Completion day tricks

[Notmulan]

After reading the thread about “R” and completion day, I wanted to ask if there are any completion day tricks . How do you time it so everyone is moving at exactly the same time? In our chain of 7 (yikes) only one person is moving from a different area so that’s 6 of us potentially dosy-doeing removal vans in a 1km radius. Does everyone usually book different removal firms or does one firm manage a relay race

Book your own removal firm. Pack up almost everything the day before. Get up early and just wait. You're at the mercy of the chain I'm afraid.

Most of all,just relax and let everything be. It's certainly going to be stressful,so just go with the flow and soon you'll be in your new home.

This is how ours went-
Up mega early to drop kids at childcare and pack last few bits. We had already packed 90% and dismantled all large furniture at this point.
Van arrived early. Removals loaded all our boxes and furniture. Dh helped, I cleaned rooms as they became empty.
Dh drove with removals to new property. I drove our keys to EA, then I went to the tip with the bits we had accumulated since the last bin day.
Then we got the call that we could go for our keys - I got them then drove to meet dh and removals where we all unloaded the van.
I then set up the kids rooms while dh and removals did the last few bits.
Then we went for the kids.

In my experience this is the bit that people are most likely to scrimp on because the house moving process itself is so expensive. But professional movers are key in a sale and purchase scenario. Ideally with packing service.

So it should be something like: choose a completion day that isn’t Friday (we did a Wednesday last time), get professional packers and movers in (ours packed the lorry on Tuesday, left us with minimal stuff overnight and finished loading Wednesday morning). Van was packed by 10.30 and we did a top to bottom clean of the house. House sold at about 11.00, purchase came through about 11.30 (we were the first property to sell in the chain), keys collected and started unpacking the new house just after the movers had finished their lunch, so about 12.30. They left about 16.00 and we started getting settled into the new place.

If you all use the same company will multiple vans. Your crew can always help pack the house you are moving into if the people are slow. We had one move where our movers had to help them out of he house we were buying so they could get us in. They were different firms but it worked fine.
If you are moving yourself get it all out the day before

Do what I did last time.
Arrange for removers to come and pack the lorry the day before completion. Pay cleaner to come and clean. Say goodbye to house. Keys to estate agents.
Stay in hotel overnight. Leisurely breakfast. Await call from solicitor. Tell removers, collect keys.
Direct removers as to where to put boxes and put up beds.
Tbf, if I were to do it again, I'd have a second night in a hotel before unpacking!

And get the best removal firm you can (not necessarily the most expensive). Any time we havent we have regretted it. They are worth every penny.

@Notmulan if there is a delay on getting the key or getting access to the house (people can be difficult and not get out very fast, lock might be broken, money is delayed because the solicitors have gone to lunch...) there is small print with removal companies' contracts usually saying you will pay for their extra time after a certain time, usually double time with penalties sometimes I think.

Make sure everyone realises that once completion has happened you are actually supposed to leave the house!

Second removals firm, preferably get them to do the packing and if you can afford it, get them to pack most of it the day before. This can double the cost though so most people don't want to. Do be really organised so on the morning you can get dressed and move out of the way to let them get on with it

We were in a chain of 7, and we’re moving literally down the road. We packed the car with sleeping bags, air beds and supplies for one night. Our furniture went to storage overnight and arrived the following morning.
In the event we got our keys around 3pm, so we could have possibly done it on the day but I wanted to avoid the stress.

This will be our first time moving in a chain. As ftb we were blissfully unaware as we were buying a house where the owner had already moved in with her partner.

Our plan is:

• Restart decluttering
• Get packing once our buyers have had their survey done and got their mortgage agreed
• Take all plants in containers etc to the in laws ahead of time
• Book the cats into the cattery for the day before exchange for two nights
• Hire a Luton and pack it the night before (we have willing relatives and my husband is used to driving one, otherwise it would probably be a removals service).
• Up early to pack the last new bits - mainly into our car and have a bit of a tidy round.
• Wait (im) patiently for things to happen (we are in a chain of 3, so not too complex).
• In the new house... get everything in and build the bed and the cot. Everything else can wait.
• Our sellers have already moved out, so the house is empty , so no waiting around whilst they eat their lunch (lol)
• Set up a room for the cats and possibly bring them home on moving day, but maybe the day after.
• Buy everyone beer and pizza to say thank you.

All of this with a newborn (we don't even have an exchange date discussed yet, but it's likely this will be around a month - 6 weeks after our baby arrives).

