Move to empty house, no services as yet!

Virtual_Valerie

Hi,
I shall be moving to an empty property Dec 1st in the RG42 area and will need to set up all services, 'phone, broadband, digital tv, gas, electricty, water and anything else I haven't thought of!

It is a 2 bed detached bungalow and there will be myself and daughter. We are re-furbishing it and this is our moment to get it all right first time, so being a newbie to this site I would very much appreciate your advice.
I have no knowledge of services previously used since the previous owner is deceased and it was in probate for some time so 'switching'/comparison information isn't relevant. Many thanks!

tripled

Hi Valerie and welcome,

Personally I would recommend cable for telephone, tv and broadband if you can as it should be quite competetively priced, however it depends on your needs. For example, you can get very fast broadband on cable but if you are happy with freeview there are phone companies that do free broadband.

Water - It is probably Thames Water in that area, the Yellow Pages has a local services area in the front I beleive, you could check that. If there is a water meter in the property when you move in I beleive you have to keep it, if not then you could consider this.

Gas & electric - you will need to register with the current companies when you move in - call Transco on 0870 6081524 to find out your gas provider (they cover about 90% of properties, if your property is a new build ask for further advice), electricity you need to call your local distribututor who is SSE Power on 0870 9050806. Once you have done that I would recommend using a switiching site to find your cheapest provider, you can find ones on here where you can earn cashback. There are one's which will calculate your estimated usage based on size of property etc.

Fianlly good luck! Moving can be stressful and you will probably have ups and downs, but its soon past you and then you can relax in your new home. Keep a record of all phone calls including who you spoke to and also all receipts so if any calls/payments/etc go astray it can be sorted out easily.

Virtual_Valerie

Hi, thanks for advice and particularly tel nos. I didn't realise you had to register first with service providers. Sifting through the blogs I seem to have picked up the impression that Powergen is good value and TalkTalk - provided (apparently) you can put up with their not so great customer service.
We will need good broadband - both use the computer a lot. Other than that it is not a huge property (2 bed bungalow) and just the 2 of us so not great power guzzlers! Is metered water a good idea?
Good tip re keeping a records of 'phone calls etc. and yes the move certainly will have its ups and downs - it requires and total refurbishment! I guess I should look to other threads re. property developing. Many thanks.

tripled

Have a look in the water thread, there's lots of advice on water meters, but basically if you have a bath every day, water the garden, wash the dog and car, etc it's probably not a good idea, however if you use water sparingly then it can work out cheaper.