Moving Info

CONGRATULATIONS! You have closed on your new home and now you are ready to move!  The following information will help make your move is as organized and effortless as possible.  Think about your move as a series of small projects that you can begin while your home is under contract.  Your move will progress as your contract and closing progress.  That way, when the day comes to physically move your belongings, most of the details will be taken care of.

Keep detailed records – some moving expenses are tax deductible!

Keep detailed records of all moving expenses if your move is job related.  Many expenses, including house-hunting trips, are tax deductible.  If your move is 35 miles or more from your home, you can deduct your family’s travel expenses, including meals and lodging; the cost of transporting furniture, other household goods and personal belongings; food and hotel bills for up to 30 days in the new city if you have to wait to move into your new home; and the costs associated with selling your old home or leasing your new home.

Note:  There is a ceiling on deductions which is outlined in detail in the IRS’s Publication 521, “Tax Information on Moving Expenses,” available free form the IRS offices.

Making Moving Simple and Organized

As you're packing up your items, the best way to ensure organization when the boxes reach your destination is to label and index all your boxes. It sounds like a lot of work but this can be a real lifesaver. When you pack your boxes, Bechen says mark what goes inside each box. You can even inventory your possessions and capture the contents on film or video.

Keep a copy of the contents with the box and another one that you can put inside your notebook. If a box doesn't turn up at the new location, then you will know exactly what is missing. "The other thing that's good to do when you are labeling your boxes is to label it as bedroom box 1 and then you'll have the index with it. Then bedroom box 2, bedroom box 3, etc.," says Bechen... keep reading>

Pack Away Kids' Moving Blues

"Lots of times we'll focus on how difficult this is going to be for the children, but we forget to manage our own stress and that kind of filters down to the kids," says Montagna.

Parents should make sure that they are getting the rest they need and are taking good care of themselves so that they're able to be available to the kids. Montagna says sometimes kids are reacting to their parent's irritable attitudes rather than really being deeply affected by...keep reading>

Helping Children Cope with the Move

• Show the children the new home and their new room prior to moving.  If this is not possible, pictures or videos will help them visualize where they are going.

• Assure children that you won’t forget their friends.

• Make a scrapbook of the old home and neighborhood.

• Throw a good-bye party.  At the party have their friends sign a t-shirt.

• Have your children write good-bye letters and enclose their new address.  You may wish to call the other children’s parents so that they will encourage return letters.

• When packing, give your children their own box and let them decorate it.

• Start a scrapbook for your new home.

• Visit your children’s new school, park, church, etc… Take a camera.

• Help your children invite new friends over to your new home.

• Let your children choose a new favorite restaurant.  This will help them feel in control of their new world.

• Encourage them to send letters about their new home to their friends.

• Involve your children in groups, sports, and activities like the ones they used to participate in.

• Remember, even if you only lived in a home for a few years, to a young child it is nearly their entire lifetime.