No one likes paying for things they can’t use. However, you will likely do it the next time you sell a home. The hustle and bustle of selling a house and moving to a new home can be tough to manage. Combine that with the automatic bill pay services you subscribe to and you get a perfect storm of missed tasks costing you money.
Here are the top three things most people forget to do when they sell a home:
1. Cancel home owner’s insurance
This is the number one forgotten item we see from customers. Sadly, the conversation typically goes like this:
Customer: “Hey, I got this bill for my home owner’s insurance, but I sold the house several months ago.”
Us: “Congratulations on selling your home! Let me look through our records to see when you notified us of the sale.”
Customer: “I never notified you.”
Us: “Did you notify the insurance carrier?”
Customer: “No. I forgot to communicate the sale to anyone on the insurance side.”
Us: “Bummer. Could we at least get your updated mailing address?”
We then proceed to cancel the insurance, but we are unable to make the cancelation retroactive by several months. This means the customer typically has to pay all of or a large portion of the bill. Why? Because the insurance company was still insuring it, and they are going to continue insuring it until they are told otherwise. This is a good thing. You want a faithful insurance company that won’t cancel your insurance for no reason.
That said, I get it. Most homeowner’s insurance is paid automatically through mortgage payments. This means that homeowner’s insurance is out of sight and out of mind. It is easily forgotten.
Don’t forget to cancel your homeowner’s insurance when you sell your home.
2. Cancel all utilities
Things like power and gas are easy. You call your utility company, tell them you are moving, and they transfer your service to your new address. But what about services that can’t be transferred? Often times city utilities like water, sewage, garbage, and more are forgotten because you are moving from one city to another. If you don’t cancel, you could end up paying for services you aren’t using. As a matter of fact, you could end up paying for services that someone else is using.
PRO TIP: Gather three months of your most recent bank statements. Look through all the transactions (I know, this is annoying and time consuming), and highlight the ones associated with the home you’re selling. This will help you find the bulk of things you need to cancel.
3. Change your mailing address with all your bills
How many things do you have on auto pay? I have a lot, it’s super convenient! But what if one of these auto pay bills increases their cost? They will likely notify you via mail and or email. In many cases the email notification goes to junk or spam. The mail notification could get returned if you don’t properly update your mailing address. Mail forwarding with the post office only lasts for a period of time.
PRO TIP: While you have your bank statements out (see previous PRO TIP), identify all the bills that need an updated mailing address. Reach out to your vendors and give them your updated information.
Moving requires staying on top of a lot of things. This often results in missing items that can cost you money. Hopefully you won’t forget these three the next time you sell a home.
Would you like to sell your current home and purchase something new? We would be honored to help! Schedule time to speak with a wise mortgage advisor below. We will create a game plan for you to help make those dreams come to life!
