The prospect of moving to a new home can be cause for both excitement and tension. To make sure the actual experience is as thrilling as you envision it, you need to tie up any loose ends at your current residence, so they will not follow you to your new one. At 306 West, site of luxury apartments in Madison, WI, we see the joy of new tenants, but we also witness the frustration of those who have forgotten to finalize important paperwork at their old residences. To help alleviate this annoyance, we have listed 5 of the most important steps you should take when moving out.
Take Your Name Off of Old Utilities
This may seem obvious, but it is easy to overlook this step in the excitement of a move. When people are leaving a residence, they sometimes forget to take the utilities out of their name. As a result, thoughtless new tenants may gleefully continue to use the utilities on your dollar.
Switch Utilities in the Right Order
Although avoiding the aforementioned scenario is important, changing utilities to your new residence must be done in steps. John Bisney, of the American Moving and Storage Association, recommends shutting off old utilities 2-3 days after moving out, and turning on new utilities 2-3 days after moving in.
Why would you intentionally pay for bills that are not technically your responsibility? The reason is that closing dates are often abruptly postponed, and you do not want to be staying in either residence without light, heat, and water. In the worst-case scenario, extreme cold could cause broken pipes, flooding, and any other number of other catastrophes.
Check the Parking Situation
People are sometimes unpleasantly surprised to realize they cannot even get a moving truck close to either residence. By clearing this issue with neighbors and parking authorities beforehand, you will not find yourself stuck in a van with no way to load or unload it.
Change Schools
If you have children, withdrawing from one school and enrolling in another can take a surprising amount of time and paperwork. To avoid doing it in the chaos of the move, take care of these steps long before you arrive at the new schoolyard.
Keep Essentials Handy
Nobody wants to arrive at a new home, exhausted and wanting nothing more than to go directly to bed, only to realize that no one knows where the shampoo and toothpaste are. As you go through the days prior to your move, compile a list of items that you use every day. Pack these in a clearly labeled, accessible container, so that your first evening in your new home will measure up to the pleasant vision you had of this happy event.