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* Please let me know if you would like me to email this checklist to you in PDF format -- or faxed. *
Moving Checklist
Eight Weeks prior to Moving Day
____ Keep tract of your moving expenses -- they may be tax deductible. Consult the Internal Revenue Service web site to download publication #521 and accompanying forms. www.irs.gov You can also call toll free at: 1-800-424-3676 and ask for a moving expense bulletin/publication. ____ If you use a mover, get 2-3 estimates from reputable moving companies. See my “Working with Movers” section for tips on the selection, management, responsibilities, and logistics involved when you hire professional movers. ____ If you are going to move yourself, get costs and availability from at least two truck rental companies. ____ If an employer is paying for your relocation, confirm what preparations, if any , you’ll be required to make. ____ Reserve your moving and delivery dates (or rental dates) as soon as possible. ____ Create a floor plan of your new home for furniture and appliance placement. Maybe you won’t have to move everything! ____ Prepare to have a moving sale for items you don’t want to take with you. Consider other options for more valuable items. Consult your tax person regarding donation of items that do not sell. ____ Arrange to transfer school records. Check on registration requirements at new schools. ____ Get your new home ready. If possible, line up painters and other contractors to complete work before you arrive. A thorough cleaning a day or two before you arrive makes for a more pleasant experience and allows you to concentrate on other matters. I would be pleased to help with this process. Prepared by Mark Sponheim -- Realtor
Six Weeks prior to Moving Day
____ Ask your doctors or health plan provider for referrals, and obtain all medical and dental records. ____ Subscribe to the paper in your new hometown to learn more about your new community and what the current issues are. ____ If you are renting, notify your landlord or management company at least four weeks in advance (or sooner per rental agreement) ____ Browse on-line to see what you can find out about where you are headed. If you are joining us in the ____ Clean all closets and drawers. Begin to remove clutter - especially from storage areas. ____ Start using foods and cleaning supplies that cannot be moved easily. ____ If your new home is on a narrow street, or one with limited access, you should check with your Realtor, or the local police/sheriff to see if special arrangements need to be made for moving vans. ____ Video tape or photograph your current home’s contents. ____ Avoid waxing or oiling wooden antiques and fine wood furniture before moving, because some products might soften the wood, making it vulnerable to imprinting from furniture pads. ____ Do not clean your upholstered furniture before moving. Moisture could cause mold if furniture mast be place in storage. Prepared by Mark Sponheim -- Realtor www.Homes365.com
Four Weeks prior to Moving Day ____ If you are packing yourself, obtain packing materials and start packing items you won’t need until after you arrive at your new house. ____ If you have pets, schedule a check-up and be sure to get a copy of their records from the veterinarian -- and possibly a referral. ____ Arrange for special transportation of your pets and plants if necessary. ____ Make appointments to have your hair cut and prescriptions filled shortly before the move. ____ Check with your insurance company to see how your possessions are covered during transit. ____ Make any travel plans necessary for your move. ____ Collect your important records. Gather personal and family records, including medical and dental, veterinary and school records, legal and financial documents, birth certificates, passports and insurance documents, etc… ____ Enter important/handy phone numbers for your new residence in your family phone book that you will carry with you. ____ Do not cancel your existing homeowners insurance until well after your move, your “old home” has sold/closed - and you have the proceeds, and you have moved into your new home and confirmed new homeowners coverage. You can’t afford to have any gap in coverage and most insurance companies will prorate the premium to the closing date even if you call in several weeks later.
