Exchanging tomorrow, completing 1st week Sept. Any tips?

madvicker

Not sure if this is the right forum but here goes:

Super excited: my wife and I are exchanging on a house tomorrow, with completion for the 1st week of September. There will be 3 weeks overlap between our rental and the new house.

Given my wife and I are FTBs it would be great to have some general hints and tips, advice of things to watch out for/remember to do in the first few days/weeks of moving. How have others prioritised things to do? (We have no children just for context. Yet...)

Comms69

change locks
set up utilities
set up 'extra' e.g. sky
set up council tax bill
(make sure your insurance is in place from tomorrow)

NaughtiusMaximus

take meter readings as soon as your arrive
find out when the bin collection days are
if you haven't already met them in the first couple of days, introduce yourselves to the immediate neighbours

need_an_answer

Move your possessions into the new property as soon as you can it will mean that your old rental property is empty and you can then get a good look at anything that needs cleaning or touching up whilst the place is empty and you have time to do it.


Cleaning an empty house is easier than a furnished one and hopefully you will be able to hand it back in a good light to the LL minus wear and tear and get your full deposit back.


The money will now come in handy doing something around your own property.


Enjoy homeownership.

NaughtiusMaximus

need_an_answer wrote: »

Move your possessions into the new property as soon as you can it will mean that your old rental property is empty and you can then get a good look at anything that needs cleaning or touching up whilst the place is empty and you have time to do it.

I would turn that on it's head and delay physically moving for a couple of weeks to allow time to do some re-decorating of the new property. Even if there's nothing actually wrong with the existing decor, there's nothing like putting your own stamp on a home to really make it feel like yours.

jonnygee2

At least give yourselves a few days to clean the new place before you move in. I bought for the first time recently. Honestly it never occurred to me that, unlike a rental place, it wouldn't be left clean!

You'll probably find a load of problems. That's normal - when you looked around the first time, you were in an 'oh isn't this all lovely mood', you probably didn't notice how the floor was cracked, the paint job was terrible etc. It's all part of the joy of ownership :-)

PasturesNew

When you walk in it'll look smaller and grubbier than you remembered - that's normal. It's normal to cry at this point. So if this happens, don't worry, it's normal.

Once you get sorted and stuff in it it'll look bigger again - but then you'll start to notice all the "niggley" things and kick yourself for not noticing sooner.

This is all perfectly normal... it happens to everybody, for every house ... almost.



Enjoy.

madvicker

Thanks for the advice everyone. My wife and I are definitely agreed on cleaning the new house before moving things in, and once they are - to clean the rental. Will make a note of the other suggestions and put them on our to do list for moving.

Might not cry though...haha...although can't speak for my wife there.

SmashedAvacado

Photograph the meter readings
Check the boiler timings
Make sure the windows all lock
Make sure you are insured
Check the loft
Make sure you know what all the keys are for eg windows

AlexMac

SmashedAvacado wrote: »

Make sure the windows all lock
Make sure you are insured

Agreed' But don't trust the locks unless you know they are adequate.
On moving to our new house we did all that and even re-commissioned the burglar alarm...

But that didn't stop us getting broken into, unbelievably via an upstairs window, as someone nearby had left a ladder for the burglars to shunt over the garden wall. The locks on the timber windows were on half-inch screws... which popped with a crowbar... (we now are bombproof; more locks,,, 2" screws

The alarm scared them off, but only after they found some gold jewelery in the bedroom...

So check the bl33dy locks as well as changing the ones on the doors!