How to move house?

[Movingdream]

Sounds daft but I have lived in my current and only bought home for 6 years and before that I was in rented.

Do I view houses before I put mine on the market? How many valuations should I get? Do I wait until a valuation is complete before looking at potential houses to move to? Do I have an offer on mine before I arrange viewings for homes I’m interested in?

Any tips or advice?

Online estimations say my house is worth around £280k now (bought for 220k before COVID) Are online estimations accurate or should I expect much less?

As you can tell I am at the very early stages of this 🤦‍♀️

get three valuations, look at prices on right move sold home for you road to see what others have sold for and price accordingly. Some estate agents won’t even let you view homes until your own is on the market.

Before you do anything else, declutter and tidy your house, including the outside.
Yes to three agents, who should be able to show you similar properties they’ve sold. Choose the one you

Sorry, finger slipped.

Choose the one you prefer, considering the percentage fee, length of contract and whether they seem proactive. You could ask locally for recommendations on FB, but that’s unreliable because people aren’t objective and the reviews may not be.

Do some research about conveyancing and don’t choose the one the agent recommends, just because they recommend. Definitely do not choose an online one. I speak from experience.

When the market was at its peak, some agents wouldn't let you view houses unless you had an offer on yours - i very much doubt that's the case now but they may need you to have it on the market.
Start by decluttering as the PP said.
Then write a short list of non-negotiables for your new place (keep it short or you'll never find anywhere). Then have a longer list of 'nice to haves'.
Then get agents round to value.
When viewing, try as much as possible to stick to your lists so you're not distracted by stuff you don't need, or overlook the absence of something on your non-negotiables list.
For example, our short list of essentials included:
Quiet road
Walking distance to a good school
No more than 10 mins drive to a train station
Enough space, even if it meant changing the layout.
Decent size garden.
That's it. On our longer list we had all sorts, garage, character etc... some of those things we got and some we didn't.

Following with interest as am also planning a move after 20 years. I have viewed two properties, both estate agents wanted to know my situation but were happy to arrange viewings even though my house is not on the market. Have also begun declutterring.

I always preferred to be under offer before finding an onward purchase, but I think there’s more flexibility these days.

Okay declutttering and lists are great advice, thanks! I have a lot to declutter, we seem to just gather things we don’t need.

My must haves…
better area (main reason we are moving)
natural light (big windows)
walking distance to train station/shops/the like
off road parking
flat garden (I don’t want a sloping garden)

Would be nice…
4 bedrooms
2 living spaces
older property, not in an estate but in a quiet area (I don’t think we will get this)
seaside

I feel a bit more in control now.

Okay I’ll put mine on the market before I start going to viewings etc for potential houses.

Right now my situation is that I love my home but it’s an old Victorian terrace, spacious, bright but in a very rundown area that’s only getting worse. We are TTC (nothing guaranteed I know) but we want somewhere with better schools and a nicer place for them to grow up and play outside etc.

Just including because I’d be interested to hear if anyone moved for similar reasons and if they are happy with it. Fear I will miss my house but I really don’t want any future kids growing up here. It’s not just a bit rundown, it’s one of the worst places in the country on every index 🫣 I only bought because it was near family and all we could afford at the time.

Following with interest as we're gearing up to move as well. Good luck OP!

Get it decluttered and any odd jobs finished. A really good spring clean. Then start looking to view other properties. Some agents might make you wait until yours has an EA but before going "live" as they want to see commitment.

Get valuations, and choose your EA. Start the process of getting photos etc. It might only take one day from pictures to being live on rightmove/getting viewings so be prepared.

Have you got a mortgage offer thing in place or do you need to find a broker? Get that done asap.

@INeedAnotherName I have a list of odd jobs. We need to completely clear out a spare room too.

Yeah think I need a broker or some mortgage advice. I just remortgaged in January for 2 more years :( but it will likely be a few months before all my ducks are in a row to advertise and then obviously you don’t know how long it takes to sell.