Moving into a new house is an important chapter in life, it can be an extremely stressful time too, as someone who has moved house a few times and suffered one messy divorce I would say that the stress is quite comparable.
Moving day is always exciting and planning it in advance will hopefully help to considerably reduce stress levels for all involved. In this post I will provide some tips to help make moving day less stressful, if you want information about reducing the stress of actually buying and selling a house check this post from ourproperty.co.uk.
Planning the Move
Once you have a date for your move, you can start researching removal companies. As with any thing it is always a good idea to contact a few companies and try asking local friends and family for their personal recommendations.
If you can, try and move during the week, removal companies usually get really busy on weekends and some will charge a lot more for weekend work. When researching what company to use, its always wise to ask about weekday and weekend rates.
Reputable companies do not usually give quotes over the phone, they will come to your property to give an accurate quote – doing this enables them to take into account any obstacles that could impact on the move, as well as identifying difficult objects that need specialist removal – i.e.: piano’s. Most removal companies will provide insurance cover when transporting the items – but it’s always wise to check the company’s policy prior to booking with them. Once you have the completion date you can book the company of your choice.
If you do complete on a Friday – but you are able to move during the week, it is a good idea to get any decorating, carpet laying, professional cleaning or DIY projects done prior to the move – this means that the house will be ready and in the state you want it on moving day, when ever I move house I usually have to make emergency trips to buy hardware and DIY supplies, etc. when I purchased my first home, was young and ignorant I actually had to buy a kitchen sink on moving day.
Contacting People
Most people forget the things like mail redirection to the new address, this can easily be sorted a few weeks before the move – thus ensuring that any bills which are due to be paid during the moving period will be sent to the right address and you won’t get any nasty surprises later down the line.
The following organisations will need to be informed of your new address:
Banks
Credit/Store cards
DVLA
Council
Utility Providers – Gas/Water/Electricity/Sky/Telephone
Schools
Employer
TV licensing
If you’re looking to change your incumbent utility suppliers, before your move would be a good time to use comparison sites to identify the best deals. Another wise move would be contacting sky or your telephone provider prior to the move to ensure that you will be connected as soon as you are in the new house – thus ensuring there is no unnecessary delays.