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Moving house needs a lot of planning and effort. The process doesn’t only include packing your belongings and transporting them to your new home but also your services and utilities.
You can simply hire a full-service moving company and can get all your packed boxes to your new place. But moving your stuff from one place to another doesn’t serve the purpose as many other tasks need your attention and managing utilities at your new home is one of them. Here is a step-by-step guide to transfer or manage utilities at your new place.
Plan and Get Organized
It is important to know the details related to your current utility services providers. Once you decide your move and are working with a reputable cross-country moving company like Moving Apt, keep a record of your utilities too. Make a list of all the utilities that you will need at your new place and that may include electricity, sewer, gas, cable and internet, security system, phone, trash, and satellite, etc.
Find and make a list of contact information for all these utility service providers. In case of a long-distance move, you may have to change your utility providers and, in that case, collect information about those service providers.
Notify Your Utility Providers
It is important to inform your utility prior to your move well in advance. Make sure you call every utility provider individually and at least 15 days prior and for services that need to be installed, inform the service providers at least a month prior.
For instance, cable and internet service needs installation and should be arranged accordingly. When you arrange disconnect of your electricity and gas services, make sure you choose the date at least two days after the move. This will ensure that all your services will keep working till the end.
And similarly, schedule the gas and electricity services a couple of days before your moving date so that you have every utility ready before you move into your home. Scheduling installation of cable and internet will make your home ready to live immediately after moving in.
Go and meet the sewer and water service providers at your new place at least two weeks prior to your move. Make sure you arrange the service to begin on or before your move.
While calling your utility service providers, keep some important information handy with you, that may include account information and account passwords, both old and new home addresses, social security number, latest payment receipt, and move-in and move-out dates.
Also, ask your service provider if there is any transfer, installation, or cancellation fee. If you had paid any deposit at the time of installation of your utility connection, ask them if you will get the money back or if that will be adjusted in the bill amount.
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Check with HOA
If you are moving to a community that has a Homeowners’ Association then your membership may cover some of the basic utilities including gas, water, sewer, and trash.
So, it is highly recommendable to check with the Homeowners’ Association of your new community if they provide any services. It will ease the process and you will not have to run to various utility departments.
Update Your Address
You can either update your address online or you can call the utility service providers to know the procedure of changing your address.
For an online address update, all you have to do is to go to USPS.com and update your address. Choose the date that you want the new address should be effective from.
Pay Your Bills
No matter if you are transferring your utility connections or are planning to get new ones, never forget to pay your overdue bills before you move to your new place.
If you have any outstanding amount with any utility service provider, this may hamper your credit score. So, make sure you call your service provider to know if there is anything that you owe to them and pay that.
Note the Final Meter Readings
Do not forget to call your utility managers to note the final reading on your utility connections including gas, electric, and water. Keep the latest copy of all your utility connection bills so that you can deal with any unexpected bills after the move.
Get an Energy Audit Done
Once you have moved to your new home and have got all utility connections working, it is a good idea to call a technician to perform an energy audit. By doing this audit, the technician will be able to confirm if you need any improvement in the furnace, ductwork, and/or insulation.
It will also let you know if there is any air leakage in the house. Air leaks can be sealed by placing a sweep at the outside door and/or you can apply caulk around the windows. With all of the above-said steps, you can manage your utilities well while moving to another place.
