Moving Property
Countdown to the Move
All the hassles and stresses of moving house are building towards one cataclysmic day, when your world will turn upside down and inside out. You won't quite know whether you're coming or going but, at the end of it all, you will actually be in your new home. Whether or not you'll be able to enjoy your new surroundings may depend on how organised you've been over the past few weeks...
Before you exchange
1. Go through your possessions, beginning in dumping grounds like the loft, garage or cellar. Be ruthless. Take excess items to a charity shop or organise a car boot sale.
2. Shop around for a removal firm or van hire - get two to three estimates. See Save Money When Moving. Ask for a pencil on your intended completion date.
3. Start collecting, or order, boxes and packing materials.
4. If you're renting, check your notice period and prepare to notify your landlord.
After exchange, or 2/4 weeks to go
1. Confirm removal arrangements or van hire and willing friends.
2. Arrange extra insurance for your goods in transit - if necessary - and contents insurance at your new property from the moving date. See Get Insured.
3. Get the necessary time off work.
4. Give notice on your flat if you're renting.
5. Notify your telephone company of your change of address. Ask to take over your seller's telephone line or organise reconnection/installation if necessary.
6. Inform all the utility companies of the move. Arrange for meter readings of electricity, gas and water at both the old and new properties on the day of the move.
7. Sort out the keys to the various parts of the house for the new owner - rooms, windows, shed, etc. Clearly label them to avoid confusion when your buyer moves in.
8. If you're not leaving them, arrange for the disconnection of cooker, washing machine, dishwasher, light fittings, satellite dish etc., and their reconnection at the other end.
9. If your new home has oil-fired central heating, check how much you will have to pay - if anything - for any oil left behind.
10. Ask your sellers to leave behind the name of their local plumber and electrician and ask when the last services were done on the heating system.
11. Arrange for any carpet cleaning.
12. Organise a special rubbish collection with the local authority (a small fee could be charged) or hire a skip.
13. If you have children or pets, keep them safely out the way and ask someone to look after them on the day of the move.
14. Book a hotel room if it's not possible to stay overnight in your new home.
15. Print and post your change of address cards, including your new telephone number (see Don't Forget).
16. Arrange for your post to be redirected from the day of the move (see Save Money When Moving).
17. Arrange for a messaging service from your telephone company, telling callers your new number.
18. Start packing - it always takes longer than you think.
1. Go through your possessions, beginning in dumping grounds like the loft, garage or cellar. Be ruthless. Take excess items to a charity shop or organise a car boot sale.
2. Shop around for a removal firm or van hire - get two to three estimates. See Save Money When Moving. Ask for a pencil on your intended completion date.
3. Start collecting, or order, boxes and packing materials.
4. If you're renting, check your notice period and prepare to notify your landlord.
After exchange, or 2/4 weeks to go
1. Confirm removal arrangements or van hire and willing friends.
2. Arrange extra insurance for your goods in transit - if necessary - and contents insurance at your new property from the moving date. See Get Insured.
3. Get the necessary time off work.
4. Give notice on your flat if you're renting.
5. Notify your telephone company of your change of address. Ask to take over your seller's telephone line or organise reconnection/installation if necessary.
6. Inform all the utility companies of the move. Arrange for meter readings of electricity, gas and water at both the old and new properties on the day of the move.
7. Sort out the keys to the various parts of the house for the new owner - rooms, windows, shed, etc. Clearly label them to avoid confusion when your buyer moves in.
8. If you're not leaving them, arrange for the disconnection of cooker, washing machine, dishwasher, light fittings, satellite dish etc., and their reconnection at the other end.
9. If your new home has oil-fired central heating, check how much you will have to pay - if anything - for any oil left behind.
10. Ask your sellers to leave behind the name of their local plumber and electrician and ask when the last services were done on the heating system.
11. Arrange for any carpet cleaning.
12. Organise a special rubbish collection with the local authority (a small fee could be charged) or hire a skip.
13. If you have children or pets, keep them safely out the way and ask someone to look after them on the day of the move.
14. Book a hotel room if it's not possible to stay overnight in your new home.
15. Print and post your change of address cards, including your new telephone number (see Don't Forget).
16. Arrange for your post to be redirected from the day of the move (see Save Money When Moving).
17. Arrange for a messaging service from your telephone company, telling callers your new number.
18. Start packing - it always takes longer than you think.
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- Countdown to the Move
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