Moving in checks...

Rumana03

Hi,

We are finally getting our keys tomorrow!
What things should we check when we go to the new property? Thanks.

Also anything we need to check with the solicitor? Our completion is tomorrow.

youth_leader

Take photos of the readings on your electric and gas smart meters if you have them, as well as the water meter. 

I had a few months of to-ing and fro-ing with the electricity board because the figure the vendor had given was much higher than the figure I took when I moved in.  

You might also want to change the locks.

skintus_mcgintus

Check the toilet flushes! 🚽 

Martico

You may not have any comeback if you can't find them all, but I'd check you have all the keys for the windows and back door. Might be your last chance to ask the vendors if you can't immediately find them

devslash0

- If you haven't received it already, request a full move-in inventory. Then inspect every single room and take photos of every damage not mentioned in the inventory and send it over to the agents. You usually have 7 days to do it from the receipt of the inventory. Otherwise, at the end of the tenancy, the landlords may claim that you made the damage and would ask you to pay for it / deduct it from your deposit. Include things like leaking pipes/taps, missing bulbs, scratched worktops in the kitchen, stained floors and such like.
- Again, with the inventory, make sure that initial meter readings match those on the inventory. Then, open your own accounts with all the suppliers with the right meter readings. Agents like to shove previous tenants' excess bills onto new tenants.
- Ask the agents for a permission to change locks. You will most likely be asked to provide 2 copies of new keys to the agents. It's an extra cost but it's worth it for the peace of mind. I myself had a situation once where the previous tenant tried to get into my property while the locks were still old.

jimpwarsop

devslash0 said:

- If you haven't received it already, request a full move-in inventory. Then inspect every single room and take photos of every damage not mentioned in the inventory and send it over to the agents. You usually have 7 days to do it from the receipt of the inventory. Otherwise, at the end of the tenancy, the landlords may claim that you made the damage and would ask you to pay for it / deduct it from your deposit. Include things like leaking pipes/taps, missing bulbs, scratched worktops in the kitchen, stained floors and such like.
- Again, with the inventory, make sure that initial meter readings match those on the inventory. Then, open your own accounts with all the suppliers with the right meter readings. Agents like to shove previous tenants' excess bills onto new tenants.
- Ask the agents for a permission to change locks. You will most likely be asked to provide 2 copies of new keys to the agents. It's an extra cost but it's worth it for the peace of mind. I myself had a situation once where the previous tenant tried to get into my property while the locks were still old.

Its a purchase, not a rental.

Rumana03

Martico said:

You may not have any comeback if you can't find them all, but I'd check you have all the keys for the windows and back door. Might be your last chance to ask the vendors if you can't immediately find them

There was actually a shed key that we couldn't locate. We are moving in today so I'll take another look. Thanks.

youth_leader

I couldn't find any of the window keys, asked the vendor who owned the place for 8 years, she said she'd never been given any.  I ended up having all the window handles changed.  If you are in the NE I can recommend someone if you need this service.  

KxMx

Shower head- the one thing I didn't think to check before I moved into my flat- I had turned it on to make sure it was working though! 

First shower and I discovered that it has one setting - not cool!
I prefer a small hard stream not a large soft one.

Thanks to Amazon I had a nice 5 setting one delivered the next day.

It also took me a while to find the internal water stopcock, as it wasn't in such an obvious place as the bathroom or under kitchen sink. 

Murphybear

Enjoy  your new home  

Arthurian

Switch the boiler on and go round the whole house sniffing for gas.  Check all the radiators are coming on, and bleed any which don't fully heat up.