Moving in France - The Move Out
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| Our Last View from Old Place |
October 1 - Our "move in" date is set! But the move-in is only part of moving. We also had to deal with the move-out!
October 2 - waiting until our new-apartment dossier was accepted, we mailed (registered letter) our current agency our notice that we would be moving out. We picked November 4th, knowing that the required 1-month notice doesn't begin until they *receive* the letter. It worked out ok, but in retrospect, it would have been less stressful to add a couple of days.
October 14, 15 - received mail from our current agency, with information on whom to contact about our move-out inspection. Since they are selling the apartment, they said they didn't need to arrange any viewing times with us (yay!). We made an appointment for the inspection and key-exchange.
October 16 - our chauffagiste came to check the heating system. There's a problem, but we aren't sure if the owner will have it fixed, or try to sell it as is. We expect to have hot water problems until we leave...
October 31 - our internet moves - Rick is in the new apartment for our morning appointment. We had a little drizzle while loading the car in the morning, but then it cleared up!
Rick somehow got even more address changes done:
Changed our bank information online!
Updated Rick's voter registration
Changed our address for the US state department
I got stuff ready to move, then picked up our van. Lifesaving Friends John and Susie arrived, and we loaded the van, drove a whole 3 kilometers, and then unloaded - whew! We gassed up, then returned the van (15 minutes to spare), and I felt like collapsing... I walked back to the now-old apartment, got a lovely hot shower, then picked up Rick to go shopping for our dinner. I saw ONE roast chicken left! BUT! It was opened (I guess we know why it was left!). OK, on to pâté and salami :-)
Back at our now-new apartment, we finally collapsed, feet up in our new recliners, wine glasses in hand.
November 1 - it's a holiday! for some... Back at our old apartment, we packed up some odds and ends, cleaned some (but not all), cooked lunch and showered (wow! remember? no gas at the new place). Then we shopped (yes, more shopping!). Picked up a microwave and a roast chicken (yes! we beat the crowds!). AND! got to use a holiday coupon!
November 2 - shopping, laundry, and hours of cleaning - I'm pooped!
November 3 - we took a holiday from moving! We got our showers at the old place, then went to a friend's birthday party. Afterwards, we came back, did a final walk-through, and then went Home, ready for our checkout tomorrow.
November 4 - Move-out Day! We met the inspection fellow at the old apartment a little before our 10:30 appointment, and he got started. What an incredible difference compared to our move-in inspection! We had a short discussion about what he was going to do; he said it would take at least 3 hours, and that we didn't have to be there - he would call us when he was done. Great for us; we bought more things for the new place, returned our hotspot, and had lunch out. It did indeed take more than 3 hours! Then we showed him the garage...
We started reading his report, and he pointed out each area that really mattered, in terms of getting our deposit back. He said to tell him if anything in the report was a shock. We were concerned because our entry état des lieux had not been completed, and the initial report had discrepancies - he phoned the agency, and they assured us that they well remembered our situation, and not to worry; we would get our deposit back :-)
Well, we were all done looking through the report he had created - it was very slick, and well documented with photos - when... his tablet died! His battery had run out! So, he plugged it in, and we waited - we chatted, and enjoyed the view for the last time, and eventually there was enough charge to let us sign the état des lieux - we left about 4:00.
This fellow was very professional - the rental agency hired him shortly after we told them about how our entry inspection went (or rather, how it *didn't* go!) He was brought on to clear up all the various messes that had been left.
At home (!), we emailed photos of our electric and gas meters to the company for our final bill.
And had soup for dinner!
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