House moving decisions are still to come even after the ink is dry on your real estate contract. Are you ready to make more decisions?
It might have taken months of negotiations and weeks of searching for the right place. Moving house is never easy, it’s always very stressful, and you still have more house moving decisions to make.
But once the mortgage has been set up and the sale agreed, it’s time to move on. You might have just a few more days before you need to hand over the keys.
Completion is coming, and you have 3 very important decisions to make before moving day:
House Moving Decisions: Will You Have A Professional Move?
Many people choose to take on all the packing, loading and driving when it’s time to move out. This can be an incredibly stressful and back-breaking approach!
If you have a large family, chances are you need to find additional childcare while you’re getting everything ready. And driving a large vehicle is always a tricky and somewhat frightening experience.
Many people are lucky enough to have lots of friends willing to help in exchange for a beer and pizza. This speeds up the process and helps you out with the heavy lifting.
Don’t forget – you’ve got to do it all again in reverse when you arrive at your new property! After a long drive, you might simply be too exhausted to tackle this alone.
Of course, there is always the professional option. You can even go on holiday and leave the work to the removal people. And if you’re moving overseas, international removalists might be your only option.
They will have the knowledge and the know-how to navigate freight, borders and that all-important packing. It takes a lot of the stress of moving off your hands too.
Moving to another country is stressful enough. If you need to go on ahead for work or settling into schools, it makes sense to let someone else bring everything over for you.
You will also need to clean the property before you leave, if only as a courtesy to the next owner. It’s amazing how mucky a place can look when it’s empty. You might be tempted to give it all a fresh lick of paint, but really it is up to the new people to do that.
Simply make sure everything is hygienic and serviceable. There have been instances of lawyers getting involved if a property is found to be in a worse condition than when originally viewed.
You don’t have to stay back and do this yourself. Hire a professional cleaning company that specialises in the deep cleans of a house move. They can always drop the keys back to your property agent or lawyer when they’re finished.
House Moving Decisions: Will You Move Out Before You Move In?
International moves tend to be easier if you move out ahead of the sale. Of course, you might not have the funds or the contracts completed on your new property until everything is done with the old one. Hotels and family homes can be very useful here!
This might prolong the whole moving thing though, adding to the stress.
If you choose to stay in your home and move out as the sale completes, then this can be much easier. The chain of sales tends to make this a necessity when tight budgets are involved too.
Of course, if you can move out before handing over the keys, it gives you some extra time to head back to the property for a full clean up if necessary.
When there is the possibility of moving out ahead of the final paperwork, you can get a head start on setting up your new life. If you’ve moved jobs, you can jump straight in and get to know your colleagues and the new role.
The kids can settle into school and start making new friends start away. It also gives you a wonderful opportunity to find out more about your new neighbourhood ahead of your formal move.
You won’t be nearly so tired when it comes to unpacking either. You’re effectively splitting the job over two different days.
There are other benefits to moving out before you move into your new house. You can oversee any remedial works you’ve requested because you’re already in the neighbourhood. And you can seek permission to have other jobs done too.
This can be a legally grey area though, so be ready to accept a no. Simple things like registering for a local doctor or dentist can be handled a lot easier ahead of time. They’re the jobs that get forgotten when the mayhem of unpacking starts!
House Moving Decisions: Will You Engage In A Personal Handover?
Should you do a personal handover of the keys and documents, or should you leave it all to the lawyers and agents? There are many benefits for both parties if you do take the time and trouble to offer a handover.
Fleeting visits to view the property when it was on the market hardly offers enough time to get to know the place. Simple things like running the aircon, or working the heating can be much harder when you’ve never used those systems before.
What about the meters? What day is the rubbish collected? And which local council is responsible for the area?
If you can offer a personal handover and answer all of those typical questions, it will be greatly received. It can help make the new owner’s moving day go so much smoother too. If you’ve had to disconnect something, then you can let them know how to reconnect it, rather than letting them worry that something is wrong.
Postal redirects aren’t always entirely efficient. And all of them will expire eventually. No matter how carefully you notify everyone of your new address, mistakes happen, and post might arrive at your old property.
If you’ve made an effort to be friendly and helpful, chances are the new owners will hold onto your post for you to collect instead of just throwing it out. And if you’ve left any personal items behind, they might be more friendly and make the effort of getting it back to you.
Moving is challenging and stressful, but there are plenty of ways you can make it a little easier on you and the family. Enjoy your new home.
