Rental Report: You Found a Great Place, Now What?

Editor’s Note: This biweekly sponsored column is written by Rick Gersten, founder and CEO of Urban Igloo, a rental real estate firm that matches up renters with their ideal apartments, condos or houses. Please submit any questions in the comments section or via email.

Now that you’ve found the perfect place, the hard part is over, right? Well, almost. You still have some work to do, but it doesn’t have to be a headache. We have a few tips to help make your move a bit easier.

The Paperwork — First, you’ll need to change your address for all of your important accounts such as your bank, student loans, car loan, insurance, credit cards, cell phone provider and so on. Then you need to notify your family and friends. You may need a two-pronged approach for that since maybe your grandma doesn’t have email. There are some great options for “We’ve Moved” e-cards and regular mail cards. Get that set up and ready to go, so you don’t miss those birthday cards and wedding invites. Don’t forget about your magazine subscriptions. Most magazines allow you to do this easily online these days, and as long as you remember to forward all of your mail at the Post Office, you shouldn’t miss an issue.

More Paperwork — If you are new to the Arlington area, then you will have to do a few more things as you settle in. You need to get your Virginia Driver’s license. If you are bringing a car, you need to register it in the state of Virginia, and you will need to register your vehicle with the county of Arlington for your parking sticker and personal property tax. All of which should be done within 60 days or your move, unless you are military, in which case you may be exempt. And don’t forget to register to vote in your new district.

Set Up Utilities — Most likely, your new building will give you information on setting up utilities for your unit. But it never hurts to be proactive. This page shows all the utility services for the Arlington area. Check with your building or landlord to find out whether you have Comcast or Verizon service for cable and internet. You may have a choice.

Get Organized — Find a moving company or a moving truck. Start going through your things. Most likely, you have a lot of items to donate or throw out. Check out Good Donor to schedule a pickup of the items you plan to donate.

If you are handling the packing and moving yourself, an app like BoxMeUp is a great choice for staying organized. It is especially helpful if you will have some items headed to your unit, and others headed for storage. You can label your boxes with QR codes, and then enter a content description for the box. This way, you can easily search and organize your items without having to dig through boxes to find your party platters.

Moving can be an exciting and stressful time. Having a good plan of action can help avoid most of the hiccups. If this is your first big move, get some tips from family and friends as well. Somebody will always have a great tip, or remember something most of us forget. Happy Moving!

Have a rental-related question you’d like Rental Report to answer? Email it to [email protected].