Who needs to know I'm moving?

July 14, 2017 4:03 PM

I currently live in a single family home in Virginia and have a decade or two left on a mortgage. In a few weeks I'll be moving to Minnesota for a job change. We'll be living in an apartment there. Do I need to inform the bank, loan administrator, or insurance provider of my move (beyond giving them a new address to send statements to)?

The house is currently on the market and we're hoping it will sell in the next couple months, but down-state Virginia is not the best place to sell a house right now. We don't plan on moving back to Virginia. The house will be empty (but watched over) while we're gone (we're not renting it out).

Thanks in advance!

posted by yellowbkpk to Home & Garden (3 answers total)

Best answer: Most home insurance policies don't cover vacant homes, so you'll need to check with your insurance company about that (and probably get a different policy when you move).
posted by Betelgeuse at 4:11 PM on July 14, 2017 [5 favorites]

The house will be empty (but watched over) while we're gone (we're not renting it out).

You may want to check your homeowner policy or talk to your agent, often home insurance doesn't cover property after it’s vacated. You may need vacant / unoccupied home insurance.
posted by RichardP at 4:12 PM on July 14, 2017

I am currently (temporarily) living in a different place than where my mortgage is. Yes, you need to talk with your insurer, as mentioned above. Otherwise, you just need to ensure that all of the relevant mail will get to you, including property tax notices, utilities, etc. My experience has been that mail forwarding is pretty good but a few things get missed from time to time; it seems to work better to give each agency/utility your new mailing address. Not getting a key piece of mail on time could open you up to real problems, and it's not much of an excuse to say "but I was never forwarded that."

If you live in a small town or more rural area, you probably want to let the local police department or sheriff's office know the house will be unoccupied and how to reach you if there is a problem.

Is there local code enforcement? To stay compliant with that, and also to help with the selling, can you arrange for someone to cut the grass and keep things tidy? Around here, people are always leaving advertising stuff in front of houses, so you can see at a glance if someone hasn't been home in a few weeks.

If this may stretch into the winter, make sure things are set in terms of preventing frozen/burst water lines, etc.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:15 AM on July 15, 2017 [2 favorites]