Removal company- moving 10 mins away?

[surreygirl1987]

Hello! I'm due to complete on a property in a little over a week! We are moving nearby (10 mins drive away). We're moving from a 4 bed detached house (and we have quite a lot of stuff). Would we be mad to try and just hire a 'man/woman with a van' and do multiple trips? Or should we pay for a proper removal company even though we're only moving down the road?? Thanks!

I moved from upstairs in a building to downstairs and used a removal company. As they pointed out, it's no different to any other move really, other than cutting out the van in the middle! It was just as much work and I was so glad I used the removal company.

We paid £1200 for removals plus full packing service (3 bed house), so so worth it especially with a child around

I once moved to the next street so we just did it ourselves, it was awful! Next time we moved 5 minutes drive away, booked a removal company and it was so much easier would always do that now!

Definitely a proper removal company and I would recommend using a packing service. (We have done 3 similar, very local moves!).

If you need to move out on completion day, you will need to get all your stuff out and the house cleaned by around 12.00. This is going to be very difficult if you need to make repeated trips, and impossible if the completion on the new property is delayed at all.

I packed myself but used a removal company, as it was local(10 min drive) they charged £50 per hour. Took 3.5 hours in the end. 2 trips and loading the van and unloading - placing furniture etc.

If you need to move out on completion day, you will need to get all your stuff out and the house cleaned by around 12.00. This is going to be very difficult if you need to make repeated trips, and impossible if the completion on the new property is delayed at all.

No, as I explained a couple of times, we have 10 days overlap as we are living in a rented place at the moment!

Well - all booked! Got 3 men and a Luton van booked for less than £600. They reckon it will take two journeys but as it's only 10 mins down the road, that's okay. Really pleased with the price ... just hope will all go okay! Thanks everybody for your help!!

You can see my house from my old house!! But due to a boundary and the layout of the streets its not possible to drive directly across the street to where I now live so it involves a 5+minute drive which would be a half hour walk if you were to walk the route that you have to drive! There's an entrance for pedestrians though so can walk it in 1 minute just no entrance for vehicles. I hired a van for the big stuff but brought a lot round in my mum's car to save time. I absolutely grudged paying a van for what is such a short distance but had no choice for the heavy furniture. Although me and my step dad carried the trampoline over to save dismantling and rebuilding

I moved from a one bed flat to a 3 bed house with one man n van and many car trips with friends and family. It was EXHAUSTING and I had much less stuff than you presumably

If you can afford it just pay for it. Unpacking and settling in is difficult enough.

Years ago we just moved down the road and hired a small van and did it ourselves. We had to carry the larger bits of furniture as the didn't really fit. It was a small house and we didn't have that much stuff - or kids. And we had a few days to do it in. I wouldn't do it again!!

Or rather, I would do it again if I was in the same situation. But I wouldn't do it with a whole family house worth of stuff.

personally l think removal companies are extortionate..
I have moved Dh and ,l 5 times and the whole family of 4 plus dog twice now, the last time l estimated saved us 4K.

But you need strong reliable help, l asked my local builder and his 2 trainees to help, so not entirely alone.

I hired 2 large tail lift vans.
over 4 weeks went through each room of our 5 bed house, editing ruthlessly, and packing and doing an inventory of each numbered box, just leaving a suitcase worth of clothes out for each of us.

3 of us loaded boxes whilst builder and one other took apart beds and big furniture and wrapped up .

I bought mattress bags/chair covers/and bubble wrap ahead of time.
I went in first van and myself and one other unloaded and started bed set up for the first night....
The really great thing about DIY aside from the considerable cost saving is you know exactly where all the urgent things are and can unpack non essentials very gradually.

Son moved out this weekend, from my house to his own. In theory only minimal amounts of stuff (bed, clothes). Had man with a van. He has already started saving for full removal service for next time!

@Dragongirl10

personally l think removal companies are extortionate.. I have moved Dh and ,l 5 times and the whole family of 4 plus dog twice now, the last time l estimated saved us 4K.

But you need strong reliable help, l asked my local builder and his 2 trainees to help, so not entirely alone.

