How do you move house?

[Poptasmagorical]

I know this seems like an absolutely ridiculous question, but how do you move house?

At the moment we're renting in a town and we want to buy (or possibly rent) close to the city I work in. As well as general anxiety about the whole buying process, I'm utterly baffled by the logistics.

How do you negotiate all of the things that need sorting - giving notice to your landlord at the right time to mean that you don't have a big overlap with the two properties, moving things so you're not paying rent and mortgage at the same time... I don't even know if I'm wording this in a way that makes sense.

I've only ever had to move from my parents' to uni and back, then into the house I'm in now with my husband and kids, where we've been for about 15 years.

One possibility is to have a long gap between exchange and completion. Then you can give notice and be confident you have enough time to make all the other arrangements.

I wouldn't worry about having an overlap when you're paying rent and a mortgage though, as there are some benefits. It may be good to clean your rental after you've moved out and it may be good to clean your new place before you've moved in (you may even want to replace carpets etc. which can be a lot easier before your furniture is there).

You give notice after you exchange, and if it's a months notice then try and get at least two weeks between exchange and completion. As pp says, have a big if an overlap will ease the pressure a lot - it is nerve wracking to have to pack up one to move into the other on the same day when you are waiting for the money to go through etc.
You can do things like switch GP, redirect your mail in advance, and Sky etc needs a few weeks notice anyway. Your utilities do in the day as you need readings.

Thank you. I think I'm doing that thing where you blow up the little details because everything feels big.