Ask Andrew: Things To Do Before Moving Into Your New Home

Ask Andrew

This sponsored, biweekly Q&A column is written by Andrew Goodman, broker/owner of Goodman, Realtors. Based in Bethesda, Andrew serves clients in Maryland, D.C., and Northern Virginia. Please submit comments, questions, and opinions in the comments section or via email.

Question: I just bought my first home. What should I should be doing prior to moving in?

When you settle on your home, you’re officially a homeowner and free to do what you want to your new property (in accordance with any HOA or condo association rules and regulations of course). There are a few things I recommend every buyer do before he or she moves in:

Change the door locks. I’m sure the seller gave you all of the keys they had to the property at settlement, but how do you know if you have EVERY key?

I have given out several keys for my home to my family members, my housekeeper, neighbors and others. I may not be able to get all of the keys back from these individuals when I sell my property because they may have lost the key or they may have moved.

When buying a new construction property, it may not be that big of a deal if they have pins drop to fit your new key once you put your new key in the lock. Once those pins drop, no keys besides the ones you have will work.

But let’s say you purchase a newly renovated townhome that is not in a new development community. There could be 10 keys floating around with 10 different contractors. You just don’t know who has one. Be safe and change all of your locks.

Forward your mail. Make sure you’ve had all of your mail forwarded to your new home from your old one. If new residents have moved into your old home, they may not be so kind to hold on to or forward you your mail.

Switch your utilities. Your utilities should have already been switched into your name as of the settlement date. However, you may want to double check and make sure the utility companies did their job. Also, if you want TV, phone, or internet, be sure to set that up as it usually takes a couple days to have someone come out to install. Many of us can’t live in a home without TV, phone or internet, so make it easy on yourself and have that set up prior to moving in.

Home Renovations. If you’re planning on painting your home, replacing any flooring or other projects, you want to set that up and have it completed before you have furniture in the home. Working on a vacant home is a lot easier than having to work around (or constantly move) furniture to do the work.

Meet the neighbors. Meet some of your neighbors. Moving into your new home and neighborhood is a happy experience and many neighbors see that as a perfect opportunity to meet and start a good relationship. And who knows? Maybe they’ll even lend a helping hand.

Happy moving!

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up