Top Things You Will Want to Do Before You Move Into That Home You Just Bought

You have signed the pile of paperwork, secured a mortgage, and have the signed deed. The real estate agent has plastered a "sold" sign in front of a house that will soon be yours. All that's left is packing your bags. Before you move into your new home, though, here are a few things that you need to do.

1) Get rid of as much as you can. Hold a yard sale, call up local charities for pickup and get those trash bags ready. If you have purchased a property, the last thing you want is to fill it with years of past clutter. Use the opportunity of packing to weed out unnecessary items. Anything that's broken, rarely used, or no longer useful should be discarded. Start fresh in your new home.

2) Start saving boxes, newspapers, and packing materials as soon as you sign the mortgage. As soon as you know you will be moving, start saving up so that you can pack everything you need to take with you. Chances are that you will need more packing materials than you think, so start saving early. It will save you a lot of money on packing materials, and recycling rather than buying new materials is better for the environment as well.

3) Get a professional to clean your new property. A professional cleaning of your new property is the best way to know what's really going on with your new home. That grungy countertop that you thought needed to be replaced may only need a really good going over. That stairwell that you thought needed a new coat of paint may actually look super after all the years of grime have been polished off. A good professional cleaning can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars in renovation work.

4) Schedule repair or renovation work for about four to six months before you move. Contractors sometimes take longer than promised, so before you move make sure that you get any renovation or repair work completed. It's often a lot easier for contractors to work without your furniture and possessions in the way, and by getting renovations done ahead of time you can move into a property that is just as you want it.

5) Take care of necessary moving errands a few weeks before you move. Three to two weeks before you move into your new property, set up new telephone, electricity, cable, gas, water, and other utility services and tell your current utility services to cut off everything at the end of your expected moving day. Set up dates when deliveries (of newspapers, magazines, dry cleaning, and laundry) will be cut off. Visit the post office and get a change of address card filled out.

6) Re-key your property. For your security and peace of mind, make sure that you get new locks on all your door well before you move in. This is something you might want to do as soon as you take possession of the house.

Benjamin DeBell is the owner and web master of bendebell.com, your guide to tulsa real estate. Benjamin DeBell also recommends tulsa realtor, Phillip Uzzel for all your buying and selling needs. When it comes to old or new remodel on your property, Benjamin DeBell trusts tulsa construction leader; DeBell Construction.