Five things you may want to do before you take possession of your new place

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inShare Five things to do or buy before you take possession Everyone I know is excited and anxious about moving into a new home. While this is not a definitive list of things, the five following guides will help you successfully settle into your new home. This is your chance to get some new cleaning tools. Like most people, no matter how clean the house is, you will want to use your own stuff to clean – especially in the bathrooms and in the kitchen. Toilet brushes, brooms, swifter sweepers, etc will be so appreciated and used on the first day of possession. Buy accessories but do not buy furniture before you move in – unless the owner has given you free access to the house so that you can measure and photograph and test. That cabinet you thought would be perfect at the end of the hall, for the pantry, may be way to big or not big enough. Sometimes, if you bought through Ebay or KiJiJi or Craigslist – WYSISYG and there are no returns. You are going to be stuck with a nice cabinet in the basement or garage. Get paint samples. I love those little pots of color. You are going to want to paint some rooms and having the paint handy for testing will save you time later. Try not to buy gallons of paint before you are in the house, the light in a room affects how the color will look once applied. Look for Garden tools. If you are moving from a condo or apartment to the first home with a yard, start getting a few basics. If you are wise, go to estate sales and buy someone’s gardening tools at far less than the new cost. A lawnmower will set you back a piece so buy this item wisely and shop for deals. Hoes, rakes, shovels etc are usually as good used as new. Set up a date with the locksmith to change all the locks. Be ready for the cost of a house call but you will sleep better knowing that the new locks have keys that only you own. The former owner probably spread keys to neighbours, friends and relatives every time they vacationed. There may even be a key not securely hidden near the front door. Photo credit: Commercial Valerie Zinger valeriezinger@gmail.com Ottawa, Canada 613-859-7759