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?

Thanks for this thread OP. I hope to be in a similar position in a few months.

Funds are really really tight so I'm concerned about cost of a professional moving company but it does sound like getting out of the house in time could be really tricky without one?

Can anyone tell me how the packing service works please? I appreciate that the name probably speaks for itself but I really can't imagine them being efficient enough to turn up and pack things like contents of pantry, kitchen cupboards, wardrobes, desk drawers and under stairs cupboard of doom?!

@TheDowagerCountessofPembroke

Ha yes I know my dads licence is an older one where you can drive up to a tank verses the younger ones like mine that don't trust you with anything bigger then a 4x4 😂

The cats need to be in the cattery for a few days (it is much much kinder). Book two nights before and at two nights after if possible.
Pack a suitcase for you and the children as though you will be staying somewhere for a week, with clothes and essentials. That goes in the car with you. Pack another box for the car with first day stuff, loo roll, kettle and mugs and tea, lunch and snacks for the kids, phone chargers, and bedding, that also goes in the car with you.
Buy boxes or pay a removal company and pack each room the week before. Mark each box with the room it is going to. Bin as much as you can before they move.

Expect to be exhausted and emotional, all will be fine once you are in and unpacking.

@Wishitwasstraightforward they literally pack everything. I’ve read stories on here about bins full of rubbish being packed. Put anything you need to keep safe in your car in an overnight bag - my friend was moving abroad and only just stopped them packing passports! I had bought paper cups and disposable spoons for the removals team and the woman had packed them before I could explain what they were for.

It will streamline the unpacking if you put things you want into the room where it needs to end up, eg we had some large cooking equipment and servewear in the garage, but it was then packed and labelled “garage”. In hindsight if we had put it in the kitchen it would have been quicker because the box would have been in the kitchen not the garage.

Not sure if all companies do this but ours came back to collect all the packing materials and boxes when we had finished, which was a huge help.

A compromise might be to hire a man and van locally?

We recently moved my mother within her town (distance of approx 1.5 miles) and found that the 'proper' removal companies with the big lorries quoted high prices - the shortness of the distance wasnt an advantage as from their perspective whether it was a two hour or 10 minute journey they were still committed for the whole day (and there were 4 or 5 removers in the team).

We found a local firm with two men and a Luton sized van (bigger than a transit but not enormous) and they were able to do it much cheaper. I think it was four trips for all her posessions. We had people at each end to direct with the packing and unpacking and reassembling of things like beds.

If I remember it was somethjing like £50 per hour for the two men and a van and as we only needed them for the four hours it worked out far cheaper than the £1000+ we were quoted for a big lorry.

My caution in hiring the men was to ensure that they were working for a named company and had the name on the side of the van and reassured me that they had insurance. I think you can go through sites like checkatrade for whats its worth I found that there were several local operators who seemed to be literally just a man with a van who would only accept cash - I'm sure they mostly would be fine but wanted reassurance that they were legit!

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?

Yep. There is likely to be a few hours where your worldly goods are in a removal van, whilst funds trickle down the chain, and keys are collected.

I'd highly recommend a removal company rather than man and van, or storage units.

I would highly recommend professional movers AND using their packing service. They will pack more in a morning than you can in a week, it is unbelievably fast. Also the boxes and packing materials are provided.

We found a local firm with two men and a Luton sized van (bigger than a transit but not enormous) and they were able to do it much cheaper. I think it was four trips for all her posessions. We had people at each end to direct with the packing and unpacking and reassembling of things like beds.

Presumably she wasn't selling and buying then @saaraa ?
As legally, you don't own the new home until the money has transferred through, and (for most people) that can't happen until the person buying the home you are selling, has sent the money for that home. At which point, you then don't (usually) get access to the home you are leaving.

I know there are exceptions (happened to us 25 years ago, when the people buying our house were out of the country on completion date and messaged us to say they were happy if we wanted to move out gradually over a couple of days - it was unusual in that they knew and trusted us. Solicitors wouldn't approve it.) But we have no reason to think the OP is in that situation where there is an exception.

Sorry been a busy couple of days viewing houses / arranging mine to be valued

I did get a price on a storage unit which actually worked out at only £15 or so per month and would take the largest of my furniture which on the basis that I'm not planning on keeping a lot of my current furniture when I move im more confidant that I can use a standard sized van and use family to help move

Having a storage facilities is a great idea…pack up things into boxes & store then move bit by bit to your new house.
removal guys are usually great & you should always follow any suggestions they have.
Hope your new house brings you lots of happiness….dont try to get it ship shape immediately…just enjoy your new life xx

Your moving day will be a week day. You can collect keys once funds transferred. We were a bit skint so hired a van (£50 ten years ago) and enlisted family members cars. (3 in total I think). It took 2 van trips and 2/3 car trip each.
We were in a unique situation in that we were buying our house from a building company but it wasn't a new build. So it was empty and no one was around so we started driving stuff down a couple hours before completion and stacking it on the drive. But usually it's once you have the keys.

So mulling over a property at the moment on rightmove on my commute - it's much less than my. Budget - by about £100k but needs a lot of work (gut and start again) - I don't mind that although wasn't what I was initially planning as wanted a post divorce stress free life but it's a great house in a perfect location

Say the house is for sale for £300k but my mortgage raising ability is say £425k - could I get a mortgage for the higher amount and give me £125k to do the work....or does it not work like that with the bank?

No your mortgage company will not give you more than the house is worth these days. In the 00's you could get up to 125% mortgages which was crazy. I don't even know of many now that will give 100% mortgage.

Ah ok thanks - so I'd need to self fund (or bank of mum and dad the renovations)

Then remortgage in x years time when it's finished to repay the loan?