Moving House Tips

Are you Moving House ? Here are 9 must-know pieces of information to help make the process as easy as possible!

1) Let all of your service providers know that you’re moving. Phone your bank, building society, telephone and internet providers, council, employers and children’s schools in order to make sure you don’t miss out on any important information.

2) Similarly make sure to redirect your post, especially if you don’t know the person moving into your old home. Royal Mail offer a personal mail redirection service, simply sign up on their website to ensure you don’t miss any important letters.

3) If you get any correspondence for the previous owners of your new house then mark it ‘return to sender’ and put it back in the post, that way you won’t have to deal with months of junk mail.

4) Take gas and electric meter readings as soon as you arrive. Nobody wants to be charged for the usage of the previous owner.

5) At the same time why not check your energy providers to make sure you are getting the best possible deal? Often you will be able to save money immediately by switching from a standard tariff to something more appropriate for your usage.

6) Check your house is the correct council tax band. Hundreds of thousands of homes are valued incorrectly and you could save hundreds of pounds by using this government site to make sure you’re not overpaying.

7) Prepare a fact file for those moving into your old home and request that one is provided for the home you move into. This should contain basic information such as the dates and times of rubbish collection and postal deliveries and details of local doctors and services as well as information on the heating system and the location of the water stopcock.

8) Avoid any awkward incidents by making sure you’re familiar with any security systems, especially the code for the burglar alarm. Nobody wants a welcome visit from the local police!

9) As soon as you get a chance introduce yourself to the neighbours. It is much better to break the ice quickly than to wait for weeks and they are likely to be a good source of advice and local knowledge.