EPISODE 28 – [1st Time Homebuyer] – PREPARING FOR THE MOVE

Preparing for a move can feel overwhelming, but with the right plan, it may become a smooth and even enjoyable experience. In Episode 28 of the Happy Homeowners Hub Podcast, Fred Turner breaks down the essential steps to prepare for moving day, from choosing the right moving method to packing efficiently and setting up your new home properly.

In this episode, you’ll learn the pros and cons of moving yourself, hiring a moving company, or using a pod service. Fred also shares practical packing strategies, organization tips, and real-life insights that could help you avoid common moving mistakes.

You’ll also hear important advice on setting up homeowners insurance, understanding coverage options, choosing the right deductible, and making sure your utilities and address changes are handled correctly before move-in day.

Whether you're a first-time homebuyer or simply relocating, this episode provides actionable tips to help you save time, reduce stress, and avoid unnecessary expenses.

In this episode, we cover:

• The 3 main moving options: 
   
  • Moving yourself 
  • Hiring a moving company
  • Using a pod service (a flexible and cost-effective option) 
• How to estimate packing supplies: 
   
• Decluttering before your move: 
   

Moving day preparation: 
 Asking friends and family for help 

• Making it a fun and organized moving day 
• Why everything should be packed before helpers arrive 
• Homeowners insurance setup:  
• Updating your address: 
• Utility transfer checklist: 
• Additional considerations: 
   
  • Consider a Home warranty 
• Doing painting or flooring before moving in 

Books available from Happy Homeowners Hub and sold on Amazon.com

For more details on these books, check out HappyHomeownersHub.com 

                       Click on the Amazon book links below

The Happy Homeowners Handbook for Navigating Property Claims

The Happy Homeowners Handbook for First-Time Homebuyers 

The Happy Homeowners Handbook for Selling Your Home by Owner 

The Happy Homeowners Home Maintenance Journal 

If you would like to receive my Newsletter, just go to my website HappyHomeownersHub.com, and fill out the “Contact Us” page and put the word NEWSLETTER in the message box.

