Moving Day Diary

November 9, 2015 by Rob Kahl

Moving day diary

Our illustrious leader at leigh-on-sea.com is moving home soon and it got me thinking about the logistics of people moving. I spend a good deal of my time at the office negotiating dates when people can move home. It is not just price that we have to negotiate, once the sale is nearly at the point of exchange people can be frustrated with delays and issues that have been overcome and then we need to coordinate everybody in the chain to be able to move on the same day.

From an agents point of view it can be hugely frustrating that people aren’t able to change plans and accommodate dates and it can leave a bit of a bad taste in peoples mouths when you get to the stage where people are threatening to pull out unless certain dates are met.

It is important, as an agent that people do have lives to live as well as moving house. Work normally has to continue, holidays may have been booked months previously, children have school plays that people don’t want to miss or the family dog has an appointment with the vet that they are not prepared to change. There could be any number of reasons and it is key to try and keep everybody happy whilst trying to give people as much notice as possible.

Unfortunately, with the house buying system we have pretty much anything can happen until an exchange of contracts has taken place and a lot of people think it is tempting fate to start packing until this has taken place. When you only get a few days between exchange of contracts and completion though it can be a bit of a mad panic at the end if you can at least make a start.

Moving house is an excellent opportunity to have a really good clear out. You could become on first name terms with the guys at the local tip but you can make a good early start on clearing out the loft, sheds and under stairs cupboard.

There is an old adage that if you are moving stuff out of the loft that is going straight in to your new loft, without even being opened, do you really need it?

If you have a couple of weeks until you have to move then you can get loads done so that the actual day of the move does not have to be a mad panic.

Think about all of your clothes. The charity shops might be happy with your donations, but if you are moving this time of year you are not likely to be needing things like bikinis any time soon so all of your summer clothes can be packed away straight away. The same with bedding and towels. Change you current stuff now, wash the old stuff and bag it straight up.

The majority of the kitchen can be packed away now as well. Are you likely to use your best glasses and plates before you move? Saucepans, the pasta maker and the bread maker (we never use) can all be boxed up and set aside. You may need all of your bigger items of furniture like sofas but if there is a spare bedroom that can all be packed away or a dining table that’s not going to be used and can be dismantled, get it done, there is no time like the present.

It may feel like you are just camping out in your own home as you haven’t even got a coffee table to put a drink down on, but it will only be for a few days and will make the process of moving so much smoother when it does happen.

If you are able, it is a good idea to set aside a room or a corner to start filling with boxes so that you can see what you are achieving rather than leaving boxes half empty in every room. This room can then be filled to ceiling with everything that is packed away and then it is easy on the day of moving. Don’t forget though LABEL THOSE BOXES, it will make life a lot easier at the other end.

The week leading up to the move you can start the other things that need doing like informing all of your utilities of your new details, changing addresses for banks and anyone else you need to, redirecting post and sending out moving home cards to friends and families.

The day of the actual move is stressful enough you should try and get as much done as possible before the actual day. The removal company we use has plenty of stories of turning up to houses of people who are moving who haven’t done anything and still boxing things up and packing long in to the night!

If you are using a company to move you they tend to start loading up the truck at about 8am. We are not allowed to give to keys for the properties until we get confirmation that the solicitors have received the completion funds and that tends to be late morning so that gives you plenty of time to get things packed up and even give the house a quick clean and run the hoover round for the new people. You can then read the meters and drop your keys off to us and may even get a chance to treat the removal guys to bacon sandwiches (got to keep them onside).

There is no excuse for not being prepared so prior planning is essential and don’t forget any offers of help that you may get. It might not be with physically lifting boxes it could be that someone is able to take the kids off your hands for an afternoon. Think how much more you can get done with them out of the way.

It is a few days or a couple of weeks of upheaval but it will mean that the move goes much more smoothly although I can’t guarantee that it will be completely stress free... Jo!

This article is by Rob @ Scott & Stapleton
http://www.leigh-on-sea.com/scott-stapleton.html