Moving house… what an emotional rollercoaster it can be! That’s right, we said can be. Although you are filled with excitement to begin the new chapter of your life with your family or loved ones, there is probably going to be a time during the process that becomes a hassle and causes stress. Want to know how to eliminate that stress and hassle? Simple. Now you can follow our ultimate guide to moving home, going through almost every important step to moving into your dream home.
Choosing an Estate Agency
Choosing the right estate agency for you and your household usually makes the moving process a whole lot less stressful. As an estate agency ourselves, we understand how important our services and behaviour is to your moving process. We are strict professionals passionate about the industry and we do our best to help you move into your dream home. Find yourself someone dedicated, such as us!
There are a lot of things you should consider before choosing an estate agency; for one thing, you need to find out if the estate agent is going to provide you with the best possible service and has access to a wide range of different, unique and affordable properties. If an estate agent doesn’t meet your criteria, the best thing to do would be to move on and find someone more suitable for you.
If you are considering your options with an Estate Agen, you can read more here in one of our blogs, “Things to Consider Before Choosing an Estate Agent to See Your Home”.
Choosing a Home
Obviously, this is the most important part of the whole moving process – your choice will impact you and your households lives forever, as it will be the property that you will pay for and live in for a long time. Not to worry, as this guide can help remind you of a few things to consider before you even begin looking at the properties themselves.
By “things” we mean significant factors that can help estate agents filter and narrow down the property choices into two piles – the “potential” pile and the “no chance” pile. For example, if you wanted a house with a garage, the agent can get rid of all of the properties without garages and save you from rejecting hundreds of other properties, wasting precious time. This discussion between client and agent really allows some organisation and saves precious time for you both, making the process a lot less stressful.
One of these factors could be location. If there is a specific city, town or even street you wanna live down, let us know and we will try and do our best for you. The location is VERY important when moving home, whether you want to move to the countryside or deeper into the city, it has to be convenient for you and your lifestyle. Think – Will your children get to school easily there? Can you get to work from there? Are there useful nearby facilities available? Is the neighbourhood suitable for you and your households needs? etc. Moving in to the wrong location can make you very unhappy and even uncomfortable, so consider that as a vital factor to consider.
Another factor can be how much room you need e.g. How many bedrooms? How big does your garden need to be? How much parking space do you need? It’s probably obvious that not all of your wishes can be granted, but we, as estate agencies, aim to try our best and use our amazing sources to the best of their ability. Consider who is moving in with you, whether you need a garden and how many vehicles also need accommodating, because there is nothing worse than moving into a home and discovering a huge flaw that probably couldn’t easily be fixed.
As a result of this, step 2 involves serious thinking and discussion with your agent to filter down your options. Here is a top tip; think about what you need rather than what you want.
Viewing a Home
This is a very exciting step of the moving process – going to visit the actual property(s) that could turn out to be your dream home! Despite this, it also gives you the opportunity to actually review the atmosphere of the home, as nothing is as real as the human touch itself.
In addition to this, here are a few things to look out for when viewing a house:
- First impressions – don’t underestimate them.
- Don’t go alone – Go with someone you are moving in with, unless you are moving alone, then take a close friend who can offer you good advice.
- Exterior – Check to make sure if there is any maintenance needed doing to the outside of the property, including the driveway and fencing etc.
- Don’t be shy – This is probably the most expensive purchase in your life! Be thorough and look in those cupboards, under the rug, in the toilet, under the sink etc. Review every crevice of the property to ensure this is right for you.
- DIY plumbing – Run the tap, how long does it take for the water to go hot/cold? If you are unsure when purchasing, be sure to get a proper professional to look.
- Ask Questions – Like we said, probably the most expensive purchase in your life, so anything you feel anxious about… ASK!
- Be friendly – be respectful to both the current owners of that home and the estate agents. You may not like the property but there is no need to make others feel down about it.
- Photograph – If allowed, take a few photos to show your friends and family. This will help if you are totally unsure (or definitely approve) and need a second opinion.
- Imagine future furniture arrangements – Can you imagine your furniture here? Can you imagine your family living happily here? Will that fit there? etc.
- Use all of your senses – Your eyes, ears, mouth and nose can be very useful for this situation. Look out for any damages or positive areas, listen to what the estate agent/owners say, ask them questions, are there any dodgy smells?
Use these tips and we can guarantee you a successful viewing.
Getting Your Home Ready for Viewings
So we have discussed yourself viewing properties, but what about other people viewing your home. It’s important that your house is immaculate and appropriately decorated when potential buyers visit your home, as it will be their first impression, and they ALWAYS count.
