Spring: Thinking about moving?

Spring is on the way and this is the time of year when many people start to think about moving home. Driving around the Rushcliffe and Nottingham area I am already seeing many new For Sale signs emerging. If you are considering putting your home on the market or moving from a rental property, there are some things worth doing even in this early stage, that will not only help with the selling process, but also aid your house removal weeks down the line.

If you are selling your current home, you will need to get it ready for the estate agents to value and take pictures and for the open days and follow up viewings. If you are renting, your Letting Agents may also require you to present your home for potential viewing.

This is something many people dread; let’s face it, we don’t all live in a show home, but a functional space with loads of our treasured possessions. Before you decide to embark on expensive redecoration, think about the space as it is now; can you declutter, get rid of unused furniture, toys, knick-knacks? Not only will this help make the house seem calm and spacious to potential buyers, or renters, but may also help reduce the load and cost for when you are eventually moving home.
Packing a whole house can be overwhelming for many, so starting early, one room, or even one cupboard at a time eases the strain. Advice on packing is contained in another blog and in the Hints and Tips leaflet (see Documents on the banner). Before you pack really make sure you are only taking what you need and want.

At Albany removals we do offer a packing services nearer to your move date, so if you are struggling for time leave it to us; we often have clients wishing they had by the time removal day arrives. There is so much to think about with a move, so leaving what you can for your removal service to do, will give you physical and thinking time for those other tasks. We can discuss options with you when you apply for a quote.

If this is your first home you may not have accumulated lots of things, but over time this is almost inevitable. At Albany Removals we have seen how even the smallest one- and two-bedroom house can contain mountains of people’s treasures. Amongst those treasures are lots of things, dare I say, that we may not really need. All those things we save just-in-case, or we are sure we will mend or use as spares. Garages, sheds, spare rooms, and cupboards, not to mention loft space, all crammed. Four and five plus bedroomed houses don’t escape either, the more space we have the more we are likely to fill it.

Even though we are in the removal business, we are not immune to this too. During our recent move we realised we needed to say goodbye to several pieces of furniture stored in our shed since our last move! Not to mention the endless stock of storage boxes with mismatched lids, bedding the wrong size for the new bed, old ‘spare’ TVs that are never watched and old laptops, well out of date.
By selling some of these things through places like Gumtree and Facebook Market Place, you can not only save money on moving them, but add a few pounds towards your move. Scrap metal can usually be left outside your home for the scrap man to collect free. This is useful if it is bulky or getting to the local recycling centre is difficult.

When you have agreed a purchase, or arranged to rent, a new home make sure your current furniture still works for you. There is no point in bringing a sofa that is the wrong shape or size for your new living room. Measuring and checking against the floor plan in the estate agent’s synopsis will help you decide what is worth bringing and what is worth selling on or recycling. This is particularly important if you are moving outside of the Nottingham or Rushcliffe area. With fuel prices still high, long-distance removals can be costly. Adding additional unnecessary weight will add to the size of lorry or lorries needed and the fuel costs.

Sorting it can feel over whelming, but if you are moving you will have to face it sometime. The error we see, at Albany Removals and Storage is that many people just box it up and take it with them, or even worse, pay to store it indefinitely. I always advise people to think very carefully about arranging storage. Over time it can mount up to a lot of money, well over the monetary and sentiment value of many possessions. Storage, in most cases, is best suited for possessions you really want or need to keep, for the short to medium term. Even if you are moving abroad temporarily, consider the cost of storing furniture against the cost of replacement when you return, before you commit. If you do need storage, don’t use it as an excuse to store everything rather than sorting through. The more room you need, the more you will pay. If storing becomes necessary, make sure you book in plenty of time, whether it is with Albany Removals or another storage company, as they can become full very quickly, at peak times.

Obviously, there are lots of things we become attached to and will never part with; consider whether they can be packed well in advance for easy removal during viewing and eventual moving. When we recently moved, we stocked up our car with boxes of things we decided we could manage without, for the duration of viewings, so potential buyers had a clearer view of the space available. Once the sale was agreed, we allocated a space in one room for boxes we packed, one room, or cupboard at a time.
Oh, and don’t forget to label the boxes so you know where they need to go when you move into your new home.