Transcript

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This is episode 28 and is titled Preparing for the Move. You put an offer on your home. It was accepted. You have a closing date. Now it's time to think about the move. Moving into your new home is one of those exciting moments in life until you realize you own way more stuff than you thought you did. You start thinking, this won't be too bad. Then you open up that one closet, you know the one, and suddenly you're questioning why you have so much stuff and now you have to move it. So today we're going to walk through how to properly prepare for your move so you can save time, money, and stress. Welcome to the Happy Homeowners Hub Podcast, where we share real life stories and break down the lessons, mistakes, and wins that can save you time, money, and stress on buying your first home, selling your home by honor, navigating your property claim, and home maintenance and repair tips. I am your host, Fred Turner, and each week I'll guide you through these four topics. Step 1. How are you going to move? The first decision you'll have to make is how will you be moving all your stuff? You've got three main options. Move it yourself. This is usually the least expensive option, but it's a lot of work. You'll need to rent a truck, get boxes, bubble wrap, and packing tape, pack all of your items into boxes, coordinate the helpers, and do lots of heavy lifting. This option works well if you're organized, have a solid group of friends, family, and neighbors willing to help, and have a strong back. Option two is hiring a moving company. This is definitely the easiest option, physically, but typically it's the most expensive, and you'll be surprised at how expensive it really is. The moving company will pack, load, transport, and unload all your items. This saves time, energy, and your back. This option costs a lot more, especially for long distance moves. Or there's a third option, use a pod service. This is a hybrid option, and honestly, a lot of homeowners really like this approach. Here's how it works you order one or two pods and they get delivered to your home in your driveway and you load them at your own pace. They pick them up and they'll deliver them to your new home whenever you schedule it. At your new home, they'll drop the pods off in your driveway and you unload them on your schedule. The biggest benefit is you can take your time loading and unloading the pods. This may cost less than hiring full service movers. You're still gonna have to do a fair amount of work, but it's a lot easier and much less stressful, especially on moving day. You'll also have to get your own packing supplies. You're gonna need small boxes for heavy items, medium boxes for general size items, and large boxes for lighter, bulkier items, as well as some very large boxes for your garments. You'll also need bubble wrap, packing paper, and packaging tape. Here's a tip: get more boxes than you think you'll need, because typically people have way more than they think they do. Now this is a great time to purge before you pack. Moving is the perfect time to clean out your house. Instead of packing everything up you haven't used in years, ask yourself, do I really need this? Have I used this recently? Is this item worth moving? Here are some options for items that you may not want. You could have a garage sale, donate to your local charity or resale shop, or give items to friends or family. Moving fewer items will save time, effort, and possibly money. Make sure you pack smart and you stay organized. When packing, clearly label every box with the room it belongs in for your new house. Use paint tape instead of writing directly on the boxes. This helps preserve the boxes for reuse later on. Mark fragile items clearly so people know, handle with care. Wrap breakable items up in bubble wrap and mark them clearly. Being organized up front will make the entire process so much easier when moving everything into your new home. If you're moving yourself, you'll likely need help and probably lots of help. And here's the truth: good friends should show up when you're moving. But make sure you make it fun. Turn it into a moving pizza party. Have donuts and coffee ready in the morning for your movers. Keep things organized so helpers can focus on moving, not packing up the boxes. All the boxes should be packed up before your moving help arrives. So it makes it much easier just to load the truck up, drive it to the new house, and unload it. And make sure all the boxes are clearly labeled as to which room they will be going into in your new house. Maybe even do color coding labels for specific rooms. Nobody wants to show up ready to move furniture and end up wrapping dishes and packing up boxes. Plus, it will drag out the entire moving process and people may leave well before the move is completed. Now's the time to think about homeowner's insurance. Make sure you've purchased homeowner's insurance for your new home. And here are a few things to consider. Coverage matters. You don't want to be underinsured or overinsured. Some pump backup coverage matters. If you have a basement, this is critical. Some policies may cap the basement coverage at $10,000 or $20,000. Make sure you understand exactly what coverage you have for your new home. Ordnance and law coverage is also very important. This is also known as code upgrades. This helps cover the cost of your home if it needs to be brought up to current codes after a large loss. I strongly recommend code upgrades as it doesn't cost a whole lot more, but it could save you tens of thousands of dollars should you have a large loss. See episode number two titled Know Your Property Insurance Policy for more details. Placement cost coverage. Make sure your policy places items at current value, not depreciated value. And your deductible. Choose something that you can realistically afford. Whether it's 10,000, 2500, or 5,000. Many insurance companies are pushing a percentage of your property value as the deductible. It could be half a percent of your property value or 1%. Make sure you understand exactly what your deductible is for different types of losses. There could be different deductibles for wind and hail damage versus a burst pipe in your house. Make sure you know what these deductibles are. You'll also need to let people know your new address, your friends, your family, your work contacts, important services you regularly use, like post office, doctors, dentists, etc. You can send texts, emails, or postcards. You don't want your mail going to your old address months later, so make sure you let the post office know what your forwarding address is. Also, utilities. You'll have to transfer your utilities to your new home and you'll have to cancel them for your old home. There's nothing worse than moving in and realize, hey, there's no internet, or even worse, there's no electricity. Now's the time to consider a home warranty as well. A home warranty may help cover certain repairs such as appliances, HVAC systems, plumbing, and electrical issues. It's not a replacement for insurance, but it can provide additional layer of protection. If you have the opportunity to do updates to your home before you move everything into your new home, that may be an ideal time for painting, flooring replacement, or other minor repairs. Here's a free moving checklist offer. I have a free moving checklist that walks you through everything from eight weeks out before you have to move all the way up until moving day. For a copy of this free moving checklist, go to HappyHomewinnersHub.com, head over to the contact us page and type in the word moving checklist in the message box. There's also a link at the show notes. Here's a quick recap of today's episode. Choose how you're going to move. Do it yourself, hire movers, or a pod service which is a hybrid. Get more boxes than you think you need. Purge items before packing. Label everything clearly, maybe even use color coding for your rooms. Ask for help and make it organized and fun. Make sure all your boxes are packed and properly labeled before all your helpers arrive. Set up your proper homeowners insurance. Update your address. Transfer utilities ahead of time. Consider a home warranty, and if possible, do updates and some minor repairs before you move in. If you found this information helpful but would like more details, be sure to check out some of my books, the Happy Homeowners Handbook for First Time Home Buyers and the Happy Homeowners Home Maintenance Journal. I also have three other books. You can find them at Amazon.com or a link in the show notes. For more details, go to HappyHomeownersHub.com. Also, my newsletter is available now, which will provide first-time home buyer, home maintenance, remodeling, and property claim tips. To get this newsletter, go to happyhomeownershub.com and head over to the contact us page and type the word newsletter in the message box to get signed up. Thank you for listening to the Happy Homeowners Hub Podcast. If you found this podcast helpful, share it with someone who also is getting ready to move. And remember, preparation today may save you lots of stress tomorrow. The more you know, the more confident you will feel, and that's how you become a happy homeowner with no regrets. My goal is to make your homeownership journey smoother, smarter, and way less stressful. I've got some great stories, tips, and occasional guest experts coming up in future episodes, so stay tuned and remember, your home is your biggest investment. So be smart from the start. Thanks for listening. This is Fred Turner, and I'll see you at the next episode. Have a bless day. Goodbye.