Prepared by Mark Sponheim -- Realtor www.Homes365.com
Three Weeks prior to Moving Day
____ Schedule disconnection of all utility services at your old home, and connection of them at your new one. Be sure to disconnect the day after you leave and connect the day before you arrive. Don’t forget internet service. ____ Arrange to have the locks on all the doors in your new home changed at a convenient time. ____ Hold your moving sale. ____ Obtain and fill out post office change-of-address cards. ____ If moving to another state, prepare auto registration for transfer. ____ If you have young children, consider making child care arrangements for moving day. ____ Change the address of your current magazine subscriptions. ____ Return any borrowed items (including library books) and retrieve any loaned items. Prepared by Mark Sponheim -- Realtor www.Homes365.com
Two Weeks prior to Moving Day
____ Arrange for donation or disposal of anything not sold at your moving sale. ____ Call your local phone company to either set up a transfer of your number, or to request a new number for your new home. ____ Service your car in preparation for the move. Consider climate changes. ____ Properly dispose of items that should not be moved. (flammable liquids, paint, yard care products, etc.) ____ Cancel newspaper delivery. ____ Notify any creditors of your move. ____ Transfer prescriptions and be sure you have an adequate supply of medications on hand. ____ Assemble a file folder of information to leave for the new owner of your home. ____ Change your address. Send change-of-address cards to everyone who will need to contact you. ____ Find new homes for plants that will not be moved. ____ Pack a travel kit: Put aside critical items like a checkbook, credit cards, personal phone book, ID, flashlight, keys, toiletries, paper plates, cups, towels, travel alarm clock, aspirin, prescription medications, bandages, and games for the kids. Also pack a suitcase with clothing and other personal items. Prepared by Mark Sponheim -- Realtor www.Homes365.com
Two Days prior to Moving Day ____ Obtain certified check or traveler’s checks for the trip and to pay the movers. ____ Close and empty your safe deposit box. ____ Transfer your bank accounts. ____ Settle any bills with local businesses / service persons. ____ Drain power equipment of oil and gas. Drain water hoses. Remember to make sure the water is emptied from your steam iron. ____ Confirm any travel reservations. ____ Pack a box of items that will be needed first at the new house. Clearly mark this box “load last”. ____ In addition to clearly labeling each box, you may want to consider putting colored stickers on the moving boxes. Use a different color for each room in the new house. Prepared by Mark Sponheim -- Realtor www.Homes365.com
One Day prior to Moving Day
____ Defrost refrigerator & freezer, propping doors open. ____ Disconnect and prepare major appliances for the move. Set aside anything that will travel in your car so it will not be loaded on the truck. ____ Confirm arrival time (pickup time if rental) of your moving truck. ____ Make sure to back-up your computer files before you disconnect and pack it away.
Prepared by Mark Sponheim -- Realtor
Moving Day
____ If using a mover, be sure someone is at the old house to answer questions. ____ With movers, read your bill of lading and inventory carefully before signing. Keep this paperwork in a safe place. ____ Make sure your “travel survival kit” is not packed, but goes with you. ____ Specify a “DO NOT MOVE” area where you place items you do not want the movers to take with them. ____ Right before the movers leave, take a final tour of your home, making sure nothing has been left in drawers or closets and that all doors and windows are locked. ____ Leave home only after the moving truck is on its way. ____ Leave keys with Real Estate agent / landlord / or new owner.
Prepared by Mark Sponheim, Realtor -- www.Homes365.com
Delivery Day
____ Again, someone needs to be on hand at your new home promptly to answer any questions.
____ Check circuit breakers or fuse box to be sure everything is on.
____ Supervise unloading, placement and unpacking.
____ Put your “travel survival kit” in a place you won’t forget, like the bathtub. Crazy? Hardly. You’ll know where to find it!
____ Unpack your bedding and make up the beds as soon as they’re in place, not when you’re dog tired at the end of the day. Set up your bedside stand with a lamp and a clock.
____ Check your belongings carefully and note on the inventory paperwork any damaged items.
____ After the beds, focus on the bathroom: organize your medicine cabinet, hang your shower curtain, and set out some towels.
____ Be prepared to pay your mover with certified check, or traveler’s checks unless other arrangements have been made in advance.
____ Create a “move-free” zone to relax in at the end of the day -- a room free of boxes and clutter. Set up the TV/DVD or stereo, bring in some furniture, turn on the lamps. It may not be permanent, but it’ll help you feel at home.
____ Don’t try and prepare meals today. Find a “fast food” place, or start trying the local pizza delivery places. Remember most grocery stores now have full meals already prepared available.
____ If you have an extra room you won’t be using for a while, keep nonessential boxes, etc… there.
____ Call family and friends. Let them know you’ve arrived safely.
Prepared by Mark Sponheim, Realtor -- www.Homes365.com
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