There are so many things to do before you move out that it’s fairly easy to forget to do something important.
Luckily, some of the tasks you fail to take care of will not have any serious consequences in the end. Here’s a quick example: forgetting to take your coat from the dry cleaners is a bummer but it’s still okay – you can still contact the dry cleaning company after the move is complete and have them send you the piece of clothing to the new address.
Unluckily, failure to complete other pre-move tasks on time can give you splitting post-move headaches. For instance, if you happen to forget to transfer your utilities before you move out, then you will be in for an unpleasant surprise the moment you move into your new home – no electricity, and no running water. And no Internet access so you won’t even be able to complain to your Facebook friends either.
Read on to learn how to transfer utilities when moving house.
WHY do you need to change your utilities when moving?
It’s easy to understand why you should transfer the utilities when moving house – you’re moving out so you won’t be living in your current place anymore. Your address is changing (don’t forget to change your address too!) and so are your home utilities. After all, you wouldn’t wish to be paying for any utility services you’re not using anymore, would you?
Changing utilities is a must-do task when you’ve bought a new property – be it a house or an apartment in another town or city in the country. Since you’ll be the new owner, you’re going to need to switch the utilities into your name.
On the other hand, if you’re renting a place, then you may not need to do anything about the new home utilities. Make sure you work out all the details with your landlord before you move in.
Either way, you’ll definitely need to disconnect your current house utilities before your scheduled move-out day so that you don’t get charged for services you haven’t really used. Read on to learn when you need to cancel your utilities.
What to do before moving to a new home
WHEN to change utilities: before or after the move?
The answer is simple: do it BEFORE the house move takes place. Unlike the task of changing your address where you have 2 viable options – to do it before you move out of the old place or do it after you move in the new residence, transferring utilities when moving house should only be done before Moving day.
You won’t be thrilled to find out there’s no electricity in your new home.
Contact your utility companies roughly 3 weeks before to schedule the disconnection of your current utilities. Switching utilities can take time, especially in the summer that is the height of the home moving season. So, make sure you notify your utility companies well in advance to guarantee a smooth transition.
When exactly do you cancel utilities when moving? Ideally, you’ll want to schedule your utilities to be disconnected 1 day after your move out of the old home and then arrange them to be reconnected 1 day before you move into your new one.
As always, timing is crucial. Nevertheless, if you find it impossible to arrange the transfer or change all of your utilities within the ideal time frame, then make it your priority to at least have power and running water in the new place on the day that you move in.
MOVING CHECKLIST: Interactive and Printable
WILL you be TRANSFERRING or CHANGING your utilities?
You already know that you will need to stop the utilities at your old place and then set them up in the new one. But do you know if you’ll need to transfer your home utilities or change your utilities during the move?
It all depends whether you’re moving locally (within the same state) or whether you’re moving long distance to another state in the country.
In the case of in-state moving, you may be able to keep the same utility providers, meaning that you’ll only have to transfer the utilities to the new home while keeping them in your name. Often, transferring your utilities instead of changing them will also mean that you won’t have to pay a deposit, a cancellation fee or a connection fee since you’ll be retaining those utility accounts.
In the case of interstate moving, the new state or specific area in the state may not be covered by your current utility service providers. If so, then you’re going to have to change your utilities, not transfer them. Changing utilities when moving house will often incur extra expenses such as a cancellation fee, a connection fee and of course – a deposit.
20 Simple ways to reduce moving costs
SHOULD you transfer or change all your household utilities?
The period of moving from one home to another is the ideal time to re-evaluate and re-assess the utility services you’re using in an attempt to save money in the future. After all, moving to a new home is an expensive affair as it is so any way you can reduce the moving costs should be more than welcome.
Think about whether you’re using all household utilities in a way that it’s worth paying for them each month? Maybe you’re not watching cable TV as much as you used to? Or maybe you seldom use a landline telephone now.
Either way, see if there’s a utility service that you won’t really need in the new place you’re moving to, and then don’t reconnect it. When you’re not sure about a service, then one good way you can solve the dilemma is to set up only the major home utilities at the new address (electricity, water, gas, Internet), and then wait a while and see if you can live comfortably without any extras.
