Redecorating before moving in

[OhWifey]

If you buy a house which needs total redecoration/new carpets/flooring, how do you go about that? Do you get a removal company that will keep your stuff in storage for a few weeks and stay somewhere else while the work is happening? If so how on earth do you get the trades scheduled in when exchange/completion can be variable?

We've seen a house we love but the decor is very dated and carpets all colours of the rainbow, and at its asking price we'd have the budget for the total do over straight away (kitchen/bathrooms are fine). Just wondering about logistics.

There are a couple of options - you could pay to store everything for a couple of weeks but that's obviously the most expensive option (storage plus 2 lots of removal fees). Most people just work around the furniture - store one room's furniture in another room whilst you sort out that room, then vice versa.

Jobs that are very dusty and dirty, like wiring, plumbing and replastering, are best done in an empty house.

At worst, leave your belongings in crates and preferably stay in a Travelodge. Plastic storage crates with lids keep stuff fairly clean as long as you hoover and sponge each crate before opening it in a room that you have cleaned. Gritty builders dust is very pernicious.