Guy Robinson
Senior Director, Head of Residential Agency
Moving home is one of the most stressful of all life events. But there are ways to make it easier. In fact, by using these high-end services, moving home can be a breeze. Sit back and let the professionals take charge - you might be surprised at the range of options available to you…
Sorting your home
The first step when moving is to sort your current home – from packing everything correctly and safely, to closing off accounts for gas and electricity and generally cleaning up. Plus there are a dozen little jobs in between which need doing. But there is some help out there for you…
When people think about moving, the first thing that usually comes to mind is packing. Yes, this is a big part of the process – and one we’ll come to shortly – but there are also a number of other aspects you need to consider before the boxes are brought in.
The first question is, ‘Why you are moving’? If it’s a standard home move, then that’s fine. But there are other reasons such as relocating for business or moving abroad to start a new life. These both require specialist services to make the transition easier.
Relocation services can help with such moves. They can handle everything from organising VISAs and dealing with local legislation to signing you up for local healthcare services.
But even if you’re just moving locally, there are a number of items to tick off your to-do list from sorting council tax and TV licences, to home insurance, utilities, and the electoral register. One such firm that can help with these is moving concierge service, Just Move In.
Ross Nichols, Director at Just Move In, says: “Moving home is one of the most stressful life events a person will experience. And when our service is introduced to people for the first time, they think it’s all too good to be true!
“At the beginning of each conversation, we outline the services we can help with; that’s everything from managing the setup of gas and electricity suppliers, through to storage and removals.
“We can usually help with random requests too, like finding a local tutor, or somebody to walk the dog.”
Next, you have to get round to packing. It’s always a difficult time, especially if you’ve hired someone to do the job for you as you watch them handle valuable artworks, antiques and items of personal value. Opt for a firm that knows what they’re doing and has experience in handling, packing and transporting such goods.
Companies like premium relocation service Cadogan Tate or Just Move In not only have experts in such moves – knowing exactly how to pack and store every item in your home – but they will also provide peace of mind through the comprehensive insurance they offer.
Once you’re packed up and ready to go, you might want to use a site like JustPark to organise a parking spot in your area. This could be for removal vans or somewhere to put your own car while the removal vans take over your personal spot.
And one last task before you go – get a good cleaner in to give your now empty home a once over.
Moving between properties
Once you’re packed and ready to go the next hurdle is getting everything from A to B. While that might not seem like such an issue, it can be the toughest part with delicate artwork, loved pets and even your vehicles needing to be moved sometimes vast differences or even to other countries.
As mentioned, it’s worth getting a moving firm that you not only trust but which has experience in moving valuable items and the insurance to cover any breakages.
Ross Nichols says: “We’re on hand to help at every stage of the process, to take away all of the hassle.”
But there are other items outside the removal truck that will need moving – such as pets, your cars and, well, you. There are a number of firms that provide animal courier services – like AirPaws and Animal Couriers – and some will transport animals abroad, organising storage, pet passports, quarantine spaces and getting your pet from the airport to your new home.
If you’ve got more cars than you can drive, speak with your removals firm beforehand to see if they can transport them to the new property – you might need to organise additional insurance.
And if you don’t fancy driving yourself, or don’t own a car, make sure to book the best transport to take you to your new home on the day. An Uber Black or car from BlackLane will make sure you travel in style.
Sometimes, you won’t be able to move out of your home and into your new one on the same day. This could mean storing both your household items and yourself. There are a number of specialist storage units for art and other valuables, such as Momart. For smaller valuables like jewellery, speak with your bank about using a safety deposit box for a few days until you’re settled in.
As for you, a hotel is an option if it’s just going to be a night or so. But for longer gaps, consider renting a short term let from somewhere like Veeve, which provides luxury properties for short stays.
Setting up the new home
Just because you’ve got the keys and everything has arrived at your new home, the work doesn’t stop. You’ve got to get a household’s worth of goods, furniture, clothing and more unpacked and into the right place.
The keys might be in your hand, but you’re not moved in yet. This can be the hardest part of the move. The excitement of getting into your new home soon wears off once faced with a mountain of boxes, endless forms to fill in and the thought of having to clean everything before you can even begin to unpack.
It’s worth hiring a cleaner to tackle the home before the removal people turn up. Firms like Guardsman Cleaners can give your new property a deep clean. Even if it’s been emptied, the boots and dusty gloves of removal people will have left their mark. A cleaning firm can refresh carpets, wipe down walls and generally make everything look like new.
Once the house is clean, you can then start to unpack. Or get someone like Just Move In to do it for you. After all, if you’ve used them to pack then they’ll know where everything is.
They will also help you get connected to your TV, broadband and phone lines, as well as gas and electricity. Again, this is something you might want to think about in advanced as these connections can take days, sometimes even weeks.
Ross Nichols says: “For customers not using our service, energy bill disputes are a common issue with new occupants. Thankfully, that’s not something our clients have to experience as we have direct relationships with the energy companies.
“In fact, it’s one of our most popular services because we only work with ethical energy companies who have the best customer service in the industry. On average, we can save people up to £200 a year on their bills.”
If you’re moving in with a big garden – or from somewhere with a big garden – a firm like Hardines can help, as they will be able to take the plants you want to keep from your garden and transport them to your new garden. Once they’ve arrived, make sure you have a local gardener’s number ready to get the plants back into the ground as fast and safely as possible.
After you’ve unpacked and settled in, it’s time to let everyone know where you are. You can handle the social side with Facebook updates, while sites like I Am Moving can do all the admin. This change of address service will update everyone from loyalty cards to banks, saving you time that you can spend enjoying your new dream home.