After you have sold your house or flat, it will likely be an exciting time as you prepare to move to your new home. You want to make the transition from your existing property to your next house as smooth as possible, and there are some early steps you can take to achieve this.
By taking care of a few simple tasks in the weeks leading up to your removal company’s arrival, you’ll be able to have an efficient and relatively quick moving out process.
Why you should do some preparations for the removal company’s arrival
Selling your house or flat can be a stressful time as you search for a buyer, wait for the sale to be completed and cash exchanged, and then prepare for moving out. Your goal should be to try reducing the hassle involved with every step, in order to make it less stressful for you.
Many people are already dealing with higher stress levels because of the coronavirus pandemic, so you want to take every step possible to simplify the moving process. And moving house is allowed under the UK government’s second lockdown, so if you are planning to move to a new property imminently you should still be able to do so.
When you are ready to move out, you will probably hire a removal company that will come to your current home, load all of your furniture and other belongings on to their trucks, and then transport those items to your next home where they’ll unload them for you. Most removal companies are relatively affordable and their work will save you an incredible amount of effort.
What you might not know is that you should not leave everything until the last minute before moving. There are a number of tasks that you can take care of well in advance of the removal company arriving that will make moving day go much faster and be more straightforward. In turn, that will help reduce your stress and mean you can quickly enjoy your new house.
Steps you can take before the removal company arrives
The experts at fast home buying company ldn-properties.co.uk have dealt with hundreds of homeowners over the years, so they know all about the right things to do before removal companies arrive. Here are a few of their top tips:
- Contact your utility companies to tell them about your move
One of the first steps that you should take after settling on a day for moving out of your current home is to contact companies that provide utilities (this includes water, gas, electricity and telephone services, among others) to let them know about your move. It’s possible that you might be able to transfer some services to your new property. But you don’t want to be liable for bills at your old home once you’ve moved into your new house, and calling companies before the removal company arrives can avoid this. - Make sure you have the materials necessary for packing
Although removal companies will take your belongings from your existing house to your future home, you will be responsible for packing up the items in boxes ahead of transit. Check that you have the necessary items to assist with this work, including marker pens, tape, cardboard boxes, tape, a pocketknife, and other moving materials. - Keep a note or pictures of your various electrical cables
Once you have arrived at your new home and start to unpack, you might get frustrated with trying to install televisions and other electrical appliances if you can’t remember which cables to connect. A simple way to prevent this frustration from happening is to keep notes or take pictures of how the cables are set up at your existing home before you disconnect them. You can then use those notes or photos to help you install the devices at your new property. It’s preferable to do this before the removal company arrives because it can take quite a lot of time to complete this task for all your devices, and your goal should be for the speediest and least complicated moving day as possible. - Label each box after you’ve packed and sealed it
When you are packing your belongings into boxes, you should use a marker pen to write clearly on the outside of the box what it contains as well as which room in the new house the box should be place inside. This will help the removal workers more efficiently unload once they get to your new house. And it will make the process of unpacking easier for you because the correct items will be in the right rooms. - Specify which items are fragile
Removal workers should be careful when they are moving your belongings, but they won’t necessarily know which items are particularly fragile and at risk of breaking. If you have any very fragile decorations, pieces of furniture, or anything else that needs to be moved much more carefully than other belongings, you should label those items as such so that the workers take extra care with them. - Dismantle any furniture that you self-assembled
If you own a bed, bookcase, table or other pieces of furniture that you bought in a pack and assembled at your home, it’s advisable to disassemble these items before the removal company arrives. That’s because some companies won’t offer this service due to liability concerns about potentially damaging such furniture when they take it apart. In addition, it will be much easier for the removal workers to pick up and transport this type of furniture if you have already disassembled it before they arrive. - Clear out and disconnect your kitchen appliances
It’s important to remove all of the food from any freezers or fridges in your kitchen before the removal company arrives so that they will defrost completely before moving day. You should also disconnect the appliances to make it easier to remove them.
Some early work can make moving day as simple as possible
If you take the time to do some or all of the above actions in advance of your removal company arriving, it’s more likely to make the moving out day go much faster and avoid any hassles. That will speed up how quickly you and your loved ones can get settled in your next home.
