Moving in day was fun, stressful and very nerve-wracking. I wasn’t nervous that something was going to go wrong, we were pretty much past that stage but I was nervous about moving in, taking on this huge responsibility.

All houses have problems, they come with big bills and many small annoyances, this wasn’t my first house purchase and I was all the more nervous because of how badly I had been burnt by my last experience (a story for another time). I was scared but I was well taken care of. I was picked up and driven to my new town – both for my safety and that of everyone else on the road while I was so distracted! I had coffee and lunch in the little service area just five minutes from my house which is very convenient and was close enough but also far enough away that day.

And then I waited. My estate agents had been great and briefed me on what sort of time I would expect to hear from them, and they were spot on. It’s always worth calling the estate agents the day before you move to sort out times and arrangements so that you know what is likely to happen and the day before is when they will have the clearest idea.
I was very lucky, I wasn’t moving out of anywhere that day. I had no chain to deal with and the previous owners of my new home were moving into an empty property so we were only waiting on the money going through. It was about 1pm when I got the call from the agents to say that the money had gone through so they had key release (meaning the house was legally mine). I went and picked them up, gave the staff a thank-you card and headed to the house. There was still the stamp duty formality to go through but that was a question for my solicitor to handle not me.

It was surprisingly fun walking through the front door, but also a little weird. Because the transaction had taken so long I had forgotten a lot of the details of the house and it looked very different when wit was empty. On the downside I saw straight-away that there was more cosmetic work to be done than I had first thought.

That first day, because I wasn’t properly moving in I took a few things that I thought I would want right off. My list included:
Kettle
Tea & coffee
A few mugs, plates, bowls and cutlery
Scissors (well actually I forgot mine and had to make do but it was on the list!)
Cleaning products and cloths
Toilet paper
Towels
Hand soap
Tester pots of paint ( I’d chosen these well in advance)
Tool kit
Tape measure
Camera
Biscuits, crisps, salad, sandwiches.
To this I would add some old clothes in case you want to have a look around the attic/garden without messing up your day-to-day clothes.

As soon as I moved in I started making a list of things that I wanted to ask the plumber/electrician/builder about so that I didn’t forget. I still forgot a few tags but most of them ended up on the list. I also started thinking of things to ask the estate agents which I did a few weeks after I had gotten the keys.
That first day was great, and I had a lot of fun but I was also very critical and kept finding problems. No doubt the house did have a lot of problems but put in perspective I am so pleased with my little home.

Vick.