Who should I notify before moving house?

So, you’re about to sign on the dotted line and you’re already looking forward to moving in to the new house? Who do you need to call to notify of your new address? Here’s a handy checklist (in no particular order) to use as a guide;

• ·         Gas company
• ·         Electricity company
• ·         Water/sewerage provider
• ·         Telephone provider
• ·         Mobile phone provider
• ·         Broadband provider
• ·         Satellite/cable provider
• ·         T.V Licensing Authority
• ·         Bank
• ·         Building Society
• ·         Credit card companies
• ·         Store card companies
• ·         Loyalty card companies
• ·         Shares organisations
• ·         Doctor
• ·         Dentist
• ·         Optician
• ·         Medical/life insurance company
• ·         Car/house insurance companies
• ·         Osteopath/Chiropractor
• ·         Vet
• ·         Health clinic
• ·         Motoring organisations
• ·         DVLA
• ·         Council tax office
• ·         Social security office
• ·         JobCentre
• ·         Passport Office
• ·         Employer
• ·         National Insurance Office
• ·         Inland Revenue
• ·         Pension Office
• ·         Nursery/Playgroup
• ·         School/s
• ·         Extra curricular teachers/groups
• ·         Magazine subscription companies
• ·         Charities
• ·         Sports/social clubs
• ·         Royal Mail (don’t forget to redirect the post for 6mths as well!)
• ·         Telephone/Mail Preference Service
• ·         Online shopping accounts

We’d hope you’ve already let your removal company know when to turn up.

Don’t forget to let your estate agent know where you’re moving to. We’re usually the first stop for new owners looking to drop off post/parcels and you’d be amazed at the amount of items we ship to old clients in their new homes every year!

The trials and tribulations of moving house!

One of our partners moved house last Friday for the first time in 6 years – it looks like nothing has changed in the conveyancing process! Solicitors still “go to lunch” for an hour at the critical part of the day, mortgage lenders send money when they feel like it rather than when needed, estate agents are unavailable when keys need to be collected.

At the start of a new century, surely it’s time to renovate this hugely archaic system so the clients involved get what they need when they need it. There is no excuse for solicitors not to request mortgage funds the day before a completion – yes, it costs the client a day’s interest but it WILL save valuable hours on the day. Our partner, thanks to his superorganised wife, had the whole house packed and in the van by 10.30am but the buyer’s solicitor failed to send the completion monies into the system until 11.45. Given lunch hours (does any other profession still take an hour for lunch with no-one covering the office?), this resulted in completion at 2.30pm. That’s 4 hours wasted in anybody’s book.

However, we must mention the real heroes of the process – the removal men. Militarily organised, friendly, worked straight through from 2.30 to 6pm without a break and faultless in every way. We bet most clients don’t spare a thought for how tough a job it must be.

 Madison Oakley are an independent estate agent and letting agent in Bath. We are a small director led firm with over 50 years combined local experience.To find out more about us, do visit our website. We would always be delighted to receive comments via our blog or do feel free to call us on 01225 466525.