Moving house and saving at the same time

We’ve produced a guide to moving house that will help you save time and money whilst reducing the stress of the big day.

Selling your house and buying another one can be stressful and expensive. Ignoring the cost of the new home you’re buying, just the solicitors fess, stamp duty, valuation/survey fess etc can be eye watering.

The stress though comes from the thankless task of dealing with estate agents, the people buying your old property and the vendors of the new home you are buying, your useless solicitors who never return your calls and the removal firm you’ve hired.

Moving house can be time-consuming and a logistical nightmare so our free checklist will help you feel in control. If you feel organised that in itself will enable you to stay calm even if those around you, are in a flap.

It’s good to talk

Stay in regular contact with everyone involved so there are no surprises on or even near to completion day.

Hire good help

Saving money is good but sometimes people take that to the extreme and end up regretting it. You will have enough to worry about so our advice is don’t be tempted to try and save a few pounds by hiring a van and moving yourself.

My best tip is to do what I’ve done in the past, which was to hire a van yes, but I also hired the men to go with it. This was an absolute godsend as when it comes to loaded things like sofas, double beds, washing machines etc they just have the knack that only comes with experience to do that quickly and efficiently.

Get a few quotes for this and if you are in London then certainly try the man van – London. They offer quite a range of options for home and office moves so should be able to give you an accurate quote for whatever you have in mind.

Man with a van London

It might seem like the cheaper option to have friends and family do it with you but if you get breakages or scuffed paintwork it may end up costing more in the long run.

Have a major declutter

When you move why take stuff with you that you haven’t used in twelve months. If you have stuff in the loft or garage that you haven’t seen or used for over a year do you really need it. When you move house it’s a great time to bin a load of junk and start afresh. Why pay removal costs on things to move them from your old loft to your new one?

Get it all down the tip or the charity shop. Better still earn some money from it that you can put towards the van hire fees by having a garage sale or taking it all to your local car boot sale.

Packing

Get as much done as you can prior to the big day and assuming you’ve decluttered you should be down to the essentials. Things you don’t use every day can be packed prior to moving day and again some prior preparation will go a long way.

Try and do a room at a time and have boxes clearly labelled for each room so they can be put in the right room at the new place. Again, it is worth investing the time and a little money to get some good quality boxes, bubble wrap, and packing tape. You don’t have to pay the earth and you can get this type of stuff very cheaply via eBay or Amazon.

That will save you an awful lot of money rather than buying it all from a high street shop.

Change of address

Make a list of all the companies you need to inform, such as banks, utility companies, doctors/dentists and family and friends.

No matter how hard you try you will almost certainly forget someone so for any that you miss you should use the Royal Mail redirection service, that way any mail posted to your old address will automatically be re-routed to your new home. I paid for 12 months and it did pick up the odd surprise for me so it is well worth doing.

Maintenance

When you have the last viewing/visit of your new home make sure you get the owner to tell you where the important stuff is. No I don’t mean the nearest pub I mean where is the waters main stopcock. Where are the electric and gas meters situated and the thermostat?

What day of the week is bin day and things like that?

If they are leaving the cooker or any white goods do they have the instruction manual and are any of the items still under warranty?

Summary

Stay in contact with all relevant parties.

Hire a good removal firm or a reputable man with a van firm. Shop around for a few quotes but always check their reviews and look for any negative posts on social media about any firm you are considering hiring.

Declutter, if you haven’t used something for two years just bin it.

Get yourself some decent packing materials, boxes, tape bubble wrap etc and get as much packed up before the day as you can.

Redirect your post and inform as many companies as you can think of about your address change.

Ask the current owner where all the important maintenance stuff is and you can make a helpful list of the same for your buyer.

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