If you are moving into a new house or condo in your new city, and there are things you would like to have done with respect to remodeling, you might consider taking advantage of the home being vacant (before you move) and getting the work done if there is time. This probably won't work for large and time-consuming projects unless your move is going to be delayed, but for some things it makes sense - having rooms painted, carpet or hardwood flooring installation, getting new appliances. Of course, if you want to live with your new house before deciding how you want to remodel, that may be the best solution for your situation.

After we bought our home in Carlsbad (we were still in Boston) we wanted to replace all the carpet in the living, room, dining room and hallway. Since we had a couple of weeks before closing on our old home and our trip west, we decided to get all new bamboo flooring installed before we moved in so we wouldn't have to deal with all the mess. We found a great flooring store, Regal Flooring in Carlsbad, checked references, and coordinated the entire process with the installer (our agent was a great help and was there to let the floor company in to do the estimate and then to do the work). When we arrived the day before the furniture, the floors and baseboard painting were all done and looked beautiful. We only had to hire someone to come in to clean the house that day and we were ready for the furniture.

If you do decide to make changes before your move, if you can't be there, make sure there are others you feel you can trust (perhaps your agent) to help coordinate with keys, etc. When selecting vendors to do the work you will need to be particularly careful in checking references, etc. since you will not be there physically to meet the vendor and handle the details personally. Some people won't feel comfortable enough to do it this way...but it worked great for us!