Random moving questions for a novice

[houseselling101]

Some of these questions might sound daft and I feel a bit silly asking them but Google is a minefield

I'm hoping to buy a new build so I'm guessing I'll be top of the chain?

On completion day though do I have to have my whole house packed up and waiting in a van - I can't move in stages over a couple of hours - it's literally instantaneous when completion happens?

How much does a removal van cost for a 3 bed semi? Or can I hire a van big enough myself? But I'm guessing I'd need someone with a licence able to drive it?

What if your whole house doesn't fit in one van?

On completion day though do I have to have my whole house packed up and waiting in a van - I can't move in stages over a couple of hours - it's literally instantaneous when completion happens?

Yes.
You don't own the house you are buying until the money is transferred.
You, presumably, can't transfer the money, until the person who is buying your house has transferred the money to you (well, your bank, and your solicitor is happy). Potentially, the people buying your house, might be waiting for the money from their buyers, before they can transfer to you.

So you have to take everything out of your house and on to the van in one journey normally - I've never moved into a new build to know if they hve any leeway

How much does a removal van cost for a 3 bed semi?
Sorry, I can't help with that one - it's a long time since I have moved, but also it will depend on how far you are moving, which day of the week, how much stuff you have, if there are any issues with access, etc.

That said, removal men are incredible. Seriously, they can pack up a house in the fraction of the time it would take you and an army of helpers. Unless you are in the situation of moving from rented, or from parents' house, and can do several journeys over a few days, I wouldn't try and scrimp on a removal company.

Or can I hire a van big enough myself? But I'm guessing I'd need someone with a licence able to drive it?

I can't see you getting the contents of a 3 bed house into a van small enough that you don't need a special licence to drive.

I've moved into new builds. It's no different on completion day, but they can keep moving the completion date if they haven't finished the house, so it can be a bit more of a pain.

@NewName24

Thanks for that!

Hopefully moving less than a mile!

I'm planning on getting rid of a lot of old furniture like my sofa etc and my bed so looking around there isn't a lot of big furniture really? - selling post divorce so a good time to follow the out with old in with new principle 😂

What about hiring a storage locker type for a month before hand all non essential furniture in that in the run up to completion? That way only need small van for essentials on the day?

@OttersAreMySpiritAnimal

Thanks! Yes the plot is completed - it's one of the last ones so is already carpeted etc ready to move into

I thought about the storage locker thing but ultimately decided that getting stuff in and out of storage would just be more hassle. Suck it up, pay for removals and get it done in one hellish day.

Oh and if your stuff won't fit in one van they'll send two.

Personally I'd just hire professional movers, get quotes, they will know what size van, give them your dates etc so no worrying about that. Storage is expensive and its a real drag moving all the smaller bits and pieces in and out and if you only have a small van it will be endless trips back and forth. Just declutter before hand and have an idea where the stuff is going when you get to new place. Good luck 😊

@StillAtTheRestaurant

Thanks! There is a new storage locker warehouse type just finished literally over the road from where the new housing development is so I could carry things by hand to and fro probably 😂

I'm just trying to work out a budget for things really - with stamp duty going up from March etc.

I'm sure my parents had a quote of several thousand pounds for removals for going about 15 miles for a 3 bed detached about 5 years ago which is perhaps what's stressing me out 😂 I'm really going to the max of my budget for the house purchase + SDLT and having to pay dickhead---- ex husband off from the divorce

Thanks @Morven7

I've only ever bought once - 15 years ago as a first time buyer with my ex husband (we were in rented, our belongings fitted in the back of a car and the house was probate and empty so all seemed very easy and no stress!)

Now I'm 3 young kids and several cats and a decade and half down the line arranging a house sale and purchase alone and it's all pretty daunting and I'm second guessing everything 😅

I'd be tempted to get removal quotes, at least you then know!, we moved ourselves but I wouldn't want the stress with 3 kids in tow.

@Ilikewinter

I know 😅 I'm thinking I could aim for a school day though so at least they won't be there - they go to after school childcare anyway until 6pm which gives me a window to get the worst of the chaos over (hopefully!)

