Moving in with your partner is a big decision. You think through the decision and ensure that you make the best efforts to make the arrangement world for your love life and forever. However, shortly after the excitement of the new change settles, you realize that it takes more than just moving stuff to make the entire thing work. You need to think of your life decisions, what stuff you have and what you will need. Income sources to balance the expenses and get mentally prepared to stay in close proximity with your partner- 24/7. The financial aspect of the move alone is distracting. He experts at iMoving.com explain the cost of moving alone is one of the core considerations, let alone planning your monthly expenses and preparing for vacations and more.
However, this does not mean that you moving with your partner won’t be beneficial for you. There are ample of reasons why you must take the leap including one big enough reason that you love each other so much.
Why move in with your partner?
Any now you must have a clear idea that moving in with your partner would demand for a fair amount of planning, coordination, stress and money. But after a certain time in a relationship, it is the best to move in together, the decision helps the couple grow closer and reach the next level of the relationship.
You get to see your partner every day and spend as much time as possible with each other. Living in the same space allows you to understand each other well. You understand each other needs, requirements as well as preferences well. This gives you a perfect opportunity to better analyze your compatibility and take steps to the future of your relationship. The financial benefit of living in together is no less. You can share the rent, cost of groceries, eliminate the cost of commuting to meet each other and more. However, there are ways that make this transition a lot more fruitful than you have planned for. If you are all set to take the leap, we have a few tips to help you smoothly move in together with your partner.
Before you start searching for your love nest
Before you start your search for the best apartment, you can take a few steps towards making it a smooth journey. These tips help you make the entire process smooth with savings of time, money and efforts.
- Know your household
Moving is majorly about the stuff we own. O be honest, we all have a lot of items in our house with no or little realization that many of them are even duplicates. You need to know what all is there, what is required and what will fit in the new house easily.
It is natural for you to feel tempted to skip this step as it takes a lot of efforts. However, you shouldn’t. Every piece of belonging that you move contributes to the moving cost and also the maintenance later. If you want to minimize the moving cost, you must keep the inventory in control. You have four categories to segregate your belongings- Keep, Sell, and Donate & Toss.
Here is a step by step guide for managing moving inventory
- Take the inventory of both the apartments
- Sort the items- what you want to keep and what not
- Check the items that are left and measure
- Know the square footage required
- Your place, their place or a new place; what are the options
Now it is time to decide where you will live after the big move. If one of you is already living in a two-bedroom apartment, you can move in together and have a comfortable life, however, if you are living in a studio apartments, you must start searching for a larger space here you get your comfort and safety. It is important that you discuss your living requirements thoroughly and know what you need from a house. If you have a pet, you must check that the accommodation is pet friendly. Also, check the neighborhood, parks, restaurants and shopping centers around.
Managing the financial aspect of moving together
One of the key benefits of moving in with your partner is that you get more involved in each other’s financial life. Even if you have lives in a roommate arrangement so far and was sharing expenses, the game will completely change now when you have you partner living with you at all times. You will now have mutual responsivities to manage the finances.
There are chances that you would feel a loss of privacy on the financial aspect which could strain the relationship. However, if you have communication with your partner, you can easily manage the change and related adversities.
Financial documents for rental arrangements
Now that you have found some suitable rental arrangements and forwarded the applications, you must know the financial documents required. There are several financial docs that you will need to get pre-approved for a mortgage for the new house. Here is a quick checklist of these docs:
- Letter of Employment- with details of your employment including salary, joining date, etc. mentioned on the company letter head.
- Pay stubs
- Letter of reference rom your previous landlords
- Bank statements
- Tax returns of the last two years
The move: Hiring the movers vs. DIY
When all the arrangements are made, it is time that you decide on your moving process. The first thing that you both need to discuss and agree upon is the choice of moving options. You can hire professional movers or choose to have a DIY move. Hiring a mover is the recommended method as it allows you to save time, efforts and money. DIY moving is recommended if you have limited inventory, have experience of moving on your own and are in full agreement with your partner about the efforts and time involved in the process. Yu must be in full control of the process either way and ensure effective moving day management.
Moving in together is a great step to advance your relationship further. We hope the abovementioned guide will prove helpful to you and you have a safe and fun time taking the big step in life.