as soon as possible. Either way, it’s likely they’ll ask for a final reading of your gas and electricity meters before your moving date.
- Arrange school moves – If you have children and they will need to move schools because you’re going to a new area, this needs to be set in motion straight away. You’ll need to contact the local authority to arrange this, unless the new school is a free school or academy.
1 month before
- Hire a removal company – Unless you’re travelling light between your old and new homes, you’ll need a removal company to transport your possessions and furniture. You can find a reputable company on The British Association of Removers If you decide to do it yourself, you’ll need to look into hiring a van and getting friends and family to help you with the loading and unloading. Either way, it’s best to look into this now to establish exactly what your removal costs before moving day.
- Start packing – When should you start packing for your move? If you’re someone who takes a long time packing for a holiday, it’s probably a sign that you should start early when it comes to packing away everything you own. At this stage there will clearly be many items that you’ll still need in the next month, so focus on the non-essential items first. Be sure to label all boxes with the room they will be going into in the new house, to make it easier at the other end. Also identify any particularly heavy or fragile boxes.
- Do the life admin – It isn’t just your energy and internet suppliers that you need to inform about your move. You’ll need to notify your employer and HMRC too for tax purposes and to make sure you don’t miss any crucial letters from either of them. Speaking of letters in general, you can arrange post redirection through the post office / Royal Mail. Another key task is informing the local council to register to vote at your new address. Then there’s insurance, and if you have home and/or contents insurance this will need updating. You may also want to take out insurance for your move to cover your belongings while in transit.
2 weeks before
- Get packing – Hopefully you’ll have made a start on packing your non-essentials already, but now is when you really need to knuckle down to sorting out the rest of your packing. Again, sort and label everything to ensure that you’re making it as easy as possible to find what you need in your new home.
- Plan ahead for after the move – As part of packing, you need to think about your first day and night in your new house. You won’t have had time to unpack and sort all of your possessions, so you need to make a list of everything you’ll need for that first night and make sure you know where it will be. Here’s a list of items to consider including:
- Kettle, mugs, tea, milk, coffee, sugar
- Cleaning products, plus vacuum cleaner and bin bags
- Phone and laptop chargers
- Loo roll, kitchen roll
- Duvet and bedding for the first night
- Temporary furniture - deck chairs etc.
- Television or radio
1 week before
- Confirm everything – Moving home is a big operation and not a time for making assumptions. Instead, be over-cautious and confirm the details with everyone involved, particularly the moving company so that you know exactly when they will be coming. The last thing you need on the big day is to be left waiting for the van because of a mix-up. Our customer service team will make sure you know all the details you need to know to arrange your arrival in your new home.
- Make sure you’re leaving your old home in good shape – Moving into a new home means not having to deal with any issues left for you by previous owners, so it’s only fair that you consider the next people to live in your existing home. Fix any scratches, nail holes and marks so that they don’t have any immediate DIY to sort when they move in. If you’re renting, you’ll need to arrange a final walkthrough with your landlord at this point.
- Take care of the last essentials – Amongst the most important things you’ll pack are your important documents, so be sure to keep them in a separate box or bag that you keep with you.
The New House Checklist (After You’ve Moved)
- Meet your new neighbours – At Laurus Homes we build communities, so while your first days after moving in can be hectic as you start to unpack and make your new home your own, don’t forget to take the time to say ‘hi’ to your new neighbours. Moving into a new development means that everyone else is new too, so you’re all on the same adventure together.
- Arrange a housewarming party – Assuming Government restrictions allow it, there’s no better way to celebrate your new home than to invite your close family and friends around for a party. Make sure you give yourself enough time to have settled in and unpacked first though, instead of immediately setting yourself a deadline. You’ve earned a break.
- Tidy up any last admin – Now that you’ve moved in, it’s even more important to make sure that everyone who needs to know about the move has been informed and has your new contact details. Here’s a list:
- Friends and family members (so Christmas cards don’t go to your old house)
- Utility companies (water, gas and electricity suppliers)
- Local doctor, dentist and vet (if you have a pet)
- Electoral roll / register
- Broadband (internet connection) and phone line
- Insurance companies
- HMRC
- DVLA
- Banks and building societies
- Local council (for council tax, etc)
- Your employers
- Any other products or services you subscribe to (ie, magazines, milk, etc)
THE BOTTOM LINE
Hopefully this new house checklist comes in handy! At the very least, our hope is that it helps you both outline and prioritise your to-do list when you’re moving house.
After you’ve moved in to your new house, our customer services team will be happy to help with any questions you may have. Moving home can be a stressful experience, even with all of the preparation we’ve recommended here, but the more organised you can be upfront, the better chance you have of avoiding any major stresses along the way.
One last very important tip we have for you is that you need to take time for yourselves in amongst all of this. So when you’ve arrived in your new home and the movers have left, find that box of essentials, unpack the kettle and make yourselves a brew. You’re in your amazing new home and while there might still be a lot of unpacking to do, it’s time to relax for a moment and take it all in.
Welcome home!
