In addition to making your choice of gas and electricity supplier easier and potentially lowering your energy bills, we have compiled a list of tips to assist you when moving home.
- Investigate removals companies in your area that have a good reputation. Always ask friends, family and work colleagues who they would and wouldn’t recommend. Remember that more often than not you get what you pay for; cheaper prices may be tempting but could mean a greater chance of your valuable possessions being damaged or broken.
- Once you have a shortlist of removals companies (at least 2-3) contact them to arrange quotes. Request a home visit to ensure they provide an accurate quote; doing it yourself might expose you to further charges if you have more possessions than you thought. Ensure you fully understand what is and is not included in the quote; for example, does it include packing and unpacking, storage, etc?
- We recommend taking out insurance to cover your posessions during the move. Your home and contents insurance policy is unlikely to provide cover during a move. Unfortunately, moving home insurance is expensive, around 1-3% of the value of your posessions depending upon the level of cover you want. It is tempting to take a chance and not insure your move but you could risk significant financial loss if something goes wrong.
- Lock in your move-out and move-in dates as early as possible and communicate them to friends, family and all the companies you deal with. Uncertain or ever changing dates will make your task that much more difficult.
- If you are moving far away from your current location, you will need to start investigating new schools for the children, doctors, dentists, vets, etc
- Moving home is a good time to reduce your "junk". The less items you move the less it costs you. So work towards reducing your stock of food and wine. Consider selling unwanted items through garage sales, eBay or the Trading Post. There are also many charities that might want your old clothes, furniture and appliances as long as they are in good condition. Anything else you don’t want can be taken to the tip; consider hiring a skip if you have a lot to throw away.
- If you are packing yourself, start collecting boxes from supermarkets or organise to hire them from removalists so you can start packing
- Arrange to have all your essential services (gas, electricity, water, telephone, pay TV and internet) disconnected at your old address and reconnected at your new address. Note that you will usually need to provide around five working days’ notice.
- Ensure you have bed linen and essential crockery and cutlery readily available for the first night you move in. You might wish to transport these items yourself.
- Arrange cleaners for the old and the new property if applicable
- If you have children, try and make arrangements for carers or schools, you will have a lot of work to do
- Make sure the car has a full tank of petrol, you will no doubt be making several trips between the properties
- If you have ordered new furniture and appliances for your new home, we suggest arranging delivery for 1-2 days after you have moved to your new address
- If you have a home computer we recommend backing up all your files prior to the move. This protects you in case your hard drive gets damaged during the move.
Download your moving house checklist for printing here.