Moving into a new home has an element of gamble attached to it. While you have viewed a home a few times before you sign on the dotted line, in reality, you can’t be 100% sure of what you’re getting.
People who are selling properties have to be crafty. They are surrounded by advice, telling them to get their home looking as good as possible. They are taught to hide and deceive, to disguise faults and distract any potential buyers. You can’t blame them for doing this – you might even have done some of these things yourself. Selling a home is difficult enough if it’s in perfect, pristine condition – add in the usual family wear and tear and it’s a nightmare.
So while you move into your new home anticipating a few surprises, sometimes, it can be more than a few. With the house an empty box, you suddenly notice the damaged carpets they had covered; the holes in the wall that had once had strategically-placed furniture over them. Your new, fresh start has to give way to cleaning up the mess they have left.
Even if you knew about existing problems – such as an overgrown garden – you have the issue of it all being real now. If we love a property, we’re more likely to cast aside concerns about some aspects of it. “I know it doesn’t let in a lot of light,” you think to yourself, “but that fireplace is so beautiful!” Soon, the lack of light is forgotten. Then you find yourself squinting through darkness in the middle of the day, blaming your past self for not focusing enough on the practicalities.
Whether it comes as a surprise or the unfortunate reality of work you knew needed doing, you’re left with a lot of work. Before you can begin the process of settling into your new home, you have tasks to take care of to bring it up to a baseline standard. Unless you have moved into a new build, a good way of beginning to go through your settling in process is to follow the steps below.
Step One: Deep Clean
It’s fairly standard to clean your new abode after moving in, but there’s a level of thoroughness it requires that you may have overlooked.
To bring it back to a state of as-new, you have to put a lot of effort in – and a lot of power. Use tools like a jet washer to blast away years of grime, particularly in the bathroom and kitchen. You might make some mess with the water, but it’s better that than encountering the previous occupants dead skin cells. And if that sentence grossed you out – it’s all the worse if you just leave it!
It’s also a good idea to run some sink and drain unblocker through the system, even if it appears to be running smoothly. You don’t know how well the previous occupants treated their drains, so a high-strength chemical solution can prevent issues further down the line.
The key here is to remember all the areas that grime can gather but remain out of sight. Behind the back of the toilet; underneath the wash basin and in the grooves of a shower door are all areas you might otherwise neglect.
Step Two: Search For Holes
Scan every single wall from top to bottom looking for holes. Rodents, for example, can contort themselves into tiny sizes to squeeze into a home – you need to put up the Not Welcome sign.
Holes are easily filled using either expanding foam or a filler. If you find signs of a previous infestation, then all the more reason to search every room – including an attic or basement if you have one. Also keep an eye out for chewed-on electrics; they might be safe for now, but if a mouse has used one as gum in the past, they won’t be safe forever.
Step Three: Clear The Garden
Hopefully, you have been left with a garden that has been well-maintained – but there’s every chance you haven’t. When people are planning to sell, they have a tendency to focus on the things that can be seen. That means everything else gets tossed to one side or hidden. You can go to explore the garden and find a massive amount of waste accumulating behind the shed, for example.
If the garden is overgrown, you have an even bigger job on your hands. The size of the area you have to cover will dictate how you tackle this. If it’s a small area and you have no plans to grow vegetables to be eaten, then a common weedkiller is your best bet. Apply it liberally, leave to dry and then dig over.
If you find a lot of roots of weeds, or have a large area, then it may require a more mechanical solution. Old weeds are a particular hazard; some roots can stretch deep underground for up to six feet, way out of the way of weedkillers. The best solution here is some sort of machinery, such as a digger, excavator or bush-clearing machine. These are cheaper to buy second-hand than they are to rent for anything but the smallest of jobs, and that also means you can take your time doing the work. Rushing to a rental schedule can mean you don’t do the best job, so if you can, look into buying your own.
If it’s a whole new world to you, then you might be worried about parts and maintenance. However, most machines will have spares available in a variety of places if you’re willing to look and do a little work yourself. You can find more from German-Bliss Equipment for example, or scour local listings from other owners.
When you have all the plants and weeds up, clear them away and either burn or compost them. (Obviously, if you’ve used weedkiller, the latter is not an option.) You will then have a fresh slate to do anything you want to, rather than contesting with the previous owner’s poor maintenance.
Step Four: Safety Checks
By this point, you should have a relatively blank canvas to play with. The interior of the house is clean. The garden is clear of the worst of the weeds and you have plenty of space to begin creating something you will love. If you have found signs of any kind of pest infestation (inside or out), take care of it before you move onto this step.
The next area to examine is one of safety.
Begin in the garden, looking at things from a security point of view. Any low walls? Is there sufficient lighting? If you have gates, do they have adequate locks on them? This is the time to install any monitoring system that you might want to use. It’s a lot easier to do this kind of work when everything is at a blank slate, so you don’t have to fit around existing decor or design.
The same process continues indoors. Have the alarm system checked and ensure it works. If there isn’t an alarm system, then install one – for the benefits to your home insurance premium if nothing else. Also ensure there is plenty of outdoor lighting; ideally, this should be motion-reactive, which is a huge deterrent for burglars.
The other side of safety is a literal one. Check that the carbon monoxide detector is functioning; and again, if there isn’t one, now is the time to install it. Carbon monoxide can be deadly, but in a very stealthy way. It could be weeks before you learn of a problem, by which point, both you and your family could be suffering ill health because of it. If the boiler itself is more than five years old, then a service might be in order. It’s also worth asking an electrician to check the wiring, though you can do some of this yourself. Look at ceiling lights and behind cooking equipment, ensuring the cables are in good condition.
It’s also worth examining any paving slabs in the garden. Stand with one foot on either side of the slab, then rock back and forth. If the slab moves, it’s worth getting it fixed – this tends to be a problem that just gets worse. You can also get down to eye level and see if any slabs are sitting higher than the others; this is a tripping hazard, and one you should rectify rather than learning of it the hard way.
At this point, you should have a house and outdoor space that you can begin to make your own. Security and safety is paramount; being confident that no pests are going to invade is also important. It might seem like a lot of work for an initial settling in period, but the beauty is that you only have to go through this once. When it’s taken care of, you can begin to decorate and enjoy your house as you intended – not suffering through what the previous owner has inflicted on you!
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