7 things you must do when moving into a new house

Moving home can be a majorly stressful experience; there’s so much to think about and a lot that can go wrong if you haven’t planned and prepared things from a logistical perspective.

Here are 7 essential things to do when moving into a new house.

1. Keeping an eye on your goods transportation

When you first get to your new home it’s vitally important that your removal firm understand where all of your furniture and boxes are going. Then when you arrive at your new home make sure that everything you’ve packed and placed where agreed. This would allow you to verify more easily that all your valuables are in and safe.

2. Find a safe spot

It’s important to find an interim safe place straight away for your important documentation (be it your moving documents, passports or birth certificates); the bath is a good spot actually as there’s usually one there no matter where you’re moving to! You can install a safe for that purpose. There are even safes you can fit into your floor (if it is concrete).

3. Take your readings

Read your utility meters at both your new and old home. Take a picture of them on your camera phone and make sure that your camera phone applies a time stamp. You can also keep the images at a notes / photo organiser app like Evernote.

4. Change the locks

Changing locks when moving to a new home is one of the most important things to do. There may be crooks living in the property at some point before you or builders that preformed construction works at the place. You simply don’t know how many copies of your keys have been cut and who has them. So always change all your locks immediately to help safeguard you and your loved ones; a trained, reputable locksmith will be able to help you get this sorted as soon as possible. In the following link there is some VIP info about prices and requirements of changing locks when moving into a new home. 

5. Do a “Quick clean up”

Check the house for items that the previous owner may have left and if you don’t need them box them up immediately. Do a similar sweep of any garden areas. Particularly if it has not been attended to in a while. There could be hidden hazards in the long grass like rockeries or even dangerous animals.

6. Look for water leaks

You’re going to be staying in a house that you don’t know well. Having a water leak could be inconvenience and sometime even dangerous. Water could come in touch with electricity, flood a ceiling that could collapse and create mould that is bad for your health. So open all taps in the house for 1-2 minutes and look for leaks in places like under the sinks and in different floors.

7. Make a cup of tea

I can guarantee that you’ll want one, your family certainly will, and it’s a good way to get your removal firm in the right frame of mind whist checking off your inventory. You can brief them over a nice hot cuppa; that way everything should end up exactly where it should be.