FTB Asks some Stupid Questions...

Fonque

Hello,

I am a FTB and have recently had an offer accepted on a GF flat in a small block.
My mortgage application is good to go and the solicitors are set to maul the paperwork.
I maybe somewhat premature but now my thoughts turn to actually moving in but I have large gaps in my knowledge in that area, not so much moving checklists but things like:

Knowing who/ how I find out who supplies the gas/electric to the flat?
Ditto for broadband? If I can get this sorted before moving in it would be great as I do not have a smartphone.
Is it possible to sort them out before moving in? (As I see some great deals on here but can I take advantage of them if I've not moved into the flat yet?
Will the EA have access to that information?
Also I will have to purchase an oven and a washing machine, can I get them plugged in before my moving in day?
As the flat has been empty for a few months is it worth getting the boiler serviced right away or can that be done later?

From what I've gathered from this excellent forum, as soon as you've moved in it's been suggested to:
Change the locks for security (as you don't know who may have a key)
Take pictures of meter readings for suppliers.
Acquaint oneself with the breaker board, even though I'm not sure what I'd been looking at.
Find the stopcocks. Inside and outside.

Any other suggestions or tips that as a FTB and hopefully soon-to-be-moving-inner I may not be aware of / never considered?

Sorry for all the questions but I feel like I'm flying blind and I'd feel better with a basic idea of what I'm doing.

da_rule

- Broadband, telephone and utilities providers will be revealed as part of the sellers information form (which you should get a copy/summary of from your solicitor)
- You can arrange things but it'll have to be on the day of/day after completion and you need to bear in mind that if completion is delayed you may have issues
- Probably not a good idea to start moving things in before completion as it could fall through or get delayed
- Getting the boiler serviced might not be a bad thing, the last service date (if known) will also be on the sellers information form.

Cakeguts

You can't change things or move anything into the property until you own it.

Lord_Baltimore

Food (remembering no oven and no fridge for a while); kettle; parking; neighbours; optimism. Good luck!

nimbo

Also a standard oven won't just plug in. It will need to either be properly hooked up to the electrics or a gas safe / corgi registered - what ever the name is now will need to connect.

Washers are dead simple. (We have a tame engineer) best thing I've ever seen was when we moved into this house - rented. He didn't know which pipe was the cold for the cold fill machine. So run the hot tap until the water is warm and feel both pipes.

We've lived here years and I'm still impressed by that.

saajan_12

You can't move in things etc before completion, but as a FTB, you could overlap your current residence and flat ownership. As you don't need to sell, you can complete on the purchase, and then set up broadband, service boilers, move in appliances etc while still renting / living where you are, and move in to the flat sometime later.

JP1978

Mind that when you move in, you automatically take over the gas and electric from the same supplier as the seller - and this will be on their standard tariff (higher cost). There is no minimum term though, so just before you move, do your research on who is cheapest and initiate the switch the day after you move.

It maybe that the old supplier is a good price, if so, great - if not, contact the new supplier with the meter readings and they do everything.

neilio

Fonque wrote: »

FTB Asks some Stupid Questions...

There's no such thing as a stupid question

Rileybaby

Does it have an alarm fitted? If so ask for the code otherwise it's an engineer who will need to reset it!

robatwork

neilio wrote: »

There's no such thing as a stupid question

Is this one?

Fonque

Thank you muchly all. Very much appreciated!