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12-20-2011, 09:17 AM
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11 posts, read 45,066 times
Reputation: 16
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We'll be moving into out first house near the end of the month and appreciate some sage advice from others who have done this before.
What did you do prior to moving in or wish you had done in hindsight? Painting is the first thing that comes to mind. Obviously an empty room makes the job much easier. Secondly, a very thorough cleaning top to bottom. Also changing address, changing locks, and transferring utilities. What am I missing, ye 'ol seasoned homeowners?
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12-20-2011, 09:23 AM
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4,598 posts, read 9,694,237 times
Reputation: 2519
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Get the carpets cleaned before you move all your stuff in. The house we bought had been on the market for awhile and it was kind of gross to see the color change of the carpet before and after the cleaning lol. I also recommend if your house has a deck or anything that needs refinishing you do it before you start accumulating stuff on it.
One thing I wish we had done before moving in is refinishing the garage floor. The guy before us didn't do a very good job of maintaining the garage and my husband wants to put down an epoxy finish. But now we have stuff and cars in the garage and it'll be a much bigger pain than if we had just done it before moving in.
Another recommendation is to see if the previous owners left anything in the attic. We found all sorts of random stuff up there when getting ready to move our holiday bins into the attic. Ended up having to make a trip to Goodwill before we could really move anything in there.
Also, if you plan on doing any sort of landscaping or fence building, go ahead and call the utility companies to have the lines marked on your property. Last thing you want to do is accidentally hit a water line or something and have to pay to fix it.
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12-20-2011, 09:25 AM
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6,263 posts, read 15,288,898 times
Reputation: 4725
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Change or refinish any floors that you think you'd ever want to change.
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12-20-2011, 09:57 AM
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Location: Sunny Florida
7,136 posts, read 12,002,387 times
Reputation: 9520
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paint, clean, take care of flooring, put up shelving in the closets, garage, and pantry, find location of the nearest emergency medical facility just in case you need it - accidents happen
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12-20-2011, 11:20 AM
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11,527 posts, read 13,403,951 times
Reputation: 16738
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Paint and/or carpet change. Both are harder after stuff is in.
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12-20-2011, 12:21 PM
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Location: Midwest transplant
2,050 posts, read 5,573,343 times
Reputation: 1619
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Utilities, phone, cable, internet, garbage, recycling.
Paint and carpet if you are able to do it before you move in.
Change toilet seats~don't know where I learned that, but have always done it.
Shelf liner if you plan to use it.
If you have the time/resources you might want to have the furnace serviced and possible the ducts cleaned. I had them done once, 23 years ago but there was some interesting stuff in them.
Change address, visit the municipality or city office and pick up any information they have for newcomers.
Locate the manuals for the appliances, garage door openers, thermostat, ceiling fans etc.
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12-20-2011, 12:34 PM
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3,763 posts, read 8,236,372 times
Reputation: 4054
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If there is a woodstove or fireplace have the chimney sweep come if you didn't get a receipt from the previous owners as to date of previous service.
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12-20-2011, 12:43 PM
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Location: Portland, OR
602 posts, read 644,765 times
Reputation: 583
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Make sure you schedule a pest control company to spray for bugs, etc. if you live in an area that can have them (almost all areas I believe).
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12-20-2011, 02:45 PM
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5,698 posts, read 18,190,717 times
Reputation: 8655
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I usually clean and paint. Change the locks and buy new toilet seats. Some balk that buying new toilet seats is a waste of money but I don't think so. My bum is sitting on new.  |
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12-21-2011, 07:21 AM
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Location: Durham, NC
520 posts, read 963,904 times
Reputation: 432
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I second the carpet cleaning idea! Have a company in to do a professional job before any furniture is in.
I would have the windows cleaned and clean the 'fridge out before you start putting anything in there.
Really, if you can swing it, call a company like Merry Maids or Maid Pro. They do all these types of things or have contacts/subcontracters to do it. When we moved I think in about 2 days they had done a deep clean on the house, cleaned carpets, cleaned the kitchen chandelier (sp?) and a crew came out & cleaned all the windows. They will also clean appliances like microwaves & fridges if you want.
The house looked fantastic when they were done. It cost a lot, but in my mind it was worth every cent. Lord knows I couldn't have done that all in 2 days nor done half as good a job as they did.
If you can, you might want to clean the stove before the first time you use it. If it is a self cleaner you can just start it & let it do its thing while you are unpacking boxes.
Find out if you are going to need curtains for any of the rooms & at a minimum make sure you have for bedrooms.
And bring a couple rolls of toilet paper the day you move in (you never know if the prior owners will leave any or not & you don't want to be without on moving day ). |
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