If you’ve ever moved before, you probably remember it as a stressful, hectic time… especially if you’re in the process of buying and selling a home while you’re packing up your belongings! That’s why Landmark tried to make the moving process as easy as possible with these downloadable and interactive moving checklists! We will walk you through, step-by-step, on what you need to be doing when during the moving process.
Click any of the checklists to download the bunch. They’re formatted for printing too, if you don’t want to keep them on your computer or mobile device.
REALTORS: This is a great handout to give your clients when they sign on with you! You can download them by clicking on any of the checklists, or send your clients an email with a link to this article by clicking here.
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Two Months Before (When you put your house on the market):
Many people don’t think of getting their home ready to sell as part of the moving process, but staging your rooms and organizing clutter is the first step in moving! Donate what you don’t want to bring to your new home and organize! Clear the space from clutter and take inventory on your items for insurance.
At this point, you’ll want to purchase listing coverage for your home. A Landmark Home Warranty offers listing coverage that protects your budget from covered breakdowns on systems and appliances. After your home goes under contract, you’ll want to transfer that over to a buyers’ warranty for only a few hundred dollars. It will sell your home for more money and in less time!
Five Weeks Before: (You’ve put an offer on a home and things are getting real!)
You’ve found the perfect home and you’ve put an offer on it … and it’s been accepted! Congratulations! Hopefully you’re also working on getting your home under contract, or it already is. At this point, moving is a very real possibility and you’re starting to get prepared.
The first thing you’ll want to do is to decide if you’re going to hire a moving company to move your things to your new home or if you can do it yourself. If you opt for a moving company, call to get quotes (or compare quotes online), read their reviews, and get the fine print on their contract. If you decide that you’ll move yourself, begin looking for a truck you can rent. Don’t just look at the price, look at the size and perks of the truck. Don’t get a truck or book a moving company just yet! You want to wait to ensure your sale will actually go through!
Buy the necessary packing supplies, like boxes, bubble wrap, paper, and more. Begin boxing up non-essentials in your home, and keep the boxes separate by room (don’t forget to mark them!) for ease of unpacking them in the right rooms.
Look for new doctors and schools if you’re moving outside of the area and request records from your current schools, doctors and dentists. Create an important documents folder so things don’t get lost in the move, and include:
- Medical records for each family member
- School records for each family member
- Dental records for each family member
- Insurance policy
- Home warranty policy
- Moving expenses receipts
- Passports
- Financial statements
Three Weeks Before (You should be getting an inspection and finalizing your mortgage):
As you are inspecting your (hopefully) new home and entering under contract, you should begin planning out where each item of furniture needs to go. If you’re travelling a long distance, solidify your travel plans and make sure your vehicle is serviced.
Two Weeks Before (You should be nearing the end of closing!):
Closing should be in sight and you should be finalizing your moving plans. Of course, you don’t want to be moving in on closing day. There’s just too much to do and too many things that could prevent you from moving in! Always plan a few days or a week after closing to make sure that you have enough time to move your items.
At this point, you want to start transferring you and your family’s school and medical records, and fill out a change of address form with the post office. You can cancel this change if the sale of the home doesn’t go through. (Of course, you’ll want to make sure the day you start forwarding your mail will be on moving day!)
Prep for the moving by throwing away paint, oil, and other flammable chemicals and by draining the oil and gas from lawnmowers and the like. You don’t want anything that could leak or start a fire during the move! You’ll also want to hire or finalize the truck or moving company you’ll want for moving day.
Finally, back up your computer and keep packing! (YouMoveMe.com suggests going on one room a day, starting with the non-essential rooms.)
One Week Before (You should have closed on your home!):
At this point, you should have closed on your home and you should be prepping for the move as fast as possible! Make sure to know what moving requirements for your new home. For example, if you have an HOA there may be moving charges or fees or you may need to get a permit to park a moving truck in the road. At the same time, check your moving plan with the moving company to make sure you’re both on the same page.
Remember to shut off the utilities in your name at your old home and have them transferred into your name for the new place on moving day. Cancel or forward all deliveries at the same time!
Finish packing up your home and map out where large furniture needs to go in your new home. As things start getting packed up, clean your home thoroughly or hire a cleaning service.
The Day Before the Move
Are you ready to go? Do you have everything packed, labeled, and planned out where it will be going? If you’re moving appliances, make sure they’re ready to be taken (like defrosting the freezer and fridge.) Make sure everything is packed and ready to go for moving day. Keep the file of important documents handy, as well as the essentials (like TP, cleaning supplies, tools for putting any furniture back together, and some clothes and underwear.)
Moving Day!
It’s moving day! With your planning ahead, it should be easy to organize the boxes based on rooms in your new home while loading the truck. Tell the movers the game plan as you walk through the house, and double check that you aren’t leaving anything behind after a room has been cleaned out. (Sometimes it’s a good idea to close a door after you’ve OKed that everything has been removed!)
Leave a small gift for your buyer, including any contact info they might need and their home warranty policy and brochure. Lock all the doors and give your real estate agent the keys. Drive the truck to your new place and get organizing those boxes and furniture!
One Week After:
A few days to a week after moving, things should be settled down enough that you’ll want to make it official! Fill out IRS, bank, school, and DMV change of address forms. You’ll want to get your car registered at the new DMV if you’ve moved out of state. Then, call Landmark Home Warranty to make sure ALL of the items in your home have coverage! (Some plans have less coverage than others and you don’t want to open a claim on something you don’t have coverage for!) You can also set up your home security, internet, and television through Landmark with different partners that offer Landmark customers discounts! Call the Landmark Home Services department at 866.306.2999 to learn more.
There you have it! You’re officially moved in. Congratulations on your new home, and now, relax!