5 Things You Should Do Before Moving House

The pandemic has proved to be a turbulent time for the property market. With the average price of houses in England and Wales up from £293,819 to £352,239 during 2020, the amount of first time buyers radically dropped. However, with lifelong urban residents seeking a better quality of life in the countryside, many made the most of the cost of moving, which reduced by 39%.

This means it’s officially the cheapest time to move house, and Brits are making the most of it. In amongst all the organisation and legal work, it’s easy to forget some of the essential steps of moving house successfully. Luckily, we’ve got the complete guide.

5 things you should do before moving house are:

1. Declutter
2. Pick the best moving date
3. Research removal options
4. Inform the DVLA
5. Inform Royal Mail

Declutter

Removal firms will most commonly quote the cost of your move based on the amount of items and rooms, so the less items you have the more affordable your moving day becomes.

Whilst this sounds easy, decluttering can be extremely time consuming and laborious. But it doesn’t need to be.

Firstly, make sure you have the adequate storage supplies; bin bags, vacuum bags, storage boxes, and a dedicated clean space on the floor to sort and organise items.

Next comes the mental preparation, arguably the most essential stage of decluttering. Commit to a time in the week where you will declutter. This time could be a set date, or a set amount of hours every week, either way try and stick to it. Make sure you do this at least two to four weeks before your moving date — and in manageable slots of time.

The Packing Party

Decluttering can be a tiresome and emotionally draining process; it’s normal to feel an emotional attachment to an item. Luckily there is a process designed to support this, it’s called the ‘packing party’.

The steps to a successful packing party are simple:

1. One month before moving house, select any items you don’t use every day and pack them into boxes.
2. As you go about your day, remove items that you need to use and place them back in their normal place in the home after using them.
3. After 3 or so weeks, donate or sell anything left in those boxes. These items haven’t been used for a month, and are likely useless to you.

The idea is to remove the assumption of “I might need that someday” when realistically the item hardly ever gets used.

Pick the Best Moving Date

Pick a moving day which is clear 3 days before and after that date in your calendar – even though you may feel you don’t need an entire week to move, with pets feeling anxious and kids feeling uncomfortable, having a spare day or two to relax into your new home is essential.

When picking a moving day, be sure to consider the following:

1. Will you be able to book time off work?
2. Are there any public holidays which could cause traffic?
3. Are there certain days where friends or family could lend a helping hand?
4. Does the moving date work for your removals company?
5. Does the moving date work for the previous owners of your new home?
6. Are you able to avoid the final Friday of the month? This tends to be the most popular day for moving completion.

By answering these questions, you will be well on your way to a successful and stress free move.

Research Removal Options

With the cost of removals reducing by 39% in 2020, it’s more important than ever to shop around and collect some quotes and reviews for local removal teams.

How do I find a quality removal service?

Remember, this team will be moving your lifelong belongings, it’s essential you check their reviews first.

Google reviews are one the most commonly used review platforms for removal firms. Search for “removal companies” on Google maps and get looking at those reviews and star-ratings. These reviews are completely unfiltered and are left by customers only.

All good removal firms will respond publicly to a negative review for your clarity and peace of mind.

How many quotes should I get?

Five quotes is always a good number, and don’t be afraid to look a little further afield than your county. You will be surprised at how much money you can save even if the removal team needs to travel further to get to your property.

Inform the DVLA

What most first time movers don’t know is that you can get up to 3 points on your licence for having the wrong address displayed, so ensure this is something you do before moving house.

The good news is that the DVLA has a super convenient and easy-to-use system to get this done which you can find here. If it’s still weeks until your moving date, make sure you set a reminder on your phone for a few days before moving.

Inform Royal Mail

While it’s nice to form a good relationship with the family moving into your old home, life can get busy. There’s no guarantee that the new residents will forward your mail to your new address, so being proactive is the best approach.

Whether you’re in contact with the new residents or not, you will need to set up a redirect of mail from your old address to your new one. This can be done swiftly and easily through the Royal Mail via this link.

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By following these five easy steps, you are guaranteed to experience a happier and more stress-free house moving experience. Remember, whether you’re moving to the countryside, upsizing or downsizing, this is a huge milestone in your life so you should enjoy every moment.

Written by Aled Nelmes of Falconer Removals

 

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