So you’ve had your property on the market for a while and have now signed a contract of sale and sold your property. First of all congratulations on the sale! While getting that offer may be exciting at first, we’re sure that a bit of stress is beginning to creep into your mind as you start to consider the long list of things you now have to take care.
One of the first things you’ll need to organise is a conveyancing solicitor to manage the sale process for you. Once you’ve got that out of the way and have someone on your side to manage the legal side of the transaction you’ll be able to focus on those other tasks that require attention.
We thought it would be a good idea if we put together a short list of things to consider that might help you out along the way.
Tips for Sellers - Moving House Checklist:
Internet and Phone:
The contract of sale will include a settlement date and your solicitor will be able to confirm this for you. With this in mind you can start planning ahead and organise for your internet and phone to be disconnected at your property and connected at the property you are buying. Your provider may be able to organise a simple transfer, or you might need to change providers, so allow yourself plenty of time to get these essentials organised.
Gas and Electricity:
Remember to disconnect your electricity and gas supply on the settlement date and have connected and ready to go at your new property.
Banking:
It’s important that you keep getting those credit card and bank statements, so remember to update your address with each bank you have an account with. In most cases this can easily be done through your online banking
Driver’s Licence:
In Queensland you must advise Queensland Transport of your new residential address within 14 days of moving, so make sure you do this to avoid a fine. They’ll send you out a change of address label to be affixed to your current licence.
Magazine and Newspaper Subscriptions:
If you have any magazine or newspaper subscriptions remember to contact each publisher and update your address with them.
Mail Delivery:
This is an important one! Be sure to have your mail redirected with Australia Post. They have a simple service that is inexpensive that will redirect all mail delivered to your old address to your new one. This is a great way also of remembering each company you have to change an address with; whenever you get redirected mail add it to a list of companies to contact and update your details with.
Medicare:
Another government department that needs to be updated on your change of address. This can also be easily done online through their website.
Australian Tax Office:
Also be sure to contact the Australian Tax Office and update them on your change of address.
Insurance:
It’s important that your insurance is kept up to date, so you’ll want to update your details for your home and contents insurance, as well as your car insurance. It’s important you speak with your insurer as your premiums are dependant on your address, so these could change when you move. The last thing you want to find is that you’re uninsured when something happens because you didn’t update your address.
Doctors, Accountants and Solicitors:
It’s also a good idea to update all the professionals that you deal with, including your doctor, accountant and solicitor. They will often need to contact you, so update your details with them. When it comes to your solicitor, it may also be worth contacting them about your will, as whenever you sell a property and your financial circumstances change you should update your will to reflect these changes.
Employer:
You also need to update your employer on your current details to ensure their employee record is up to date.
Organising the Property for Settlement:
Once you’ve taken care of the things above, you need to get the property ready for settlement. Things you should consider include arranging for the keys to be delivered to your real estate agent prior to settlement, ensuring you have all the instructions and warranty information for any appliances that are being handed over with the property are accounted for.
Make notes on how to operate things such as a pool, and give the property a good clean ready to hand over to the buyer in perfect condition.
All it takes is a little preparation to make the conveyancing process easier and a lot less stressful for you.