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Property/DIY

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Original poster

How soon did you start sorting things out ready to move once sale & purchase agreed?

27 replies

Honey1975 · 18/04/2017 19:02

At last we are on the move! Offers accepted today.
Any tips for getting ready to move with young children?
I am determined to be organised and not leave everything to the last minute like we normally do!
We have a loft full of stuff I'd like to try & sell but very little space to put things whilst sorting out.

I realise it may take weeks/months to move but we are in a short easy chain so I'm hoping it won't be too long.

How soon did you start after sale/purchase agreed? Thanks

OP posts:

nancy75 · 18/04/2017 19:04

Start getting rid of stuff straight away! I was stunned by how much stuff we actually had.

Iamcheeseman · 18/04/2017 19:06

Offer accepted on the house we are buying 7 weeks ago! Still not even close to exchange. I've just started selling some stuff but not even thinking about packing yet!

Maggy74653 · 18/04/2017 19:10

We started sorting out things like the shed/loft straight away as a lot of it was for the tip. We started packing once we got to the point where we were getting contracts through to sign. Unfortunately despite being in a short chain there were issues with our buyer and they pulled out. We did then end up with a spare room full of boxes that we had to dip into whilst the house went back on the market. Luckily we found another buyer very quickly, however given what happened the first time around we didn't pack again until very late so it was a bit of a mad rush at the end.

nancy75 · 18/04/2017 19:15

I didn't find the packing too bad, it was the stuff we didn't want that was the problem, I was on first name terms with all the charity shops!

MrsFezziwig · 18/04/2017 19:28

Did some decluttering when I put the house up for sale so as not to horrify potential buyers, and a couple more rounds of decluttering after that. Other than that I did very little beforehand as I knew I would probably have to have a packing service due to faffing within the chain and a number of changes of the completion date, and I thought if I had to pay for packing I wasn't going to do the packers' job for them! In the end there was only had a week between exchange and completion, so my instinct was correct. The other reason for not doing it beforehand was that I had a gloomy feeling that it would never happen and I didn't want to tempt fate by doing too much beforehand (the feeling turned out to be completely unfounded).

user1484830599 · 18/04/2017 19:34

I started packing after exchange. However, we had a month between exchange and completion so plenty of time, I just did a box or two a day.

Mupflup · 18/04/2017 19:48

We are moving tomorrow (selling only). We accepted the offer at the start of March and ever since its been deadly quiet until all of a sudden we had a call telling us our buyers were ready to exchange and wanted to be in in a fortnight! We've been sorting, packing etc for 5 solid days with multiple tip and charity shop runs. If I had my time again I'd have started on the attic, the garage and the cupboards as soon as I was certain everything was proceeding.

Original poster

Honey1975 · 18/04/2017 19:51

Thanks everyone. How is the timescale between exchange & completion decided?

OP posts:

WhatWouldTheDoctorDo · 18/04/2017 19:52

We started straight away. There was a ton of stuff that I could have sold, but just didn't have time do ruthlessly started clearing things. Lots of trips to charity shops. Put some things for selling on gumtree but gave myself a strict deadline that if they didn't go in a week they were off to the charity shop.

And then opted to pay removals for a full packing service. The best thing I've ever done.

Original poster

Honey1975 · 18/04/2017 19:56

WhatWould how does the packing service work?

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Equimum · 18/04/2017 19:58

We accepted an offer and had an offer accepted in mid-February, but have only just got to survey stage (short chain). When're doing small bits most weeks - have reduced clothes, toys etc and tackled the shed over Easter. Planning to box/ sort some of the stuff stored in high cupboards this weekend. Hopefully, by the time it comes to moving, we'll be thoroughly decluttered and ready to pack.

ijustwannadance · 18/04/2017 20:06

Start now. I saw it as a chance to not cart a load of junk to new house.
I packed as I sorted. Packed all non essentials first and out of season clothes etc. Just left the packed boxes stacked in one room.

Completion date sorted out at exchange but will be a minimal of 5 working days to make sure funds all cleared etc. It's usually one week after exchange. The chain all need to agree on best date.

