Whether this is your first house move or one of many, the act of moving home never feels less stressful. This is especially the case if you have just emerged from a long conveyancing process. Our moving home checklist is the perfect way to get ahead of your house move and ensure settling into your new home goes smoothly.
Let’s discover everything you need to know by following our checklist when moving home.
Checklist When Moving Home
Before we take a deep dive, there are a few basics of moving home you must do. It’s important to remember your seller may not be as organised as you, so make sure you always plan for the unexpected.
The Basic Moving Home Checklist
- Double check your move date.
- Begin the dreaded spring clean and clear out any furniture, odds, and bits you don’t want to take with you.
- Contact utility suppliers and inform them of the move date.
- Grab some boxes from your local supermarket to pack and label your belongings.
- Clean your home! Remember, you will expect to be entering a clean property, so extend the same courtesy.
- Book a moving company.
What Happens if My Seller is Still in the Property When I Move?
Between the exchange and completion of your property purchase it is a great idea to contact your seller via your estate agent or directly. Build rapport with them as they are more likely to facilitate any moving needs you may have.
Most conveyancers stipulate vacant possession, but if you are unsure, raise this prior to exchanging contracts.
Unfortunately, sometimes you may encounter a disorganised or troublesome seller who hasn’t got their house in order. They may even still be in the property when you arrive with your removal van.
If this is the case and you have vacant possession stipulated in your exchanged contracts, your seller will be liable for costs such as accommodation and a storage facility. Contact your conveyancer in the first instance if this occurs.
Home Insurance When Moving Home
If you are buying a house with a mortgage, you are mandated to have a home insurance policy to meet the lender’s criteria. Normally home insurance when moving home is easy to arrange.
Most home insurance policies operate on an annual basis, and you may be due a refund of premium for any policy you have in place on your current property. If you pay your insurance monthly, contact your insurer and terminate your policy from the moving date.
You can also cancel your direct debit for subsequent payments to be doubly sure you are not charged for your old property.
TV License Moving Home
TV licensing has a bespoke service for anyone moving home that you will need to complete to avoid any double billing.
Remember, your TV license is registered to the property and not you personally, so it doesn’t move with you unless you update your details with the TV license moving home service.
Thankfully, this is as straightforward as updating your address, and your direct debit will continue to run as expected on your new house.
Don’t forget your TV or broadband provider, for example, Sky have a Sky moving home service to help your switch to your new property.
When Moving Home – Who to Notify?
Primarily, you MUST make sure you tell your utilities companies that you are moving house.
If you have metred water, you should take a picture of the metre on the day you move to prevent being overcharged. In some cases, you will not have a metre, especially if your water supply transits another property. In this situation it is crucial you inform the water company you’re moving.
Energy suppliers are well versed with customers moving home and each has a set process in place to assist you. In most cases, your energy supplier will try and retain your custom by offering to supply your new property.
Although this might seem an easy fix, you might find your supplier is not competitive in the new area you’re relocating to. Ask them to hold the quote on the system and then use a comparison site to decide whether their offer is the best value.
Update Your Council Tax
To the chagrin of many home movers, local authorities can be slow to process council tax changes. There is a level of bureaucracy involved with local authorities that make updating circumstances with them tedious.
It is, unfortunately, all too common for home movers to be hounded for unpaid council taxes on properties they no longer reside in and weren’t liable for the bill at the time. If it gets to this stage, it is notoriously difficult to challenge, and you will need to be tenacious.
The best advice is to inform your local authority of your moving date. Then a few days later contact them again to ensure the change has been logged correctly on their system. Once moved, call a third and final time, confirming you have moved and set up a council tax payment on your new property.
Saving Money – Moving Home Checklist
Thus far we have touched on financial aspects of moving house such as preventing overpayments on bills from your existing property. Moving home can be a fun endeavour if you set yourself the challenge of saving money wherever possible.
Make sure you compare removal firm quotes and check reviews to get the best value for money.
Try and save money on your energy expenditure by seeking out the best tariff. It is common for home movers to simply continue with the existing energy provider, which can be costly.
Discover More Property Insights
When buying or selling a house, moving home is normally the last consideration. If you have other worries or need further property insights, our blog provides valuable information across a diverse range of property topics – so make sure you check it out!