Checklist
First home move-in checklist
Enter the day you get the keys. Tasks before that day show their dates; the tasks for the first week and month are listed in order after it. Options add work before moving in, a garden and a shared building.
Before key day
Key day
First week
First month
Tips for this list
- Do the dusty jobs before the furniture arrives. Painting and flooring in an empty room are quicker and cheaper than in a furnished one.
- Label the stop tap, the fuse box and the gas shut-off on key day. The time you need them is not the time to go looking.
- Live in the house for a few weeks before big changes. Where the light falls and which rooms you use will change what you want.
- This is an organising checklist. Your solicitor, lender and surveyor are the sources for anything about the purchase itself.
Questions
What should I do first when I get the keys?
Walk through the empty home, photograph the rooms and the meters, test the keys and find the water shut-off, fuse box and heating controls. The key-day section lists these in order.
Should I change the locks when I buy a house?
Many new owners do, because nobody knows how many copies of the old keys exist. The checklist puts the decision in the first week; a locksmith can tell you whether the whole lock or only the cylinder needs changing.
Why do only some tasks show a date?
Dates are counted back from key day, so they apply to the tasks before it and on it. The first-week and first-month tasks come after key day and are listed in the order to do them.
Related lists
Change of address checklist
Everyone who holds your address, grouped by type so you can work through them in one sitting.
Moving day checklist
One day, in order: before the truck, loading, locking up, unloading and the first evening.
8-week moving checklist
The full two-month plan: enter your move date and every task from booking to handing over keys gets its own day.