This may take some time depending on the current condition of your home, but to help here are a few things you should consider doing to get your home ready for viewings.
- Natural lighting – Turn those lights off and open those curtains for the traditional natural look. It will really compliment the furniture within your home and make it look much more comfortable.
- De-clutter – Those beautiful photo frames, sculptures, candles and family heirlooms might look good and sentimental to you, but it’s not what a buyer is looking for. After all, they are looking at the walls, floors and ceilings, not your ornaments. Allow them to view the property, not your own personal museum.
- Have services checked – From the thermostat and heating to the boiler and electrics, it’s important you get them inspected before viewings. There’s nothing more embarrassing than an unexpected breaking of your services whilst showing them off to a potential buyer.
- Work on your outdoors – Depending on your exterior size, structure and current condition, try to create an appealing outdoor environment. Where potential buyers can imagine their children and pets running around having fun and spending quality family time together. It’s as simple as weeding, sweeping, washing and even repainting.
- Give your glass some TLC – From the windows to the glass shower screen in your Bathroom, make sure you take care of your windows before anyone steps foot through your door. The streaky effect you can get on the windows can look highly unappealing. Therefore, wash down your windows with some hot water and appropriate cleaning product, and then to get rid of those streaks, use a window vacuum!
- Show off your security – Regardless if you have CCTV surveillance equipment or maybe just a fenced gate, it’s always an added bonus to have installed security in a home you like that you are viewing.
- Remove or fix any damages – If you have a broken table or ripped chair, remove it from the room – it makes your room look old, untidy and overall unappealing to the potential buyer. On the other hand, if it is damage you can’t just ‘remove’ from the room, be sure to get it fixed oral least let the viewer aware of it, do not try and cover it up!
- Keep all things white, white – In rooms especially the Bathroom in Kitchen, it’s important to keep your white surfaces immaculately clean and white. It keeps the room looking fresh, looked after and new, rather than unsanitary and neglected.
- Your pets and children – As much as you love them, your potential buyers may not, or may be distracted by them. Ask a friend or family member to look after them during a viewing, so your viewer’s entire concentration is on the property.
- Repaint if necessary – If it is entirely necessary, having a slight repaint around the inside and outside of your home might be the perfect solution to improving your home. It makes your whole property look a lot more fresh and neater, so definitely consider it.
Who Should You Inform?
This involves both relatives and companies – it’s important you let the right people know about your moving to ensure no complicated issues occur including missed bills and gifts etc. To help, here are a list of only a few people you should be informing, but other than that, make a list of all organisations you feel you need to inform:
- Friends and Family.
- Work.
- DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency).
- Schools (primary, secondary, sixth form, college, university etc.).
- Council.
- Telephone company.
- Internet provider.
- Electricity, Gas and Water companies.
- Insurance companies.
- Banks and loan companies.
- Home-related services (if you are a regular client).
- Post.
Packing
Once you have organised a moving date and removals company, it’s important you begin packing right away! The best possible way is having everything packed up early, rather than having your removals team arrive at the door and you are still packing – how embarrassing! The earlier you start, the better – ensure you have the right packing essentials such as bubblewrap and you have the right knowledge on dismantling necessary furniture.
Also take this time to go through and organise your furniture. You can do this into three piles – one “keep” pile, one “throw away” pile and one “donate” pile. Your keep pile should be all of the things you will definitely take to your new home, the throw away pile should consist of all things that are damaged or not worth taking to the new home, and the donate pile should be the remaining belongings you don’t want to take to your new home, but they are in too good of a condition to simply throw in a bin, so you can donate them to a charity organisation to help out.
Moving Out
When you are moving out of your home, remember someone is moving in at some point. Therefore, show some respect and leave the property in an appropriate state – hoover up, dust away and don’t leave any belongings you don’t want there (unless discussed with new owners). This just shows basic manners and ensures that your home welcomes it’s new owners the right way.
Also, it’s important you collect all keys and leave them at the property as you leave, to help the new owners feel more comfortable knowing no strangers have access to their home. Just simply leaving them where it will be the first thing they see can be a big relief to them.
As you are walking out of the door, take time to reminisce the times you have spent in the house – the good and the bad times. Despite the exciting new home you will be living in, it can be difficult to let go sometimes for some people. Therefore, just take your time and enjoy the journey.
We hope this covered everything for you – we aimed to discuss the most important and common aspects of the moving home experience in as best detail as possible! Feel free to share this article with your fellow moving friends and family!
For more information on Peter Lane & Partners, simply visit our website or contact one of our branches to start your journey.
Thanks for reading.
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