How to Survive Transition Into Your Smithtown Home

Timing the closing of your new home purchase with the end of your lease agreement or sale of your existing home is tricky, to say the least. During the transition into your Smithtown home, you need a place to live and stash your stuff. In addition, you need the flexibility to move at a moment’s notice. Here are a few tips that might smooth the transition.

Take Care of Your Mail:

As soon as you know that there will be a break between leaving one home and moving into the other, move as many bills, bank statements and important communications to online bill pay as possible. Don’t risk having your important mail delivered to an empty house. For those items not receivable online, and especially if you receive business mail at home, consider changing your address to that of a trusted family member. If that’s not possible, rent a mailbox. Both the US Postal Service and private mailbox providers like the UPS Store offer personal and business mailboxes along with other services. 

Pack with Transition in Mind:

Usually when you move, you pack up the whole house, then load the moving van—filling every inch of open space—expecting to unload the whole thing within a day or so at your new home. When you have a transition, however, you need to pack items to store, leaving out the things you’ll need to use during those days, weeks, or even months between one place and another. One option is to rent a storage unit, placing furniture and other large items in the back, but keeping dressers or storage boxes with seasonal clothing, school and craft supplies, and travel items within reach of the doorway.

Temporarily Suspend Services:

Take the time to contact service providers such as Internet, cable or satellite, electricity and natural gas, newspaper, and landline phones to see if they offer options for suspending services until you transfer them to your new home. Some offer moving suspensions, while others have vacation holds for a small monthly fee.

Where to Live?

If your transition will last just a few weeks, you might consider accepting the hospitality of family or friends. If you work from home, have children, or just require your own space and privacy, however, there are other options.

• Residential and extended-stay hotels offer weekly and monthly rental options. Most have kitchens complete with dishes and cookware, apartment-sized refrigerators, access to laundry facilities, and weekly cleaning and linen services.
• Corporate housing or corporate apartments refer to apartment complexes offering short-term leases. Similar to residential hotels, but typically larger — with as many as three bedrooms — corporate housing caters to business people and families needing more space than a hotel room provides.
• Families with children might consider a more adventuresome stay at a nearby resort or campground that offers cabins, vacation cottages or lodges. A move in the off-season may make this option both affordable and fun. Be sure to factor in the extra drive time to work or school.
• Borrow or rent an RV. Whether your move is across town, across the state or across the country, consider renting a recreational vehicle. With many RV parks located inside or near city limits, temporarily living in an RV park has many of the same advantages as a hotel. 

Click here for the full article on surviving a transition into your home.