Help me sell my house, buy another and move please.

[BirthdayRainbow]

I'm going to be asking questions as I go through this process and I'd appreciate any answers you have. Thank you.

1. Is it best to use a removal firm from where I live now or where I am moving to? I'm moving around 230 miles from the South of the UK to Yorkshire.

2. Do removal firms carry animals? Probably my one fish as I will take my dog with me and hope my two cats fit in too or will come via a friend.

3. Roughly how much do the legal fees cost for buying another property?

4. Am I right in thinking it's best I wait until I have an offer on mine before I start looking and then can make an offer? I'll be using proceeds from mine, not a mortgage.

I haven't bought or sold in over two decades so any information is going to be useful.

Thank you.

We did a similar move a couple of years ago. Work relocation so needed to have moved by a certain date.

A) Use a local (or national with local branch) near where you currently are. Ideally get them to quote in person so you get an accurate price. They'll be used to doing long distance removals. Expect them to suggest packing/loading one day, packed van at depot overnight, then an early start the next day for the actual move, then probably into a third day to finish unloading and their return journey.

B) check terms and conditions but I don't think any of the removal companies we used would have taken something alive. Other than plants.

C) legal fees usually depend on price of house (often in price bands), complexity eg freehold vs leasehold etc. Contact a few solicitors for a quote.

D) offer and viewing order depends on your time frame and the market where you're moving to. When we were looking we weren't allowed to have viewings unless our own house was under offer ie sale proceeding. We ended up moving into rental and then buying as it was more straightforward from a selling/buying point of view.

Regarding removals, I moved last year from northumberland to the Midlands and found it cheaper to use a company from the midlands. The quotes I was getting up north were double.
You just have to message different companies on both ends to see who’s offering the best deal.

It was a day trip. They got to me before midday. I got to my destination 4 hours later and we moved contents of a 3 bed house. Didn’t have any overnight layovers.

Thank you @RidingMyBike . I have already packed a lot of my stuff and the children's as my circumstances have necessitated this but there will be things I need them to pack on the day before and moving day.

5. For my purchase, should I get a solicitor near where I'm moving to? It feels like that makes sense.

Renting isn't an option but I can see the benefits for some.

Thank you @Dandelion24 . Can I email companies and get quotes that way? Or do I have to wait until I've got an address as at the moment I only have a county.

6. Another question, last time I moved it was about 45 minutes away and we got to the house maybe 15-30 minutes before the 12 noon time for the money transfer. The vendors allowed us in early as we had a baby. As I'm moving so far, how does it work as it's a five hour drive and I'd like to get in to my new house as soon as allowed but what do I do about the keys and locking up to the one I've sold? Do I leave the keys with a solicitor or the estate agent?

We've used both a solicitor based where we were moving to and one of the online conveyancing companies (that was a remortgage). The online company was cheaper and did everything via a portal but I know they all went down at one point - there were loads of people affected on here at one stage! The solicitor with a real office was convenient - it also took place during postal strikes and it speeded things up a lot being able to drop things through their door in the evening instead of relying on the post.

We got three removal quotes initially without an address to move to. But we did have a destination city, and the quotes were on the basis that it was within a couple of miles of the centre of that city and that the access would be similar ie van able to park right outside, no long distance to carry everything, same number of storeys.

Number of days will depend on distance. Ours was 200 miles and the quotes were for 3-4 days to move (including a day of packing first). We went with the three day quote but they were very slapdash and I wish we'd gone with the 4 day one!

You leave the keys with the estate agent once you're ready to go. They'll then release them once completion happens.

You might have to pay for waiting time for removals if there's a delay getting your keys for the house you're buying. We didn't get ours until four hours after completion!

It all sounds so stressful, I can handle them coming and packing most things the day before I move but I want to go on moving day. I don't see why it would take three or four days tbh. I guess I'll learn! Thank you.

Depends how much stuff and distance involved. Don't underestimate how long it takes just to carry all the furniture and boxes out and load it safely onto the vans! We couldn't go in a big lorry because of access so had several smaller vans. This was from a 4 bed house with contents of shed going too.

Our three day move was:
Day 1: removal company do all packing, leaving minimum for overnight.
Day 2: final packing, vans loaded in morning, early afternoon vans departed to depot so men could get early night. We set off, drove halfway there and spent night in hotel
Day 3: Vans departed depot at 4am to reach destination for 9am. DH left hotel early to meet them at house with keys. Vans unloaded and furniture placed in house late morning/early afternoon. Vans depart back to depot. DD and I drive up slowly to give some time for unpacking before we got there (following day for us).

The four day quote they wouldn't have done the 4am start, would have driven up that day, set house up with bare minimum for one night for us to sleep there, then unloaded most of the stuff on the fourth day.

Given I will have done most of the packing myself I hope that helps with the timings. It's just me moving on my own with the animals so it's rather daunting.

I have to start properly looking now and it's proving very difficult. How do people do this through choice?? I have to move but choosing to have this stress !