OP, like you we had a 7 property chain, we completed last Wednesday. There's no coordination between properties. My solicitor said be packed by midday, 1pm at the latest. Movers were all booked up so we'd put most items into storage before moving date. Then on moving day we had 2 large vans and 2 cars full of our stuff. Was myself, DW, DSIL, DBIL and DMIL doing all the work. Everything was packed and cleaned bang on midday.

We then drove to our new place and parked up nearby waiting for the call. The sellers were still packing into a Luton van when we got there, which was a bit of a worry. Got the call about 1:30pm that it had all gone through, sellers were still there packing. I walked up to the real estate to get the key, by the time i got back they'd gone and i was loading the place from 2pm.

5 days later and most items are out of storage, still got shed and garden items left. Having to do it ourselves will have taken about 3 weeks of graft to get it completed (4 bedroom house with two small kids to move). The one positive is we have saved a decent chunk of money on moving costs.

Hope the people you are buying from don’t contract/ have to self isolate due to Coronavirus. Or at least make sure you know what happens in the event they do so in your contract......

Currently waiting for the solicitors to ring me as sellers are claiming self isolation...... we are supposedly completing TODAY!

I wish you a smoother day on completion day.

@Andthenanothercupoftea.
Get a removal firm. Honestly. You will never ever resent the money you pay.

FOLLOWING :)

We have a potential moving date of mid-July (not set in stone yet) but I thought I'd ring some local firms just to get quotes etc. They're all booked

So our new plan (assuming we don't get a call to say someone has cancelled their booking which is what I'm hoping for!) is to finish packing weekend before the move and just live out of a suitcase for the last few days, beds dismantled and sleep on mattresses on the floor. Also take as much stuff as possible to a relative's garage the weekend before. Then day before the move DH will take the day off and pick up a Luton van, load as much as he can, then relatives have offered to help after work with the heavier bits.

Day of move - pack last few bits, DM to help with school run, cleaning etc, also use our cars if can't fit everything in the van (although one will have to be parked at relative's house at some point in the morning as DH will be driving the van).

Unpack as much as we can that day (relatives again offered to help after work) but hire van until the next day just in case.

Not looking forward to it but on the plus side the cost of hiring a van is cheap and at least it'll give us 3 days rather than one day of utter manicness - no way could we do a DIY move in 1 day!

I wouldn't think of others. All you need to do is be out of your house when the funds transfer (usually noon) and ready to pick up your keys when your funds transfer to your vendor. Get the movers to get everything in the vans. I always plan an hour after for lunch and just in case there is a delay.

On the day of moving get yourself out as soon as possible. Don’t stop, when the van isn’t fully loaded, for an early lunch [madness!]

I've only ever packed the morning of the move not the night before. Is stuff all insured for this? I'm not sure I could cope with knowing all my worldly possessions are sat out on the street overnight.

Removal companies (not ‘Man and Van’) are well used to this. They know what they are doing.

Check with your solicitor when you exchange what time completion is planned for.

Get quote and tell your removal co.

Either do your own packing or pay for removal co packing service.

If you do it yourself do not underestimate the number of boxes needed. We had over 130 for a 4 bed semi. Packing took 2 weeks, in amongst everything else.

Either way have ALL belongings packed, boxes labelled, by the evening before completion. Only keeping clothes for the day, bedding for one night, essentials like tea, coffee, kettle, mugs, cleaning kit. Clean the cupboards etc that have been emptied and packed.

The removal co will arrive and pack the van faster than you think possible. They will dismantle your beds, and out hanging stuff from wardrobes into a cardboard wardrobe. Keep completely out of their way except for making them cups of tea.

Clean behind them as they empty rooms. Once packed, they will leave, almost certainly by late morning.

Clean! Until about 12 or so.

Pack the cleaning stuff in your car, lock up, drop off keys at EA or put through letterbox as agreed with EA.

Drive close to new house, await call from EA or solicitors saying you can pick up new keys. Call the removal team (though they are probably outside).

Go into new house, check all OK. Show removal team which room is which as per your box labelling ‘bedroom 1 / 2 etc.

Stay out of their way while they unload, but close so that they can shout for instructions. They will put your beds together.

If they have packed or supplied the boxes for you to pack they will probably arrange to collect them at your convenience. When you see how much space boxes take up you will be grateful for this! Though local
Facebook and Next Door sites are great for passing on packing materials.

If you are not moving locally the removal company will discuss with you packing the van and driving down the day before completion, or else packing and driving down on the day and unloading the next. You can then plan what you do accordingly.

Good luck!