Make sure to remember Series….Property Conditions

If you are renting or selling it does not matter, you need to leave the house in a suitable and respectable way. This will involve cleaning and making sure any repairs or general maintenance has been ‘made good’. If you were previously renting, this will mean that all the furniture and cupboards will need clearing out and sorting. 

This will include the wardrobe door units and furniture being wiped down if you are leaving furniture.

If purchasing a home from another buyer, they will have already listed what they are leaving and you will have a record of this. The house will also be left in a tidy way with all boxes removed and only the things that were recorded left. 

Make sure to get meter readings for the utilities as soon as you move in and send these across to the supplier.

Make sure to remember Series….Have Some Extra Money

When I started looking at houses I had a rough idea of budget in mind and made sure it was stuck to. One thing to remember is the deposit on a house is a significant amount of money. However, there are additional costs which as a home buyer you need to take into consideration before you rush out and use all your savings to buy sliding wardrobe doors.

You need to allow for solicitor fees, mortgage fees and then if your property will require stamp duty you need to make sure this is also paid. There are a lot of expenses that you are not always aware off when purchasing, but bear in mind you need to allow for these before you confirm what deposit you can offer.

Once you have made an offer and the mortgage application has gone through, you will have paperwork with exchange dates and completion dates. This is when you need to start looking at house insurance. Depending on the area you are living in this can be expensive so start looking around for quotes so you know how much you need to allocate and how much can be spent on getting designer sliding door wardrobes.

Make sure to remember Series….Get the Right Insurances

If you are moving into a home for the first time make sure you get advice on insurance and what you need. 

There is some insurance when you have to take out before you can exchange contracts and then some when you complete. I knew about insurance and that my home would need to be insured, but wasn’t sure of the level that was needed. I had insurance to cover my belongings and furniture as I had recently purchased a bed and wardrobes with sliding doors. I didn’t want these damaged and not replaceable.

If you have never brought a home before the mention of insurance for accidental cover and then water damage cover can have your head swimming in minutes. I found great advice online with impartial information sites. I also invested in the services of a broker who was able to help with what insurance I needed against what was desirable.

Make sure to remember Series….Check Pets Details

If you have animals that are micro-chipped and registered at the vets make sure you update any details on their files and collars. Animals are not as easy to move as furniture as they will need planning and settling in unlike some doors or wardrobe doors that will simply need re-hanging. 

Ask your vet for advice before you move your animals to their new home, so they can advise on the best way and you are aware how their behaviour might change for a couple of days. They will also feel more comfortable if they know that someone is there while they are settling into their new home.

A vet might offer advice such as bring familiar items from the old house to the new house or the best way to show the cats their new surroundings and how they will settle in quicker.

Make sure to remember Series…New Delivery Address

If you have purchased new furniture or washing machine make sure you remember to include the full address of your new property. If you are having items delivered such as new new sliding wardrobe doors or bookcases you will need to be there to sign for the items. Make sure you arrange a date when someone can be in to sign for the items.

If you have previously used online shopping for your groceries, DVD’s or electrical items, make sure you update with your new delivery address when you have moved in. This is something that sounds like an easy task, but often forgotten until you are waiting for your order. This can apply to book clubs, store addresses or anything that will have a delivery address. 

If you are renting or moving out of home for the first time and still keeping your banking details with your parents address, make sure your furniture and any furniture features as the delivery address and not the card registered address. Otherwise parents might wander when they ordered a sliding door wardrobe. You will also be responsible for re-delivery or trying to move the furniture yourself.

Make Sure to Remember Series..Moving Date Confirmed

This is a series of posts on all the things to remember to look at or do when moving home. It is important not to forget or get too stressed when moving or starting to empty wardrobes and be able to close those large wardrobe doors.

 

Get a confirmed moving date first. If you are in a chain or first time buyer you need to make sure that you can book a removal van if needed or know when to book time off work to move. If you have holidays booked make sure you have made your solicitor aware and you can work around this. If you start to book removal vans without getting a confirmed date this might need to be changed and you will end up stressed as you cannot confirm anything.

Different Style of Houses - Bungalows

The final installment in our different houses series has to be the bungalow. There are other forms of homes that range from three storey houses through to lighthouses and barn conversions. I have focused on the main houses that we tend to look at when purchasing.

The bungalow is often associated to those who cannot get up stairs easily. This means the elderly or disabled. This is not always the case though and often a bungalow can be a great investment as everything is on the ground floor and this automatically makes moving furniture easier to do, so that wardrobes with sliding doors will be easier to get in the accommodation. 

Often bungalows can invest in french doors or patio doors to bring the garden into the house. Patio doors are great for letting in a lot of light, but as a potential buyer, make sure they are using security locks and consider the safety aspect of glass doors if you have young children running around the house.

Different Styles of Houses - Flats and Grounds

There are of course a few other considerations to make when looking at flats and it is something that I didn’t think of until I was viewing a flat myself. Depending on if you are buying an upstairs flat or downstairs there is the noise level to consider. Ground floor flats may well have to consider the noise generated upstairs. If your neighbours are moving their furniture around, that wardrobe unit with a sliding door system can create a lot of noise that will be echoed downstairs. It is one thing to have noise next door, but when it is above you it might get hard to live with. Even if neighbours are friendly and considerate, the noise of children crying, the TV on too loud or people coming and going banging doors can all be heard through the ceiling.