HOW to change your utilities when moving
As soon as you’ve answered the WHY and WHEN questions and you know exactly which household utilities you will move to the new home, now you’ll be ready to initiate the process of transferring or changing your utilities.
Here’s what to do with utilities when you move – the step-by-step process that will help you tackle that important task in a highly efficient manner.
Step 1. Create a list of your house utilities
Some house utilities are more important than others.
Sit down and write down on a piece of paper all the household utilities you’re using at the moment. The major services you’re probably using are: electricity, water, gas, cable TV, Internet, phone, and waste removal.
As you’re creating that list, write down the name of the corresponding utility company for each service because later you’ll need to contact each of those service providers and arrange the disconnection of the utilities in your current home.
Go through that list of utilities to change when moving, again, and see if you can be willing to give up a service in the name of future cost savings.
Step 2. Get in touch with your current utility providers
The next step is obvious enough – you need to contact your current service providers and inform them that you’re moving out. Call them up early enough, at least 3 weeks before your scheduled move-out date so that they can respond adequately to your request for utilities disconnection. Don’t wait until the last minute to do so – plan things ahead to guarantee a smooth move without too much unnecessary stress.
If you don’t have their contact information, just look them up on the net – it should be easy to find their respective websites from where you can get their phone numbers.
Step 3. Pay any overdue bills
Before you can have your utilities disconnected effectively, you’ll need to have paid any outstanding balances with your current utility companies.
So, when you get in touch with those service providers, check if you’ve got any unpaid bill with them or if you own them any types of fees. And if it turns out that you do, then you’ll have to pay such outstanding balances in full before you get the utilities disconnected at the old home.
In other words, your account balance will have to be at ZERO before your subscriber accounts can be stopped or transferred in the case of a local move. Furthermore, unpaid bills may affect your credit score so it’s always a good idea to NEVER owe anyone anything before you move out.
Step 4. Get back any deposits from your utility companies
Get back your utility deposits, if any.
Most utility service providers require deposits from new customers at the time of connection of a service. And if you’ve also paid such deposits to your current utility companies, then this is the right time to contact them and request that they pay you back those deposits.
As long as you’ve paid your bills on time and do not owe the utility providers any money, you should be able to get your utility deposits back without any problems.
Speak with each company to get more information about how you can get those deposits back. In some cases, you may need to return the equipment you rented from them when they hooked you up for the first time.
Step 5. Find good utility companies in the new town or city
Next on your moving house utilities checklist is to find good utility providers in your destination town or city.
When renting a place, then your landlord will know what service providers are available in the area, so make sure you discuss that important topic with them. Also, you have to know whether any of the utility services will be included in the monthly rent or not.
When moving into an apartment, the property manager (or the building management) will tell you more information about which utility companies service the apartment building so most of the times you won’t even need to look for new service providers. When moving into a house, you can get more information from your real estate agent or your neighbors.
Step 6. Arrange the set-up of the new home utilities
Once you know the names of the utility companies in the new area, it’s time to call them up and see what can offer you in terms of terms and prices. If you have a choice between several utility companies for one and the same service, then that will give you the power to negotiate better terms for yourself.
Here are some of the more important questions you should ask the home utility companies in the new town or city:
- How much does it cost to transfer utilities? What will the charges be for setting up utility services?
- Will you have to pay a deposit before your utilities can be turned on? What’s the amount of that deposit? What are the terms of getting back that deposit if the time comes for you to move out again in the future?
- Will you be eligible for discounts or special offers? Sometimes first-time customers get good deals, so don’t forget to ask this very question.
Write down the readings of your utility meters before you move out.
Don’t forget that the purpose of your calls is still to arrange the connection of the respective utility services, so request a date and time for having those utilities set up. Remember that the ideal re-connection date is a few days before you move in.
Also, you will usually be given a time range when the utility service person is expected to come over. Most of the times, you will be required to be present when the utilities are being switched on.
Step 7. Write down the readings of your utility meters
Before you move out of your old home, it’s important that you do one final reading of all utility meters (electricity, water, gas, etc.) in the house or apartment.
Keep those numbers in a safe place in case of a possible dispute later one that you still owe a utility company money even though you know that you don’t. To make sure your proof is irrefutable, take photos of the utility meters while the date stamp feature of your camera is turned on.