Honestly, pay for removal company, they are machines! We paid for them to dismantle big furniture & reassemble in new house & honestly it was so worth the money. They packed up our whole house (3 bed semi) in under 2 hours.....it took me longer to clean & gather the last bits up.

You mention cats, what's the plans for those?

@Dancingfairydreams

Maybe a cattery overnight although they are all over ten years old and haven't been in one in years as I usually get a cat sitter

I would put in cattery for the last few days of old house & first few of new house, that way hopefully it'll be less chaotic when they get home, and you can have their things in place etc. Also get some felliway plug ins, they really helped my cat when we moved.

I paid for the packing service that our removals company was offering, it was only £300 more and worth every penny.

I recently moved into a new build, we mistakenly got a man and van. Put it down to inexperienced. We did it but it was so much stress. Get a removal company.

Just remembered that cats need to be vaccinated 1-3 months before moving to go into cattery, learnt the hard way and had to get friends to take our cats

I’ve been in a similar position, minus the cats! Moved from family home post divorce to a new build. Definitely get a removal company, they are so used to moving and packing and will make the day less stressful for you.
Phone some local companies for a quote and ask locally as well for recommendations.

I also considered a storage locker but getting everything there and back would have been a lot of work and time and I decided to just get things moved in one go on moving day.
I love my new house and it felt like home so quickly. All the best.

They are up to date with their annual vaccinations?

Getting into storage and into new house is what we did but because we did a lot of renovations for 2 months before we moved in and rented during those 2 months.
It cost a lot more like this, nearly 60% more.

We paid £2000 for the day removal, and paid a bit more than £3000 for the removal via storage for 2 months.

Yep that's fine!

On completion day though do I have to have my whole house packed up and waiting in a van - I can't move in stages over a couple of hours - it's literally instantaneous when completion happens?

Yes, you have to clear out of your old house by completion really. If completion happens for example at 2pm, you have until then to be out, ie locking the door on an empty house. You could do moving your stuff out in shifts, but you'd need to be completely done by 2pm. The buyers could turn up at any point from then expecting vacant possession and you'd be in breach of contract if you were still there mucking about...

We did the "moving with family help and a hired box van" scenario, but we didn't have new owners waiting and could take our time shuttling back and forth. If you've got a deadline, which you probably will, you're far better off hiring professionals to box up and transport. I don't think it's as expensive as you're fearing it will be, but get some quotes to give you an idea of the ballpark amount.

It'll be easier to have something quick and easy to do for dinner, or maybe take the kids to a fast food place so you're not stressing about having your kitchen stuff unpacked. Pack a box to take in your car with kettle, tea/coffee, milk, box of cereal, cups, bowls, cutlery etc so you've got breakfast sorted next day (which hopefully will be a Saturday if completion is arranged for a Friday) with minimum fuss.

I would get a removal quote purs were amazing and super quick and was not much more than hiring a van. You might be surprised.

We had a 2.5bed semi (with a completely full 2 car garage 🙈). Hired removals to do everything on a day when our toddler was in nursery. They turned up at 9, and were done and off the site by 3. Unloading at the other end took less than 2 hours. Not a single thing was damaged in transit - I guarantee we would have broken things.

We had a whole removal van and a small Luton van with extra bits in. Stuff was going into storage so the furniture had to fit into containers, which meant they couldn’t use the space as efficiently as they wanted and the poor guys packing the lorry were so cross that they needed the extra van.

I completely agree that it could be hard to know when you’ll be able to complete if going into a new build. Might be less stress to factor in eg a week or two in storage - our removals company did it all for us (but this meant we couldn’t access anything at all once they loaded it).

You can't move at a weekend (definitely Sunday not certain about Saturday). I think it's something to do with the funds clearing and banks being closed so it will have to be a school day unless it's a school holiday .

Get movers in. You won’t ever regret spending that money.

If you really want to do it yourself, and you don’t, what size van you can hire rather depends on when you passed your test. If you are an old fart like me then you can hire huge vans.

But seriously, get people in. I would go without in just about any other area of life to not do it myself.