Mortgage & Equity
14 Making Your Move
This section will discuss:
A timeline for preparing for moving day.
Whether you're moving a few blocks or several hundred miles, moving all your worldly possessions takes planning. Here's a checklist to guide you as you count down to moving day.
Just Before or Soon After Closing Day
Take a tour through the house with the former owner. There's no better way to get to know all you'll need to know about the house in the coming years. As you tour, take notes or use a tape recorder. Ask about:
- Locations of the cutoff valves for water and gas supplies and of the fuse or circuit breaker box.
- What repairs and renovations have been done to the house, when and by whom? Get names and phone numbers of professionals who have worked on the house.
- Are there any plans or blueprints for previous projects still on hand?
- Are there any owner's manuals and warranties, such as for the furnace and water heater, that the owner can pass on to you?
- Tour outside, too, to find out about care of yard plantings and so on.
- What are the times and stipulations for pickup of garbage, brush and recycling?
Two Months Before Moving Day
Choose a mover. Ask friends and associates for referrals. Contact at least two moving companies for estimates. If this is an interstate move, the company is required to give you a copy of its performance record. If it happens that you move in the off-season (October through April), you may get lower prices. Reserve dates with the mover. You'll probably need to give the mover a range of acceptable dates. On a long-distance move, movers often move several families' possessions in one trip, so they need flexibility to coordinate the move to everyone's satisfaction.
One Month Before
Start packing, if you're doing it yourself. This will save you money, but be sure you know the mover's liability limits on owner-packed items. Have a garage sale. Do you really want to take it all with you? Probably not. One good side-effect of moving is that it forces you to lighten your load. Get rid of all the stuff you haven't used or worn or didn't even know you had these past few years. Put ads in the paper to sell big items, such as appliances and furniture, if you determine they won't fit in your new home.
Three Weeks and Counting
Contact the phone and utility companies to arrange for disconnection dates at your old home and connection at your new one. Take care of old business, such as accounts to close or inform of address change, bills to pay off, any papers you need to take with you (such as medical records). Fill out change of address cards with the post office.
Zero
Be on hand when the movers load. Be sure the mover has a way to contact you in case of delays or other problems at the delivery end. If this is an interstate move, you'll need to write the mover a check before your belongings are unloaded; it's a federal requirement. Keep receipts, as moving expenses sometimes are tax-deductible, such as if the move is job-related.
