Removals company vs doing it yourself

[Boyandgirlanddone]

We're hoping to complete at the beginning of January. Moving from our 3 bed terrace to a 3 bed semi 20 minutes away. We're considering not stumping up for a removals company and doing it ourselves, which is what we've always done in the past (somehow with only a Fiat Punto!) Are we crazy? I'm planning to rent a Luton van or two which will be about £300 and buy the boxes. Here's the kicker: if we complete any time in January, my husband will be away with work, so it'll be me, two small children, family and any willing friends. Am I crazy? I just don't feel like we can justify the (£1500+) cost of the movers. Any stories of people who have succesfully DIY moved? Good or bad.

I find a man and van is often cheaper than hiring a van myself, and so much less hassle.

You need to be packed and out by the time the money is transferred and allow your buyers full access to a clean house.
A removals firm is just part of the costs of moving and is so much better value than an estate agent etc.

Your dh should be insisting on a removal company!
Ours cost 9k for 3 day move, 300 miles, 4-bed, two vans, but worth every penny. They provided all the packing materials, I packed and labelled everything from 6 weeks beforehand.
Ist day, they cleared the house bar bed and essentials. Whole family came and cleaned afterwards (massive job 😱).
2nd day, completion day, they dismantled bed and removed last bits, then the rest of the day was travelling. They also drove our 2nd car down for us. They put bed together and unpacked one van.
3rd day they returned and unloaded 2nd van. Unfortunately there were some damaged items as they were not secured properly. But it was nothing compared to what they did. Those three days (apart from getting the cleaning done) were completely stress free for us and we think well worth the money.
Am amazed at some of pp's low moving costs, under 1k sounds such a bargain!

Don't do it. You'll be one of those sellers who hasn't emptied their house or cleaned it when your buyers arrive with their van. Mumsnet will vilify you!

Pay a professional and save your energy for decluttering before you move and unpacking afterwards.

I moved myself once, with a posse of friends.
I’ll never do it again.

Nope hire the movers every time, it's just a cost of moving like paying for solicitors.

The person we bought the house before last from had hired a transit van expecting to do multiple trips to his new house which was only around the corner. Of course he still didn't have the keys to his new house by 3pm when our huge removal van turned up. I'm afraid our removal guys 'helped' him empty his stuff out of the house onto the driveway and front garden so that they could unload our stuff quick as a flash, rebuilt our beds and dining table, then got off home themselves.

So we were sitting in our new kitchen eating a takeaway by 7pm while he roped in emergency friends and family to help him load his stuff into his daft little van and their cars while he sheepishly apologised to everyone. They were not impressed as it was an absolutely freezing winters night. Finances weren't an issue as his house value had increased £200k in the 5 years since he'd bought it, he owned his own business and a Range Rover and he admitted he was just being tight!

You would be crazy to consider it even if your DH was going to be here. Do not put yourself through this. I would forgo a holiday (or two) to have a professional move.

Worth every penny!!

What if you pull something and can't work again.

Best money spent!!

We did it ourselves as husband refused to pay and it nearly ended in divorce and I was convinced one of them would have had a heart attack as ended up just him and father in law doing it!

We had a just under 1 year old too- never ever again!

And it took 2 x more runs than we thought it would luckily we had no deadline to be out..... luckily!!

Yes definitely second the sack barrow if you're doing it yourself!

It's just cost my in-laws £3k for the movers to pack as well... but wow, it as so efficient! Worth every penny if you can afford it.

Movers!!

We previously moved ourselves when we went between rentals and our first place, as they were one bed flats. When we bought our house, we paid for movers - absolutely worth every penny. I packed myself so I had everything boxed up and dismantled - spent the night before with our mattress on the bedroom floor! But the movers had the place empty and the van fully loaded in 30 minutes. Which was super helpful as our buyer completed on our flat at 10am and were mad keen for the keys (understandably!).

Don't be that person who is still traipsing back and forth at 8pm to retrieve your stuff, whilst being watched by your pissed off buyers.

Is all your stuff going to fit in 2 Luton vans? When we moved from a 3 bed we had a full sized removal van and a Luton and both were full. That was with 2 small kids and pre garage and shed so not even all that extra stuff. I reckon we'd need 2 full sized vans now.

Get a removal company to at least come out and give you a quote. They are really good at estimating how many vans / boxes you will need and that will at least help you know if 2 Lutons will be big enough. If its house sale and purchase rather than rental you'll need to be out by midday.

