30 Things To Do Before you Move In To Your First Home
Finding and negotiating a home purchase is only the beginning of the work and stress involved in buying a house. We are in the home stretch of the home-buying and moving process, and my “To Do” list was about five times longer after we found the perfect house at the right price. There is, however, a light at the end of the tunnel.
In the event that it might be useful for other planning purposes, I am sharing my list of 30 things to do before you move into your first home. All of these are things that have been on my plate during the home-buying and moving process.
30 Things To Do Before You Move In To Your First Home:
- Pay deposit
- Be present for home inspection
- Be present for optional inspections
- Obtain quotes for work that needs to be done
- Negotiate concessions from sellers
- Give written notice to landlord
- Cancel gym membership
- Tour local daycares
- Register school-aged kid for the local school
- Apply for mortgage (be prepared to hunt down 3 years of taxes, your latest paycheck stubs, and 2 months of bank statements from all of your accounts)
- Provide additional paperwork necessary for mortgage application (if you’re liquidating investments or receiving a gift, they will want to see the funds in your account and withdrawn from the original source of the money)
- Have a long conversation about which daycare to choose
- Register for daycare
- Give written notice to current daycare
- Hire movers
- Reserve a moving truck (don’t forget to go through ebates for a discount!)
- Obtain packing materials
- Advertise for a new tenant in current apartment (we are breaking our lease)
- Sort through and weed out old papers from file cabinets and wherever your paperwork goes to die.
- Shred.
- Sell, donate, and give away things you don’t need (Clothing, children’s items, books, and electronics)
- Pack
- Set up contractors who will be working before you move in
- Transfer utilities: Gas, Electric, Water, Sewer, Internet and Phone
- Schedule locksmith to change the locks (or buy the locks at a hardware store and DIY!)
- Measure for blinds
- Identify any other immediate needs for the new home, like garbage bins and welcome mats
- Chill the champagne
- Take the day off for closing
- Move!
These are the items I’ve either taken care of in the past month, or are still hanging over me. Thank goodness we’re not also selling our house, or else this list would be a zillion items longer.
Did I forget anything? More importantly, WHEN can we break out the champagne?!
Image courtesy of Supertrooper, via www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net
If you’re moving to a new state, try to negotiate some approved time off for new licenses, plates, registrations, and inspections!