Relocations are stressful events, which require a lot of hard work, and good organizational skills. But, spending your first few days in a new home without electricity or internet can raise stress levels, and that’s why it’s important to know how to transfer utilities to a new owner or a tenant and set a connection date for your future residence. This task isn’t fun, but with simple tips, it can be done in a jiffy.
About 40 percent of the energy created from all types of resources is used to make electricity, and the average American home uses about 11,000 kilowatt-hours of it per year. Google claims that conducting 100 searches on its site is equivalent to the energy of a 60-watt light bulb that burns for 28 minutes. Whatever we do around our homes requires fully operational utilities. Whether we cook, wash, dry, or simply use cable and the internet – we would probably be in a disastrous position without them in today’s world. That’s why, to be able to move efficiently, you should be transferring everything on time when you move and have utilities ready the moment you set foot in the future residence. Now, let’s help answer the question: how do I set up utilities when I move?
Planning to move to a new state is a complex task because there are so many things we have to take care of and pay attention to. From finding out how much does it cost to ship a car, so you can plan your moving budget accordingly, to choosing reliable movers and a good car shipping company, there’s so much on our mind. In the midst of so much hassle, it’s only natural that we forget to do something important on time, which could lead to a sort of a nightmare scenario, where there’s no hot shower for a week in the residence we’ve just moved in. That’s why it’s important to prepare properly and learn how to transfer utility bills to another name on time, several weeks ahead of our move. Relieved of this unnecessary burden, perhaps you won’t be driving around in the president’s limo, but you’ll have enough free time to choose among the best import cars for your driving in New York adventure. Or maybe some other city along the famous US routes.
There’s an ultimate tip that is valid for every move – get organized to keep everything under control, from packing your car for moving and avoiding driving stress to learning how to transfer utilities to a new tenant or owner on time. To be able to do this particular task properly, you need to familiarize yourself with the service providers, which include water and sewer, electricity, gas, trash, phone, cable, and internet, by writing down their contact. Do this for other providers of services if you plan to switch to another providing company after you move.
If you are wondering “how do I transfer a utility bill to another name”, and when and where to start, the answer is – start way before move-out date. Setting the disconnection and connection dates ahead of the relocation day is usually among the things you forget to do when you move, and it results in running around just to get some of the services running to avoid using wet wipes and eating cold takeout for days after you move in. You can do this as early as four weeks in advance, although a general rule of thumb is to call them three weeks prior to the relocation. Just keep in mind that summer is the peak season for relocations, and it’s when these companies tend to be busiest.
Let’s face it, you’ll have a lot of things to take care of, from deciding whether you’ll require an open trailer solution or perhaps pricier enclosed auto transport to ship your car to avoiding moving scams. It’s common that updating our address with USPS and service providers slips our minds, but it’s something you shouldn’t put off. If you do it on time, it will make sure that bills and other mail are redirected directly to your future residence.
If you’re wondering how to transfer an electric bill to a new owner and whether you’ll need to pay anything, you should know that some companies may ask for a deposit to set up an account in your name. It’s actually fairly common if you don’t have a payment history with them. The amount may vary depending on both the track record with previous companies and the credit score. A deposit shouldn’t be needed if your only requirement is changing the name, but you’ll perhaps be charged a fee.
You’ve probably heard it a million times, but it’s best if your documents and valuables are among things to keep in your car when relocating and make sure that your billing, as well as the address of the providing company and its phone numbers, are at your hand. Water service and waste removal are provided through the county or the city, and you can deal with their setup more quickly if you visit the town hall in person and bring the proof of your identity and residence, along with a completed service application.
If you are moving to another state alone, there’s a high probability that you are a renter switching apartments, but you still have to think about transferring each utility. Talk to the community manager or your landlord to get some information straight:
Renting a property usually requires asking a lot of questions, such as whether you’ll have a designated parking space, will you be able to sublet the place, or if the landlord allows you to move in with a pet (and will that require an additional fee). When making a list of these questions, don’t forget to add the ones concerning the providers of services, along with whether you’ll have good transportation solutions nearby or should you ship your car to be able to get around more quickly.
The monthly cost of water and sewer is usually included in the rent, so you probably won’t have to worry about how to transfer water service after you move in. Don’t forget to check it out with the community management, just to be on the safe side. With that out of the way, you’ll be able to focus on making friends in a new city instead of worrying about your monthly budget.
So, you’ve tried the where should I move quiz, made up your mind about your city of choice, hired an auto transport company to ship the car cross country, packed up, and now you wonder what else is there to do. Any remaining balances should be taken care of before relocating, so you can keep a good credit score. Also, if you are canceling the service, there shouldn’t be any overdue bills left, especially if you want to avoid paying late fees.
Relocating requires getting packing materials and deciding what should be packed and what doesn’t go with you. One of the good relocating tips includes checking with your cable or internet provider and determining whether or not you’ll need to return any equipment, so you don’t place it with other belongings when you pack a moving truck. Routers or cable boxes should probably be returned if you decide to switch your service provider, and they might accept returned hardware through a courier service or designated drop-offs. After all, you won’t have to think about creative storage ideas because you have excess cable equipment lying around.
Sure, choosing between terminal-to-terminal car shipping or the more convenient door-to-door auto transport will help you avoid driving anxiety when moving across the country. But what will also save you from unnecessary stress is protecting yourself in case of any disputes after you have moved out. You will do this by arranging for the utility companies to do a final meter reading at your home while also making sure that all of the utilities are turned off. This is a pretty simple solution that will ensure you don’t get stuck with the bill for utilities you actually weren’t using. Before moving, do this for water, gas, and electric meters, and remember to keep a copy of all the reading reports, and you may provide yourself with enough free time to play the best racing games or watch some of the best car shows. If you need some additional tips, watch the video below.
We understand that each relocation requires you to be thorough and put in a lot of hard work. From searching for reliable movers and deciding whether you’ll pack everything by yourself to getting used to a change of scenery after taking such a big leap of faith, we have a lot of tasks to juggle with. And above all, worrying about your utility provider is a boring job, when you’d rather be driving in Los Angeles and enjoying the scenery. Still, it’s up to you to take care of each task, including transferring utilities to your future residence. After all, if you’ve managed to follow through with these steps, you should be all set up while avoiding stress and tension for any problems that could be caused by skipping transferring utilities in a timely manner.