Oh and yes you definitely need to get the kids offsite if you’re even contemplating it. I’ve just remembered when my friends moved (and they had help) they ended up in A&E on their first night in a new house because their child managed somehow to get hold of the fabric conditioner and drink a capful. Obviously it could happen anywhere but this genuinely sounds like a recipe for disaster.

I know it’s expensive, but I consider paying for movers who also pack, some of the best money I have ever spent. We moved by ourselves when we had a 6 month old and it was horrendous. Booked the packers and movers when we moved again a couple of years later and if we ever move again, I would definitely use their service again. It made a stressful time so much easier and quicker.

We've always used removal firms until last time when our adult DC helped us. Wouldn't have dreamt of doing it when they were young as it's such a challenge getting everything done in time, especially if you have buyers moving in on the same day.
We're moving again soon and using a local removal company as access from this house is tricky and one of the neighbours is a nightmare!
I wouldn't bother with packing service myself as I find the stressful bit is choosing what to keep rather than the actual packing.

Agree @MoodEnhancer

In terms of bang for your buck, movers are the best pound for pound spend on any element of moving house and I would sacrifice a lot of nice to haves in order to pay for movers.

They are professionals, they make it look easy. It's not easy.

Don't do it, it takes longer than you think and it will make your buyers cross. We had to pay our moves extra because the family moving out were doing themselves.
The first time we moved the family did in themselves so we didn't get the keys until 5. We ending up not being able to move in that day.
Not sure if it's possible but I would see if there was a way of holding back some money until the buyers actually empty the house.

I think you'd be mad to try do it yourself. Packing yourself is ok because you can do it over time. My son and DIL in their 30s with no children just moved about 10 miles from 2 bed to 4 bed, they paid for professional movers and they were worth their weight in gold. They have all the trolleys and equipment to move heavy things and all the padded mats etc to protect furniture in the van, and have done hundreds of moves and are trained how to do it. They've not only got to get the stuff out but into the new place too, it's a huge ask for friends and family who have probably not done it before and could injure themselves. My son was impressed by the movers' efficiency and speed, said no way could he and friends have done it. Cost was about 1200.

You can't do multiple trips on a chain completion, you don't have a period when you have access to both houses to unload a load and then go back for another load from the house you just left.

Only point this works is if you are moving from rental to owned with an overlap or if you move into storage. But that has a cost, you might need a van to move to storage as well as moving day and it's horribly easy to underestimate how much space the "last few bits" take up in a van...

We moved out of rental into our current house mostly by ourselves because we had a long overlap (didn't give notice until exchange as very long purchase process!). However we booked pros for 1 trip with the big, heavy and awkward stuff as I'm not strong enough for washing machines and larder fridges!

We moved ourselves (I was pregnant, no LOs at the time) with help from friends and family and it was horrific. 3 bed terraced, just 2 adults & stuff ready for baby. The move was around a 10 min drive, was at least 3 van loads plus cars so several trips. We were not out by completion time, lucky our estate agent held them off. Thought we were prepared packing things up, we were not. Took a lot longer than planned to pack it all up, move & clean the house after everything was emptied.

We’d never move ourselves again.

Ive not read previous posts but have you considered self storage? That’s what we’d look at for next move. Chuck some non essentials in gradually to save moving so much on moving day.

We're packing and moving ourselves with the help of a strong relative for lifting. We've packed 50% of our stuff already, a month before we're due to move and will do the remaining once we've exchanged. Pick up the van the day before so it's ready for the next day and you can load some of the larger bits the day before. Then just pack the smaller boxes and beds etc the day of the move.

We've always packed and moved ourselves and (2 prior moves). All I would say though, is don't do it with kids involved! Get them to the grandparents.

If you do brave it and move yourself, I would at least get yourself a hotel room / premier inn for the first night so you don’t have any pressure to get anything unpacked, you just have to get the boxes in.

Just get removers!
We moved ourselves from 2bed to 3bed (before DC)
Seriously underestimated the work and the stress, would never do it again!
Once money is transferred you need to be out of your current home, it's no longer yours, can you fit everything in one van and do it in one trip?? Even if you have some storage and can do gradual transfer ( we had access to a nearby garage) it's still very stressful. Just pay for removers is my honest advice

^ This!

I paid professionals to pack and move stuff from a 2-bed to a 1-bed house this year and they were absolutely worth it. Nothing fazed them, and as the PP said, moving stuff down and up stairs (with bends!) is a very special skill. I was convinced we'd have to start taking legs off the sofa to get it into the destination house, but it was no trouble for them.

Also, depending on your house, boxes of books are stupidly heavy. And they broke zero framed pictures, whereas I'd already broken two taking them down in in the car. Good luck!