Moving house is a stressful time for anyone between buying, selling, packing, transporting and getting your new house sorted, you’ll likely find you don’t have a minute to rest. This can then lead to potentially forgetting about some of the most important things you have to do when you move, that’s why we’ve compiled a list of the most important things to do when moving house.
Security
Security must be considered; it is essential. Your home is always at risk of burglary no matter how safe the area you’re moving to is. Thieves are often aware of change going on at a house, if they see an opportunity for a lot of new, high-value items they may be more of a target. However, the perfect deterrent for thieves is a burglar alarm and CCTV cameras. Having these visible has proven as being enough to stop people from attempting break-ins. If anyone does attempt to break into your home, the alarms will be triggered meaning local authorities can act quickly to stop any damage. Furthermore, if you do have to file any home insurance reports you will have HD CCTV footage. Security is certainly one of the most important things to do when moving house. It may be best to call in the experts who can be found here.
Redirect Your Mail
This is especially important if you don’t know the people moving into your old home. You should ensure you don’t miss any post by using Royal Mail’s postal redirection service. You can get your mail redirected for up to a year but it does come at a cost. You should redirect your mail but ensure you update all your accounts with addresses, especially the ones who send you letters such as banks and insurance companies.
Walkthrough
You’ll likely have done a walkthrough of your house when you were viewing it before buying it but it is important to redo this once it is officially yours. You’ll have a different mindset, being more relaxed knowing the home is yours. This allows you to think more clearly about the house and picture it done up to your style. Plan colours, textures, furniture placement etc. so that when it comes to bringing in the furniture there are no more complications and everything can go exactly where planned. It will also be important to ensure all outlets, switches, windows and doors are in good, working order. If any are broken, it would be best to get them fixed before moving everything in and decorating.
Locate the Essentials
This is a very important thing to do when moving house. Find out where the water valve, fuse box and boilers are. These will likely be in a storage cupboard or basement but they can be anywhere in the house. There will almost certainly come a time you need to access these so ensure you know where they are so that you don’t have to move things out the way and have easy access when the inevitable time comes.
Change the Locks
Changing the locks in your new house is always a smart idea. You never know who could have a key, even if you have no concerns about the prior owner. Schedule a locksmith to visit the house or, if you feel confident doing it yourself, change the locks. This is unquestionably one of those situations when it is better to be safe than sorry. Rekey the locks on the windows and all internal and outdoor doors leading into your property. It’s a small price to pay for a lot of peace of mind.
Meet Your Neighbours
Everyone has heard horror stories about bad neighbours, but get off to the best possible start with your neighbours as soon as you can. You don’t want your first experience with them to be going round to their house at 2 am asking for the music to be turned down. If you introduce yourself and any circumstances such as a young child, they may be more considerate. They will also be able to help you find any reliable services you need in the area if you’ve moved far and got no contacts in the new location.
Child/Pet Proof
Not always top of the important things to do when moving house list, especially if you don’t have children or pets. But, you never know when things will change, or you offer to take care of someone else’s. The level of what you can do will differ depending on your circumstances, but ways to do this include, keeping breakables out of reach, covering up outlets, installing tamper-proof oven knobs, hiding wires for electricals, covering up holes and gaps in fences or hedges which could be used as an escape route. There are other ways you can ‘child/pet proof’ your home relative to your situation, but these are some of the more generic fixes.
