SourceEach year, millions of individuals and families across America move to a new home. They might be moving to a bigger house or downsizing if their kids have grown up and left the family home.
For many people, moving to a new abode happens without any issues. However, in a few isolated cases, some people make pretty big mistakes when moving to a new home.
You’re likely reading this article today because you want to have a stress-free move and start an exciting new chapter in your life. With that in mind, here are the top five mistakes you need to avoid making:
1. Buying in a Seller’s Market
Arguably the biggest mistake people make when moving to a new home is purchasing a property in a seller’s market. In a nutshell, a seller’s market is one where demand for housing is higher than the number of available properties.
If you purchase your future home in a seller’s market, you may find that a housing crash in your area could significantly affect your home’s future value. That’s why it’s always best to buy a home in a buyer’s market, where there are more properties than buyers.
2. Not Using Moving Professionals
Renting a U-Haul truck and moving your worldly possessions might be fine if you’re leaving home and moving to your first property, as you likely won’t have much to move. However, the same cannot get said for families moving from one house to another.
That’s why it’s a better idea to use a local moving company and have them organize the safe passage of your furniture, appliances, and other possessions from your current home to your new one.
3. Not Organizing Mail Forwarding
Do you think that the new occupants of your current home will always forward your mail to your new address? Think again! One thing you should never do is rely on a new property buyer to constantly forward your mail to you.
Instead, what you should do is pay the USPS for their mail forwarding service. That way, all mail gets redirected to your new address and completely bypasses your former home.
4. Forgetting to Schedule Utilities Changes
You will undoubtedly want your utility services to get connected at your new house, ready for when you and your family move into it. You also want to ensure other services like cable TV get disconnected at your old home and reconnected at your new one on your moving day.
The problem is, some people don’t schedule these changes, or they might leave things to the last minute. Make sure you plan ahead and organize all utilities and service changes.
5. Not Cleaning Your Old Home
Lastly, if you’re moving from a rental house to one that you’ve just bought, you need to make sure that you clean it thoroughly and repair any damages before you leave. Otherwise, your landlord may charge you for cleaning and repairs.
It makes sense to clean your old home once you’ve moved out of it and schedule any repairs to the property for when you’re no longer living there.
