Selling Your Property - Moving

If you have prepared your home for sale then you may well have cleared out anything that you do not use or need any more. It is a good idea to clear out any loft space at the same time, as you do not want to have to move a lot of possessions that you have no need for. At the same time, it is a good idea to horde newspapers and boxes for packing everything up. Even if you are having professionals in to help with your move, extra boxes will be useful.

Next you need to inform everyone of your impending move. This includes banks and building societies, utility companies, council tax office and benefits offices. Then everyone from the doctor, the dentist, DVLA, friends and relatives will need to know your new address. If you have newspapers and milk delivered, you will need to cancel these and pay them up to the date of your move. Make sure that you have made suitable arrangements for your pets during the move. Arrange for your mail to be forwarded by the post office. The new owners of the property are not obliged to send it on to you, and there may be people you have forgotten to inform of your change of address.

Then you will need to work out how you are going to physically move all your worldly goods from one property to the next. You can hire a company to do everything for you. They will arrive on the morning of the move, pack everything up, load it into the van, drive to the new property, move it all in and unpack it for you. Consequently, this is an expensive option. Alternatively you can do a lot of the packing up yourself and then all of the unpacking on arrival. Or you could hire a van and do the whole move yourself.

If you are hiring a removal company you will need to ask several companies for quotes and have a pretty good idea of the actual removal date. Bear in mind that the majority of people like to move at the end of a week so that they have the weekend to start to unpack, so you may get a better deal if you move at the beginning or middle of a week. If your contents insurance does not cover a move, the removal firm may offer insurance to cover your goods while they are being packed, unpacked and in transit. Check that their policy covers your contents adequately. If you are not already covered, you may be able to get extra cover on your existing contents insurance.

On the day of your move make sure that there is ample parking space for the removal van. You may need to speak to your neighbours about this. Make sure that every box is labelled so that it can be delivered into the correct room of your new property. Don’t forget your garden - remember to take any pots, furniture, toys and plants that were specified in the sale. Just before you leave your old property take any gas and electricity meter readings to forward to the utility companies. The first thing that you should do when you reach your new property is to take the meter readings there, so that you will be billed correctly. Try to prioritise the unpacking so that you unpack the essentials first. This could be a simple mark on the boxes with the essential things in them - such as the kettle, a first aid kit and bed linen! It is an idea to have packed an overnight bag so that you do not have to think about unpacking clothes on the first day.

More Selling Your Property topics below:

• Estate Agents - what can you expect from an estate agent?
• Private Sales - avoiding expensive estate agents fees
• Viewings - what you should say, what you should answer and what you should ask.
• Offers - how can you tell when an offer is the highest you will get?
• Surveys - as a seller, what can you expect from the survey?
• Legal - what is involved with conveyancing for sellers?
• Financial - what can you expect to be paying for when you sell your property?
• Selling Pack's - how the government proposes to speed up the property buying process
• Moving - what you should organise in order to have as easy a move as possible.

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