Preparing to Move House: What to Do Right NOW

You’ve found a home you love. Congrats. But remember, that home isn’t yours yet. In fact, your home moving journey has only just begun. Moving house involves a lot more admin than new owners or tenants may realise, but at Just Move In, we're here to give you a little more clarity so that you can settle into your new house without too much stress.

A wise man once said, “You may delay, but time will not”. So, it's time to get stuck in with a detailed moving house checklist to set you up nicely in your new property. In this blog, we'll go through some of the important steps you need to take right now (whether you're buying or renting) that will help keep your house move smooth like butter.

The first step: agree on a moving date and timetable right away. You’ll need to know this date before you can sort out other things.

Moving house: What to do if you’re buying

There's more to buying a house than moving boxes - in fact, buying a house is known to be one of the most stressful events a person can experience. Yikes. Fear not though, because we're here to dish out some top tips, as well as some well-needed reassurance. Without further ado, here are some things you can get started on right now if you're buying a new property.

Find a solicitor

You’ll already have a mortgage in place (or have funds readily available) if your offer has been accepted. The next step is therefore to find a reputable conveyancing firm.

We wouldn't recommend just using whoever is recommended by the mortgage company. Shop around and you might be able to keep some of your costs down. Beware that price isn’t everything, though. A poor conveyancer can take a long time, test everyone’s patience, and hold up your purchase - and that's the last thing you want when you're fighting with bubble wrap.

If in doubt, find someone reliable on the HomeOwners Alliance ‘compare conveyancing quotes’ webpage. Each company has a rating based on real feedback by users of the site. Job done.

Set a moving date

Your next step is to confirm a concrete moving day with your solicitor and estate agent (and the previous owner). Then you can circle the big day on your calendar and start thinking about things like booking a reputable removal company, making sure you have enough packing supplies and doing a big clear out.

Having your moving date set in stone means that you can set other milestones too, allowing you to get fully prepared before you even reach your new address. Later down the line you'll need to set aside time to inform any local services of your move, establishing your council tax band, finding your new nearest post office and all the rest. But don't worry, we have a complete Moving House Checklist that can help you with that.

Get insured

Don’t forget that you'll need to have buildings insurance in place from the moment you exchange. You’ll be liable for the property from this point (rather than after completion) so any damage could cost you an arm and a leg. Removal costs alone can be pretty hefty, so be sure to take all the necessary precautions that could save you a penny or two down the line.

Moving house: What to do if you’re renting

Depending on how much stuff you have, you might not need the help of a large removals company if you're renting - but that doesn't mean there aren't still some important steps to take.

Tenant referencing

The box-ticking exercises begin right away for tenants. You’ll need to go through tenant referencing, which includes providing references from previous landlords, proving your identity, and confirming your income amongst other things. It’s exhausting just thinking about it, but getting it done sooner rather than later can make moving day seem that much closer.

Inform your landlord

If you haven't already, check the notice period on your existing tenancy. You’re stuck with this unless there’s a break clause, so don't start packing just yet. If all is well, give your current landlord notice and confirm a moving date with your estate agent once you know what’s what.

Your plan should be to tie everything in together so you can jump seamlessly from one pad to the next. You don’t want to spend too many nights sleeping at your parents’ house or crashing on a friend’s sofa. This is a good time to arrange some liability insurance for your new tenancy, too.

Some extra top tips...

Get into good habits from the start by making lists of everything you need to do on your mobile phone or a notepad - put buildings / liability insurance at the top of that list now.

We would also recommend collecting all your important documents in one place so that they're easily accessible when you're sorting things like council tax, your final central heating bill and other nitty gritty details.

Packing materials can be a pain to find and expensive to buy, so enlist friends and family members early on to start saving any boxes from their deliveries - you might be surprised at how many you need, even if you're moving into a furnished property.

Get the ultimate Moving House Checklist

This was a snippet taken from our free Moving Made Manageable home move guide, which offers some fantastic tips you can take on board throughout the entire moving process.

If you enjoyed this post or found it useful, consider downloading the full version of our Moving Made Manageable home move guide free of charge. We explain everything about the moving process in nicely designed detail - what more could you need? Download the guide here: https://justmovein.com/home-moving-services/guides