WatchingFromTheWings · 18/04/2017 20:51

I started decluttering and packing before we went on the market. Wanted to tidy up for estate agent photos. I did a box or 2 a week plus stuff to charity/tip. Once we had a buyer (our offer on a house was already accepted) we moved 8 weeks later (inc 13 days between exchange and completion).

Original poster

Honey1975 · 18/04/2017 21:02

Watching 8 weeks, gosh that's quick. Would love it if ours could be that quick. I suppose there's no way of telling how long it will take.

OP posts:

StripyBlanket · 18/04/2017 21:13

We are at a similar stage honey so interesting to read the responses. We weren't organised last time we moved which meant that a load of valuable stuff just ended up in a skip for convenience. This time I'm more organised and have started going through stuff already. Boxes for eBay, boxes for charity and lots of rubbish to get rid of. Although we are going to go for a packing service, I've also bought some additional boxes for stuff that I know I want to keep once they've been sorted.

I just want to be organised and I like to have stuff to do - all the legal stuff is out of my hands do at least I have got something to occupy me!

user1484830599 · 18/04/2017 21:16

You can have as little or as long between exchange and completion as you like, as long as everyone else in the chain agrees. You'll work that out further down the line when you talk moving dates.

8 weeks is a bit ambitious depending on the length of your chain and how organised you/your seller/their seller, etc etc etc are. If you get someone who takes weeks to reply to the solicitors enquiries then it will take longer.

Original poster

Honey1975 · 18/04/2017 21:18

Sounds good Stripy hope it all goes well for you.
I'm wondering how best to get it all done in between working & looking after 2 dc's, one of whom is pretty demanding of my time & attention😬!
Don't know where we're going to put anything either once packed as no spare room.

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SecretNortherner · 18/04/2017 21:25

We've just moved with a 6 month old baby. We started packing/throwing out the junk as soon as we knew we were moving. We packed the stuff we knew we weren't going to need - so garage and shed was stripped bare and then starting working on the house. We moved all the packed boxes into the garage so we could still move around.
We ended up doing everything on the weekend. Baby was going through a stage of only sleeping if beind held . It was like he knew we had stuff to do!

Original poster

Honey1975 · 18/04/2017 21:27

That sounds hard Secret well done!

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wowfudge · 18/04/2017 22:37

Use the removal company's packing service. It doesn't cost much more and is worth every penny because you just live normally until a couple of days before completion day. They literally pack everything so have a couple of suitcases with changes of clothes and essentials in them kept separately, have a plastic box with tea, coffee and kettle plus some cutlery and mugs, etc and another with cleaning materials. Don't let the packers pack the hoover. Empty all the bins or they'll pack them full of rubbish.

As they empty a room you can clean it. See if you can get help with the cleaning or childcare.

Original poster

Honey1975 · 18/04/2017 22:49

Thanks Wowfudge that sounds great. We are only moving to the next road so we were just going to hire a van and do it ourselves but I like the sound of this.
Childcare definitely a good plan!

OP posts:

WhatWouldTheDoctorDo · 18/04/2017 23:02

Like wowfudge says. Ours came the day before, packed everything bar the telly, and some other bits and pieces we asked them to leave. It was amazing. They will just pack everything though so think carefully what you'll need after they've been. Hoover (and cleaning stuff if you want to do a once over on moving day) is a good shout.

Shortdarkandfeisty · 18/04/2017 23:06

We arent even on the market yet and have completely de cluttered

Anything we can live without is packed, boxed and labelled in the garage

Once we have an offer we are ready to go

redfairy · 19/04/2017 12:54

We put house on market end of December and moved in end if March so pretty quick. I was packing right from the outset all non-essentials. I wasn't manic just a couple of boxes a night while watching telly building up to the last three weeks which were pretty full on packing every free moment. I did some ebaying and charity bags here and there as we went along. I think slow and steady is key initially.
Oh and we only exchanged two days before completion so I would rely on waiting for your exchange date.

redfairy · 19/04/2017 12:54

Wouldn't rely

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