Moving house is a complicated business and has long been known as one of the most stressful life events you can go through. Unfortunately, this is true, because once you’ve found the house of your dreams and it looks like everything’s going according to plan, there could be a number of bumps in the road and hoops to jump through before you finally get those keys in the door.

This isn’t to put you off moving house but with so much that must happen for you to be able to move, it’s not uncommon for things to go wrong. It doesn’t mean that you won’t get your house, but it’s important to be prepared for what moving house actually entails and what you can do to avoid or prepare yourself for last-minute nightmares.

 

You’ve found your house, what next?

Once you’ve found your house, your offer has been accepted, and all the necessary checks have been done, you’ll likely be given a completion date. This is the day when the money is transferred, the keys are exchanged, and essentially everything should be ‘complete’. However, things could still go wrong at this point and delays could still happen even on completion day.

A lot’s going on at one time and there are so many moving parts that need to be in the right place for the completion to happen. For example, if you’re buying a house in a chain then you’ll be relying on the people that you’re buying from and selling to have all their ducks in a row.

You likely need to sell your current house to be able to buy your new house, and your buyer will probably need to sell their house to be able to buy yours, and your seller is likely to be relying on you to sell your house so that you can buy their new one! Are you still following? This means that there is a whole chain of people who are all sorting out money, banks, solicitors, and removal companies at the same time. If one small thing is delayed in the chain then there are knock-on consequences for everyone.

It’s not just the frustration of this happening that can cause stress either but if you are the one who has caused the delay then you could end up paying a fine.

 

How can you avoid delays?

So, what can you do to avoid delays on completion day and make sure there are no kinks in your part of the chain?

While there is so much to do when it comes to moving and you’ll probably be looking ahead to your new home and thinking about what you’re taking with you, what you’re throwing away – what’s going to the charity shop or the tip, what you’ll need to buy new and how you’ll get yourself settled in your new home as quickly as possible – none of this is important at this stage. The things you should be getting prepared for are those steps that will get you through the front door.

Plan ahead with the bank and make sure you speak to them beforehand and get an idea of timings and how long payments will take to go through on completion day. Once you know what to expect, you can let everyone else know and hopefully, everyone else in the chain will be doing the same thing.

When it comes to your removal company, you’re relying on them to get you out of your home so that someone else can move in. If, for some reason, your removal company cancels on you then you might be unable to move – which will not only hold everyone up, but you’ll also likely get a fine. Make sure that you have researched removal companies thoroughly. Read reviews and take recommendations from friends so that you can be as certain as you can that you are trusting your worldly goods to the right people who will get things done on time.

 

Use a reputable estate agent

Finally, one of the most important things you can do is to choose a reputable estate agent such as Boothroyd & Co, as doing this can make the whole process far less daunting and will reduce the chances of any miscommunication or any last-minute nightmares. If you do this, then you can spend more time planning where your furniture will go and how you’ll decorate it, and leave the stressful stuff to the professionals.