Looking forward to your new home? Here’s our guide for moving in…
So, you’ve bought your dream property with Hopkins Homes and are waiting for the sale to be completed. It’s now time to start thinking about moving.
Firstly – don’t panic. Although commonly thought of as being a stressful time, we’ve helped enough people move to know that it needn’t become overwhelming.
In fact, with our helpful tips for moving house, we aim to show you the whole process can actually be more exciting than excruciating.
But you do need a plan…
Tips for Moving Into a New Home: Start Packing
If you live in a smaller flat or apartment, then packing yourself and hiring a van could be an option.
However, for larger homes if you want to keep things simple then hiring a removal firm is your best option as they’ve seen it all before and packed it all before.
It’s a good idea to get several quotes from local removal firms before choosing the one you want to go with, as prices can vary greatly.
Make an inventory that details everything you’re packing by room (including the garage and any outbuildings), so the removal companies know how many items to pack for their estimate.
You’ll need to see how they come across when they visit your property. If they’re polite, professional and respectful then it puts your mind at ease.
They’ll also need to assess things like access, parking, and packing special items such as paintings, valuables and larger goods that may need special care, so make sure you brief them accordingly. Ask if they have sufficient insurance in place for what’s required.
As part of their quote, removal firms will also factor in how many people they’ll need for your job, and the distance to your new home.
You can choose to pack some of the items yourself to save money, and a good removal firm will supply packing boxes as part of their fee.
Once you’ve agreed on a company and a price, you’re ready to start packing. Exciting!
Do You Really Need It?
As the big day approaches and you’re going through each room packing items based on your inventory, now is the time to be brutally honest about what you need to keep.
Do you really need to pack that battered old lava lamp from your shared flat at uni, the nodding dog ornament given to you last Christmas by Uncle Fred, or that tragically unfunny book of amusing quotes you got for your 15th birthday?
A few trips to the charity shop or local recycling centre and you’ll have less to unpack at the other end in your lovely new build home, and you’ll thank yourself later for the lack of clutter.
Go Room by Room and Clearly Label Each Box
As you’re packing, a pro tip is to make sure you go room by room and clearly label each box on the front and top, so you can still see the label if stacked.
You’ll need to write the room name and contents on each box, so it’s good to pack similar items together, such as books, DVDs and lava lamps (oh you decided to keep that did you!).
Your removal firm can also give you advice on organising your packing, and may even ask for a floorplan of your new Hopkins Homes property so it’s easy to unpack at the other end. Just ask our team for one and we’ll be happy to help.
New Home Moving Tips: Pack the Kettle and Essentials Last
Another great packing tip is to pack your kettle and other everyday essentials last. This means you can keep them separate and be up and running quickly when you get to your new home.
Your essentials usually fall into four categories:
- Kitchen essentials: cutlery and utensils, washing up liquid, bin bags, kettle, toaster, microwave, pots and pans, tea, coffee and breakfast essentials
- Bedroom essentials: bedding, toiletries, loo roll
- Cleaning essentials: vacuum cleaner, cloths and cleaning products, mop and bucket
- Kids’ essentials: baby changing bag, games, phones and tablets
- Preparing all these items in advance will save you loads of time and hassle when you arrive for your new life, and we’re all about making things easy for you.
Pack “Go Bags” for Each Member of the Family
A useful addition to packing your essentials is to ask each member of your family to pack a ‘go bag’ they keep with them during the move. This should include all the items they personally need to keep going for the first two days.
What goes in each ‘go bag’ will be down to every person, but may include personal items such as favourite clothes, phones, diaries, personal valuables, medication, glasses and that extra special toy.
Whatever each family member decides to pack, having all these personal items to hand will help them buy into the whole moving process, give them some control and also feel more comfortable with everything that’s happening.
Top Tips for Moving Home: Plan for Your Utilities
There’s nothing worse than getting overdue bills for old properties you’ve moved out of.
So, to streamline the moving process even further, make sure you let all the utility companies know when you’re moving, so you can receive and pay your final bill.
This includes electricity, phone, broadband, gas, oil, water and any other location-based utilities and subscriptions, such as council tax. Don’t forget to get meter readings for gas and electricity on the day you move out.
You can do this all online now or by email, but it also helps to give a forwarding address for your new home if you plan on transferring your utilities over.
Arrange to Transfer or Set Up New Utility Providers at Your New Home
As part of the process of changing your utilities over, you can also set up your new suppliers for everything mentioned at your new address ahead of moving in.
That way you’ll have light, heat, phone and internet access the moment you step through the door.
If you haven’t been happy with some of your utility companies or think you could get a better deal, then now is the time to research switching.
Utility firms often offer better deals for new customers, so it could pay to shop around before your move.
Redirect Your Mail
If you want to receive mail at your new Hopkins Homes property, (and get parcels from Uncle Fred at Christmas), it’s a good idea to contact Royal Mail to redirect your post.
You can do this online up to six months before moving, or for six months after, but it’s advisable not to forget this, as despite our modern reliance on email it’s surprising how much we still receive through the post.
Having the correct up-to-date address details is also essential for being on the electoral roll for elections, plus for medical, financial, and employment records.
Setting Up in Your New Home
So that just about covers everything on moving out of your old address. See, it’s not going to be too bad, is it?
Now that’s all sorted, you can focus on settling down into life in your new home.
There’s just a couple of really important items worth noting for when you do get your hands on the keys though…
Don’t Paint or Wallpaper for 12 Months
It’s normal in new build homes that small cracks may appear in walls and timberwork. You may notice these but it’s nothing to worry about.
Just like you and your family after moving, all new buildings need a few months to settle in and bed down, so we advise you not to paint or add wallpaper to your Hopkins Homes property for 12 months.
All our properties are sold ready to move into, but if you do want to redecorate this will give you plenty of time to devise the perfect colour scheme.
Careful of the Turf
When you buy a new build home, it is advisable to turf your garden as soon as possible. Delays in turfing your garden will increase the chances of water pooling and in some cases wash the topsoil away.
If you decide to have your garden turfed before moving in, try and keep pets and children (and adults!) off the turf for the first few weeks. Grass roots need this time to become fully embedded in the soil, so you could risk damaging your new turf if you don’t let the grass bed down first.
Don’t worry, you’ll be having a kick around or a BBQ on your lovely new lawn in no time.
Conclusion: Our 21-day Courtesy Visit
As you can see from this moving house guide, at Hopkins Homes we’re committed to streamlining the process as much as we can, and our team will be happy to help you every step of the way.
This consideration extends to your courtesy visit when you’ve been in your new property for three weeks. The Hopkins Homes Customer Care team will contact you on your third day in your new home to book in your 21 day courtesy visit. On the day our customer services team will pay you a visit in person to check everything is ok in your new build home and answer any questions you might have at that stage.
If you have any questions right now about buying and moving into a Hopkins Homes property, please complete our contact form to get in touch.