If you are on the top floor there is the consideration that everything you purchase from shopping to furniture needs to be carried up those stairs. If you have brought furniture, check it can get up those stairs or that walk in wardrobes with sliding doors might need to be built within the room and not remotely constructed outside of the bedroom.

Sharing a flat will also come with grounds maintenance. This is something that is paid to keep the grass mowed and any maintenance for the building repairs.

Renting flat accommodation first appealed to me as the space that I would have to maintain was low and a comfortable living space that I could call my own. In some cases, as an added bonus, flats will have parking or garage parking within the price so be sure to look for this and enquire.

Different Styles of House Series - Flats

I did look around a lot of flats for one person or even for two people. These are great places to start with. There are a few minor problems which you need to consider when looking at flats though as I found out. One thing, is that space to extend is not available so if you are planning on a new family member or getting a pet then a flat might not be for you.

I found that a flat is often suited to one person or a couple. However, buying a flat entails more that you are purchasing a home, but you will not be buying the whole building. This will mean, in most cases, the flat is leasehold, rather than freehold. This means that buying and selling your flat is not as straightforward as selling a freehold. This is not to say that flats are not desirable, as people want to get on the ladder, but something to bear in mind if you are selling in the future.

Space within a flat is tight and can often result in purchasing some great space saving furniture, like what we have featured in our other posts. Classic and large wardrobes with sliding doors for example might not be possible, although is a great saver if you are trying to organise bedroom furniture.

If you have existing furniture, check if the flat is going to be furnished or unfurnished when considering the property. If you need to factor in new furniture, this is something that you might need to replace or purchase. A classic bed frame might be great, but if struggling up the stairs is not. Also moving bulky furniture is not something one person wants to be considering, so you may have a wardrobe with a sliding door option but if it won’t fit on the landing, then it might be time to look at other options.

Different Style of Houses - Detached

This house is similar to the semi detached style of houses. This style also allows for development and renovation to the existing structure, so if you wanted to extend a bedroom or bathroom this is possible. Often buying a detached property, potential buyers look at the scope for development for a walk in wardrobe or re-designing a bedroom for sliding door wardrobes to make use of that ‘odd’ space in a room.

One of the major benefits is the fact you do not have to worry about noise from neighbours coming through the walls. If you purchase detached, your home is detached from other buildings. This obviously does not extend to outdoors and it is still best to get on with neighbours and consider the noise levels, but you can relax knowing that if you want to enjoy that song, you can turn the stereo up a little bit.

The noise reduction will not continue to the different levels of the house though. If you want to make use of all the room in a house, why not think about rooms directly above the living room and consider the walk in wardrobes or a smaller room to make use of space.  If you are purchasing a home have a look at all the rooms, as I did and try to look at them with a blank canvas and with no furniture so you might be able to utilise furniture such as sliding wardrobe doors.

Different Style of Houses Series - Semi Detached

This style of house is popular for those who might already be on the property ladder. If you are looking to move to a bigger house with more options to extend those rooms and even create a walk in wardrobes with sliding doors, then this is an option for you. One of the benefits to semi detached houses is that they provide an option to extend onto the back or at least you can apply for planning permission and look at options if you need a bigger place or home/office. 

The style of semi-detached houses also provides a garden, or a small area to relax outside. This is something which can be extended onto. But I have found it is worth looking at your potential purchase and size of garden to how long you have time wise to manage it. If you are at work during the week or have activities that see you using the house during the weekends then a massive garden with lots of plants might start becoming more time-consuming.

Look for something that is easy to maintain such as an area mainly lawned or even slabbed. If you bedroom overlooks the garden, the last thing you need is to look out over the garden and see a jungle of weeds everytime you get something from your walk-in wardrobe with sliding doors or if you are sitting down and relaxing.

Different Styles of Houses - Terraced House

As I have been looking around at different houses I have noticed the difference in space and layout between the different properties from a flat to a bungalow and even terrace houses. There are houses which as soon I looked at, I felt at home and some houses just didn’t feel like ‘home’. I had a good look at a range of houses though as it is always best to view a range to see what you can get for your money and see where you can make use of any sliding door wardrobes.

Terraced House
This style of house tends to be popular as they are affordable and quite common. This style tends to be associated with areas close to a city or town centre. This is not always the case mind, but a lot of areas close to a town or city will host a lot people who can make use of public transport. Unfortunately the style and interior design planning can vary, with some terrace houses having one large living area and some having two small living areas and a kitchen on the end of the property.

These houses tend to create a ‘long’ style with rooms going backwards, rather than side by side with a hallway or any reception rooms. These houses will continue upstairs with narrow stairs and bedrooms. Bear this in mind when looking at furniture, especially purchasing anything new like wardrobes with sliding doors as these might not fit up the hallway.

The only problem I have found with a lot of terraced house style accommodation is the lack of parking. A lot of the houses will be close to public transport routes so homeowners will not need to worry about car parking spaces. This is something that I have found, so if you have a car consider car insurance when you are looking at your next home.