Buying a New Home? Here’s How to Set up Utilities

Moving into a new house can be exciting but it can also be overwhelming. Individuals who’re new to living alone tend to neglect setting up their utilities early. Not setting up your new home’s utilities until the last minute could mean that you are stuck without hot water, heating, and electricity for the first few days. Utility providers tend to want several weeks’ notice so they can make sure everything is working properly before you move in.

Buying a New Home? Here’s How to Set up Utilities
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This post will tell you how you can set up the utilities in your new house:

Connection Points

The very first thing that you need to do is go through your new house and look for connection points i.e., for electricity, the internet and telephone services. Depending on its age you could need a new electricity connection for your new house which only a licensed professional will be able to fit for you. If there are no connection points in your house then you’ll need to give your new energy provider several weeks’ notice (or ideally months) so that they can ensure everything is ready for you to move in. Most houses have electricity points today so you should not have to have a new one installed. If the house you are buying is old then the only connection point you will probably need to have fitted is a Wi-Fi one. Your internet provider should be able to connect Wi-Fi to your property without you being in there. If they do need access you can leave a key out for them.

Research Options

One of the very first things that you need to do is research your options. Start by looking up utility providers in the area for gas, water, electricity, and the internet; if you plan on investing in cable television then search for cable providers too. There will likely be lots of different companies for you to choose from so spend some time checking out their reviews so that you can find the ones that are the best fit for your needs and budget. Reading reviews is a good way to determine whether or not a utility provider is worth hiring as you can learn a lot about the companies being reviewed and get information about their plans, policies and prices.

Contacting Providers

Once you have decided which providers you want to work with the next thing that you need to do is reach out to them and open an account. It should be noted that some properties will already have contracts with specific providers. While it’s entirely possible for you to terminate and change these, staying with the provider that is already servicing the property could be a good way of getting discounts. Usually, when you keep a contract going you get to access the same rates the previous owner had. If this contract is several years old then it means you will get a much better-fixed rate than if you started a new one, especially considering current energy prices.

Schedule Installations

If new connection points are needed then you will want to schedule installations for a time when you can be at the property to let the workman in. While in an earlier section, it was noted that you can leave a key out it is often better to be there in person. One of the benefits of attending the installation yourself is that if anything goes wrong you can report the workman to their employer and get compensation. Another is that you’ll be able to talk to them about how to use your utilities and get a date for when they are going to be switched on.

Verifying Dates

Once points have been installed or a new contract has been opened the next step is to verify the dates that your utilities will go live. It’s worth noting that the very second your utilities go on you will have to start paying bills. It is, for this reason, important to make sure that you time them being turned on to coincide with when you move in. Timing them will help you to avoid overpaying or having to pay for utilities that you are not using.

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Payment Plans

Not everybody’s in a stable enough position to be paying full prices for their energy bills. Many utility providers are offering payment plans to help people struggling with the cost of living crisis pay their bills. If you are in a bad financial situation then when you open your account explain this to the utility providers you are working with and ask them to sign you up for any discounts and to arrange a suitable repayment plan.

Setting up utilities in your new house can be very stressful but as long as you follow the simple steps outlined here you will have everything running smoothly in no time. It again needs to be noted that attending installations in person is a very good idea so you can discuss faults or problems with the technicians in attendance and get a fixed date for when your utilities will go live.