Home Buying Tips:  

Moving To A New State

Moving takes a lot of planning. It’s especially challenging when moving to a new state. These Things to Do When Moving to a New State will help you plan!

How easy is it moving to a new state? Some will say not at all. Moving to a new state can be easy if you prepare and plan ahead. Don’t let the overwhelming thought of moving keep you from getting excited about your new home. Here are  tips that will make your next move go smoother.

1. Check out our definitive guide on how to buy a house in another state.  Do you need a buyer’s agent?  

While you spend most of your day on your smartphone anyway so this one should be easy. Research neighborhoods. This will save you so much time for when you actually start looking for places to live. Don’t forget to research restaurants, bars, and local businesses as well. My favorite way of doing this is following online publications or bloggers/influencers from the new city you’re moving to.

Area Familiarization

Get out & explore. Check out your surroundings & find the best routes to work & shopping. While you are out, you will find all the hidden gems that will be your new favorite places in the weeks to come.

This can be easily done by searching hashtags on Instagram relevant to your new city. Websites like Eater and Thrillist also provide guides and restaurants to any city you search for.

Maybe your favorite neighborhood doesn’t have a grocery store in walking distance but the neighborhood next to it does. When it comes to looking for apartments websites like Zillow and Hotpads will become your best friend in mapping out what will be nearby.

Change your address, update your credit cards, bills & shipping address.

You can start by filling out the moving form at the post office so they can start forwarding your mail. This will catch anything that is caught in between the time you move & the time everyone has the updated information. Post office sometimes misses things. So it’s good to contact anyone who may be sending you something & let them know your new address as quickly as possible. If you can do it before you even move & give a date for when that new address should be used, that would be great. 

Get a new driver’s license & register to vote.

Most of the time the voter registration can be done at the DMV when you are updating your license, which is really handy. It’s good to not wait too long to get this taken care of as there are some states only allow as short as 10 days once you have established residency. While you are there, be sure to update your vehicle registration too. There are penalties for not switching over in the allotted time.

2. SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS:

What I mean is, have your power, cable, wifi, etc all set up for your move-in date or before. Find out who your service providers are in the area before moving and call around and get quotes. Also, remember to change your address BEFORE moving. It may take the post office a couple of weeks to officially change your address so you want to make sure that all of your mail is forwarded. Also, it’s best to start packing as soon as possible! Moving is a stressful process so the sooner you start packing the more prepared you will start to feel.

Set up utilities

It seems simple, but you would be surprised at how just one thing can slip through the cracks when you are so busy with the other moving tasks. Make a list of all the services you know you will want & get the turn on dates scheduled out as soon as you can. Normally takes 3 weeks after move-in date to get internet & a cable TV  even when you called a month in advance of your moving date. The house & street were brand new & services were not even completely installed for hookup yet by the provider. So they had to make extra plans & get extra crews in our area to complete the infrastructure in order to hook up our home. You never know what the circumstances will be, so planning ahead as much as you can is always best.

3. SELL YOUR THINGS IN ADVANCE:

When dealing with moving, there’s a lot of money involved. You want to make sure you have exhausted all of your income options. If you’re moving by plane – selling your belongings may make your life easier while putting a little extra in your pocket. Websites like Craigslist and eBay will help you sell that old couch or random lamp you won’t need anymore. Alternatively, you can also post things up on Facebook or if you don’t need the money or need to get rid of something just donate it to GoodWill.

Set up arrangements for furniture.

Know that when moving long distances it’s often not worth the expense of dragging ALL of our large pieces of furniture across the country. Moving trucks &/or services are expensive & often charge by weight. Several times you will have to sell off some of your bulky items (which helps pay for the moving expenses) and rent furniture when you get to our destination. This helps you only move what you really need AND once you get settled you can better determine your continuing needs for more permanent pieces later on.

LABEL THE IMPORTANT STUFF SEPARATELY: 

Things like your birth certificate, social security card, passport, etc should be put together in a safe place and a place that you will remember. You should also make them easily accessible so that you’re not searching for them once you have officially moved.

4. FIND A JOB:

Unless you’re prepared to be unemployed for a while of course. Start looking for jobs up to 2 months in advance. It may also work to be honest with employers and let them know of your plans to move and potentially showing proof that you actually are moving to their city. Websites like Indeed, Linkedin, Craigslist will be helpful in finding a job.

If you don’t have a job lined up be prepared to have money saved up for settling down in your new home.

5.  FIND THE RIGHT BUYERS AGENT

Choosing the top real estate agent can be tough whether you are buying or selling a home. We are here to help you connect with and get free access to the best buyer and seller agents.

The National Buyers Agents Association has a network of top-rate fiduciary buyers agents, as well as a resource of good listing agents. Good listing agents will be skilled in getting you top dollar for your home. Buyer agents mostly have well-established connections to other business professionals who can help make your move less stressful. Simply communicate your needs by filling out the online form where you can get immediate results.  Also, the association manager, Kathleen Chiras, and her staff will contact you back as soon as possible. For faster access to top buyer agents, fill out the form or call 800-383-7188, Mondays through Sundays. The service is continually adding new home-buying videos, so check out our YouTube channel today! See you there!