Moving in this week, what to expect.....?

snell89

Hi there,

Me and my fiancee have just purchased our first house. We're due to move in this week, so i have a few questions if you dont mind....

When will our first mortgage payment come out?
When will we start paying bills - water/gas/elec?
The current occupiers use SKY for TV, is it just a case of me ringing SKY and explaining ill now be footing the houses bill??

Sorry for all the questions, but im getting nervous the closer it gets to completion date!! :eek::eek:

Newme2014

I'm not sure about the mortgage or sky but would assume the other bills are the same as when you're renting and move, you take meter readings as soon as you get the keys and call up whichever company you go with to set up accounts and the first bills depend on monthly/quarterly etc. You might also want to call the previous owners suppliers and give them the readings you took, I forgot that bit once and it took 8 months to swap the gas supply over because of all sorts of odd issues.

Twiglet12

In terms of Sky - no. It's tied to the subscriber, not the address. If you want Sky, you need to phone them up, set up a new account (will be a new 12 month contract) and arrange an installation date for the boxes etc.

ethank

Your first mortgage payment should be listed in your mortgage offer. If not give them a call!

Hoploz

You initially have to contact the house's existing supplier, as your own chosen supplier will take a couple of weeks to take it over. You take meter readings when you move in, as well as when the new supplier says they are taking over, to close the original supplier down and open the new one. I felt I was constantly on the phone and giving readings for about the first month!
The previous owner will notify sky they are leaving. They may or may not leave their dish and/or box. It should state this on your sellers info form. Sky will bombard you with letters begging you to become their customer too. I would suggest if you want to do so, you leave it a little while then call and ask them for their best price.

Your mortgage will likely be more than a month after you move in. They will write and tell you the date they will take it. The solicitor's completion statement should include the first payment to them. We completed sept 26th, I think our first proper mortgage payment after that was end of Nov.

Snakey

In addition to setting things up in the new place (my experience was the same as Hoploz'), do not forget to tell the suppliers of the old place that you're moving out and take meter readings for them on your last day there. Also: council tax, water rates, electoral roll, phone line/internet (if that's not Sky) and get your post re-directed (which takes five days to set up, so do it asap - you can do it online).

Moving is a two step process from the perspective of a lot of these organisations, and they may require separate notifications of moving out and moving in. This could be the case even though all the forms ask for both addresses and the date you moved and whether you will be responsible for the bills at each place. Don't assume that there's anybody on the other end applying any level of common sense to this information (such as "oh, that means they'll be wanting a final bill for the old address and for that account to be closed"). Keep tabs on everything to make sure nothing's slipped through the gaps - it's your problem at the end of the day if you don't pay something you should be paying.

The mortgage payments will start on whatever day you set the direct debit up for, and your first payment will be for a different amount as it will be for a funny number of days. They'll write to you to confirm this, now that they know the completion date.

pinkteapot

Apart from the mortgage, you have to phone all the other companies to open accounts. It doesn't happen automatically.

Gas/elec/water - read any meters and phone the supplier the previous owner used. Tell them your date of owning the property and the opening meter reading. You'll be charged for the units from that point on.

It's also your responsibility to phone the council and register to pay council tax.

Puffin2014

Another thought is to change the external door locks when you first move in as you never know how many keys are in circulation. See post on CallmeSavvy.com called Recently purchased homes are the most likely to be burgled. Happy moving in!