10 Things First-Time Buyers Always Forget to Do When Moving In

You’ve survived the mortgage application, the surveys, the solicitors, and the seemingly endless wait for completion. Moving day has finally arrived — and it feels like the hard part is over. In many ways, it is. But first-time buyers consistently underestimate just how much there is to do once the keys are in your hand, and how easy it is to overlook things in the excitement of finally owning your own home.

Here are ten things first-time buyers almost always forget — and how to make sure you don’t.

1. Taking Meter Readings the Moment You Arrive

This is one of the most commonly skipped steps, and it can cost you money. The second you get the keys, find the gas, electricity, and water meters and photograph them — with a timestamp if possible. Send these opening readings to your new suppliers straight away.

Without a clear opening reading, you could end up being billed for energy used by the previous occupants, and disputing it afterwards is far more difficult than simply having the evidence from day one. It takes two minutes and can save you a real headache.

2. Changing the Locks

The previous owners handed over their keys — but do you know how many copies exist? Estate agents, contractors, neighbours, and family members may all have had sets cut over the years. You have no way of knowing.

Changing the locks on all external doors as soon as you move in is a simple, relatively inexpensive step that gives you complete peace of mind over who can access your home. While you’re at it, check that all windows lock properly and that any alarm system codes have been reset.

3. Updating Their Address

This is the one that catches almost every first-time buyer off guard. When you’re focused on the physical move, the idea of sitting down and notifying every bank, insurer, government body, and subscription service of your new address feels like something you can deal with later. Later has a way of becoming never.

The list of people who need your new address is longer than most people expect: your bank, HMRC, DVLA, employer, GP, dentist, pension provider, insurance companies, electoral roll, TV licence, and every online account you’ve ever ordered from. Missing key ones — particularly HMRC or the DVLA — can have real consequences down the line.

A dedicated change of address service lets you update everything in one go rather than working through the list organisation by organisation, which saves hours and makes it far less likely that anything important gets missed.

4. Setting Up a Post Redirection

Even if you do update your address everywhere you can think of, something will slip through. A piece of financial correspondence, a renewal notice, a package — it always happens. Setting up a Royal Mail postal redirection from your old address to your new one acts as a safety net for anything that still goes to your previous home.

You can set it up for one, three, six, or twelve months. For a first-time buyer moving out of rented accommodation, six months is usually a sensible minimum — long enough to catch anything that takes a while to filter through.

5. Registering to Vote

Moving house means your electoral registration doesn’t automatically follow you. You need to re-register at your new address at gov.uk, and if you’re not on the register you won’t be able to vote in local or national elections. Beyond voting, being on the electoral roll also has a direct impact on your credit score — it’s one of the ways lenders verify your identity and address, so it’s worth doing promptly.

6. Finding the Stopcock and Fuse Box

This sounds basic, but a surprising number of first-time buyers don’t know where their stopcock (the mains water shut-off valve) or fuse box is until something goes wrong — at which point it becomes rather urgent information to not have.

Find both on your first day. The stopcock is usually under the kitchen sink, in a cupboard, or near the water meter. The fuse box (consumer unit) is typically in a hallway, kitchen, or under the stairs. Knowing where they are means you’re prepared if a pipe bursts or a circuit trips, rather than frantically searching at the worst possible moment.

7. Checking What the Previous Owners Left Behind — and What They Took

Most sales include fixtures and fittings — things like curtain poles, light fittings, built-in shelving, and garden plants — but this is governed by what was agreed in the sale. Occasionally, sellers take things that buyers assumed were staying, or leave behind items the buyer didn’t want.

Do a thorough walkthrough on moving day and check everything against the fixtures and fittings list from your conveyancer. If something is missing that should be there, you need to raise it quickly — ideally the same day — before it becomes harder to pursue.

8. Introducing Themselves to the Neighbours

It might feel awkward, but knocking on your immediate neighbours’ doors in the first few days is genuinely worth doing. Good relationships with neighbours make day-to-day life more pleasant, and they’re often an invaluable source of local knowledge — who the good tradespeople are, what the parking situation is really like, whether the boiler has always been temperamental.

It also gets things off on the right foot. Neighbour disputes are among the most stressful things a homeowner can face, and many of them start simply from a lack of communication. A brief, friendly introduction costs nothing.

9. Reviewing Their Home Insurance Properly

Many first-time buyers arrange buildings insurance — often required by their mortgage lender from the date of exchange — and then don’t think about it again. But it’s worth actually reading the policy rather than just having one in place.

Check what your buildings insurance covers and whether your contents are adequately insured too. Many people significantly underestimate the value of their contents and find themselves underinsured when they need to make a claim. Think about everything you own — furniture, electronics, clothing, jewellery, appliances — and make sure your level of cover reflects the actual replacement cost.

10. Making a Snagging List

A snagging list is a record of defects, unfinished work, or issues with the property that need to be addressed. It’s most commonly associated with new builds, but it’s worth doing for any property.

Go through every room methodically in the first few days. Check doors and windows open and close properly, test every plug socket, run all the taps, flush every toilet, check under sinks for leaks, look at the condition of the walls and ceilings, and note anything that doesn’t work as it should. For new builds in particular, developers are obligated to fix genuine defects — but you need to report them, and there are time limits involved.

For older properties, the snagging list becomes your maintenance priority list — a clear picture of what needs attention and in what order.

One More Thing: Give Yourself Permission to Take It Slowly

First-time buyers often put enormous pressure on themselves to have everything perfect and fully unpacked within days of moving in. The reality is that settling into a new home properly takes weeks, sometimes months — and that’s completely normal.

Prioritise what makes the space functional and comfortable: beds made, bathroom sorted, kitchen operational. Everything else can come gradually. Owning your home is a long-term thing, and there’s no deadline on making it exactly right.

Congratulations on getting the keys — now take a breath, make a cup of tea, and work through the list.