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The
following items should be considered immediately upon moving into a new home:
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Locate your local Post Office.
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Mail that has been forwarded from your old address via our
computerized forwarding system will have a yellow address label on it. Notify
the sender of your new address.
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Locate police and fire stations as well as hospitals and gas
stations near your home.
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Scout your new neighborhood for shopping areas. You may need
furniture, tools, or housewares unexpectedly.
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Call the Department of Sanitation in your new town to find out
which day the trash is collected. Also ask whether your new community has
recycling programs.
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Seek out new service providers such as a bank, cleaners,
veterinarian.
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Register to vote. Call your local board of elections for specific
registration information. Ask them how to notify your previous voting district
of your change of address.
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If you have moved into a different state, contact the Department
of Motor Vehicles to exchange your driver's license.
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Call your Chamber of Commerce for helpful information on:
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Schools
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Cable service
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Cultural events and community activities
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Libraries and parks
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Availability of emergency calling services, such as 911
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Provide your new doctor and dentist with your medical history. You
may need to request your file from your previous doctor/dentist.
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Transfer insurance policies to an agent in your new community. You
may also wish to make a detailed list of your belongings, their value, and your
coverage.
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Give your new home a good cleaning.
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Moving can be stressful. Watch for effects on family members and
pets so you can give comfort and a helping hand.
ADDITIONAL LONG-TERM REMINDERS
The following items
are more long-term items to consider when moving into a new home:
The First Week
- Install new locks.
- Make extra sets of keys.
- Buy a fire extinguisher for the kitchen and garage.
- Install or check the batteries in the smoke detectors.
Who's Taking
Pictures?
The first 6 months you will notice people taking pictures of your house.
They are real estate appraisers.
When you had an appraisal for your purchase, the appraiser had to take photos of
similar home sales. Lenders require photos of comparable sales used in an
appraisal. Now your house is being
used as a comparable on appraisals being done for other sales or refinancing.
Keep Your House In
Shape
- Make repairs and do preventative maintenance as needed early on.
- Keep an eye open for termite droppings and wet wood condition.
- Keep rain gutters and downspouts working properly to drain water away from the
house.
Home Safety Check
List (if needed)
- Install good sturdy handrails.
- Service all heating equipment.
- Install carbon monoxide detectors.
- Use anti-skid material under area rugs.
- Install smoke detectors in key locations.
- Install an automatic night light outside bedrooms.
- Keep fire extinguishers handy in kitchen and garage.
- Keep medicines, poisons and firearms in child secured cabinets.
- Properly store paints, solvents and gasoline in a well-ventilated area.
- Provide rope or chain ladders on upper stories if there is no fire escape.
- Install ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI) in bathrooms and by kitchen
sink.
Start A House File
Keep all important house related papers, title insurance, loan information,
property insurance, etc. in a central "house file" system.
Important: save all receipts for any home improvements for later
"possible" tax write-offs.
Thinking Of Adding
On?
- Always get permits.
- Don't over improve for the neighborhood.
- Use professionals to maximize your investment.
- Addition should blend well with the existing architecture.
Well-planned and executed remodeling jobs are a good investment
and some specific home improvements even can increase the value above the
initial cost. Any owner contemplating an addition and/or change to his or her
property should first check with the appropriate county or municipal building
department to avoid any building code violations, which will generally render a
seller's title unmarketable. In addition a seller's failure to disclose such
violations (they have knowledge of) may constitute a material misrepresentation,
entitling the buyer to rescind the transaction and obtain the return of his or
her money.
Choosing a Reliable
Contractor
Never hire a contractor without first taking the following 9 steps:
1. Call the State License Board to verify the license number of the contractor.
And ask the board if there are any outstanding complaints against that license
holder.
2. Contact your local Better Business Bureau to see if there are any complaints
on file.
3. When interviewing, ask prospects about their workman's
compensation insurance.
4. Get the policy number and phone number of the insurance carrier. Call to be
sure the contractor is covered. If he or she is not, any work-related injury on
your property could become a liability to you.
5. Check to see that the contractor has an umbrella general liability policy.
6. Always ask for references.
7. Always take the time to call and verify them.
8. Do not give in to pressure to make a decision. Believe it or not, there are
more contractors than there is work to be done. If a contractor insists that you
make a quick decision, move on to someone else.
9. Never pay a deposit to a contractor. If you are asked to pay a deposit fee at
the first meeting, simply end the meeting.
Special Government
Programs for Rehab?
HUD's Rehabilitation Loan Program, Section 203 (K) is designed to facilitate
major structural rehabilitation of houses with one to four units that are more
than one year old. Condominiums are not eligible.
The 203 (K) loan is usually done as a combination loan to
purchase a fixer-upper property "as is" and rehabilitate it, or to
refinance a temporary loan to buy the property and do the rehabilitation. It can
also be done as a rehabilitation-only loan. Plans and specifications for the
proposed work must be submitted for architectural review and cost estimation.
Mortgage proceeds are advanced periodically during the rehabilitation period to
finance the construction costs. At
this time, only select lenders are participating.
For a lender list, call HUD at (202) 708-2720.
Some Home
Improvement Expenses are Tax Deductible.
Mortgage interest payments on acquiring and improving a principal residence
are fully deductible from income for tax purposes In addition, expenditures for
permanent improvements can be added into your home's cost basis, or amount of
money invested in a home, which reduces capital gains.
Save all receipts of money spent for permanent improvements,
repairs after a fire, flood or storm and special property tax assessments for
neighborhood improvements.
Capital gains are determined by the difference in price from the
time a home is purchased and the time it is sold, minus the cost of any
permanent improvements.
Thinking Of
Refinancing?
- Don't list your house for sale if you are thinking of refinancing.
- Lenders usually require your house not to be listed in the recent past.
- Appraisers are required to make such disclosures if known.
- Keep your insurance up to date
- Keep records of any improvements as you have them done.
- Keep in a binder, receipts and owner's manuals of any equipment you buy.
- Take photos or video's of all your rooms and keep them in a safe place.
- Property values can rise dramatically in just a few years which is why it is
important to have
replacement cost insurance. Should you have a theft or fire, these will
be very valuable for claims.
Know Your
Neighborhood
After you are settled in, introduce yourself to your neighbors and invite
them over. Most people want to know
who their neighbors are, but most are shy about making that first introduction.
Break the ice first and introduce yourself.
Get involved in the neighborhood watch program. In areas of high crime,
community watch programs organized by homeowners can lower the crime rate and
rid a neighborhood of graffiti. These improvements also can enhance property
values. Knowing your neighbors is
why people enjoy living where they live.
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