I hired 2 large tail lift vans.
over 4 weeks went through each room of our 5 bed house, editing ruthlessly, and packing and doing an inventory of each numbered box, just leaving a suitcase worth of clothes out for each of us.

3 of us loaded boxes whilst builder and one other took apart beds and big furniture and wrapped up .

I bought mattress bags/chair covers/and bubble wrap ahead of time.
I went in first van and myself and one other unloaded and started bed set up for the first night....
The really great thing about DIY aside from the considerable cost saving is you know exactly where all the urgent things are and can unpack non essentials very gradually.

Just reading that made me feel stressed and exhausted!

@Dragongirl10

personally l think removal companies are extortionate.. I have moved Dh and ,l 5 times and the whole family of 4 plus dog twice now, the last time l estimated saved us 4K.

But you need strong reliable help, l asked my local builder and his 2 trainees to help, so not entirely alone.

I hired 2 large tail lift vans.
over 4 weeks went through each room of our 5 bed house, editing ruthlessly, and packing and doing an inventory of each numbered box, just leaving a suitcase worth of clothes out for each of us.

3 of us loaded boxes whilst builder and one other took apart beds and big furniture and wrapped up .

I bought mattress bags/chair covers/and bubble wrap ahead of time.
I went in first van and myself and one other unloaded and started bed set up for the first night....
The really great thing about DIY aside from the considerable cost saving is you know exactly where all the urgent things are and can unpack non essentials very gradually.

Not having to do all that is worth about £3k to me so in effect I’m only paying a £1k for someone else to do all that.

In any event £4k?!!!

We paid £1800 and that was for the packing up a sell
And it was 58 mile journey

Hi, @surreygirl1987 I work in the removal industry. I know I’m late to the discussion but in case your move was delayed, your decision on whether to use a ‘Man/Women & Van’ making a few trips or a removal company depends on 2 factors:

1- When you need to vacate the current property.

2 - The key release time of the new property.

If you need to be moved out by 1pm (standard time for property sales) and if your keys are also released at the same time, you won’t have the timeframe to make multiple trips. Depending on your sales contract, the buyer could sue you if they can’t get into their property at the agreed time.

Even if you have the luxury of a full day (or more) crossover in terms of key release and get out time, you should also factor in the physical effort of moving a 4 bed house with ‘quite a lot of stuff’. Using a man/women & van services for a property of this size will probably require you or someone from your household to assist the move. Begin with dismantling the larger items of furniture such as the beds and wardrobes. Have you done this before and does some of the furniture items require special attention such as removing doors from a fridge/freezer or dismantling an Ottoman bed?

Then think about moving your belongings. Even if the man/women & van focus on the furniture (if they’re a 2 person team), you’ll need to bring boxes downstairs and load into the van. That will be a lot of stairs, let alone repeating the process at new property.

How long will it take? Based on experience, it usually takes 2.5-3hrs to fully load a Luton van between 2 people if everything is strapped on to the bulkheads, not including time for dismantling. Let’s do the maths:
2 Person Team @ £45/hour

Dismantling = 1.5hrs £67.5

Loading (with your help) = 2hrs £90

Driving to the new property, unloading and back = 3hrs £135

4 Bed House usually 3 x Luton Van loads

3 x Trips (£225 x 3) = £675 15hrs

Dismantling & Assembling = £135 3hrs

Total = £810 (not including breaks)

Compare that estimated cost to a professional removal company that will do everything for you, including providing free loaned boxes and you might not be paying too much more and not lifting a finger.

I hope this help you or anyone planning their move

Do it yourself totally. We always do. and have lived in 8 houses. Removal companies are the biggest rip off merchants ever.

With all the challenges associated with selling/buying/moving, adding in a time pressured box packing, loading, unloading and unpacking is an unnecessary extra stress.

My last move was 5 miles. I paid a local professional company £800 for a removal service. 6 men and 2 vans turned up at 8am. Everything was loaded on by 10.30am, then they offloaded at the other end by 12 midday.

I tipped each man £10 at the end, they'd done such an efficient job, and it was worth every penny, and I would never attempt to do this myself.