Moving Day Tips

Rainbow1 · Jun 16, 2021

So in process of buying a new house (new build) and selling our old property, we have first time buyers looking to move in ASAP. So far so good just waiting on searches on our new property

am I right in thinking we all get our keys on same day so even though our new property has no one living in it? Wondering how anyone manages to get this done especially with a small baby

speaking to partner about moving out day he says he’ll ask our buyers to give us a day to move out even though I’ve told him it legally won’t be our house anymore

so any moving day tips and tricks to make the whole thing go smooth sailing?

Lulu Goss · Jun 16, 2021

You’ll be given a completion date and then once all the money has gone through, you’ll be able to pick up your keys. So yeah, it’s usually the same day for everyone. It’s a nice idea (and one I wondered about when we moved) but once completion is done, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to stay in your current house. Especially if you’re in a chain of people too!

We moved at the end of last year and it’s totally doable to get it all done in one day, but you have to be prepared. Our money went through around midday, our new house was empty but our buyers wanted to be in by 2pm. We had pretty much everything packed up in the week leading up to completion day, and the night before I left us an overnight bag with a change of clothes, toiletries and things like phone chargers so we had them out and ready.

The best thing to do is start clearing things out in advance - drawers and cupboards, clothes etc - just so that when you’re ready to pack you’re only packing stuff you definitely want to take with you. We left packing the kitchen and bathroom until the day before and then got a takeaway that night/McDonalds breakfast on moving day. Our flat looked like a bomb had hit it, full of boxes and bubble wrap for the week leading up to moving day but I’d have preferred that to having a mad rush the day before!

It’s stressful but it is exciting - good luck!

Lollypad · Jun 16, 2021

The overnight bag (we packed ours for 3 nights so there was enough stuff to hand) and a box for moving day essentials - loo roll, hand wash, kettle, tea bags, tea towel, mugs, wipes, anything you might think “bugger where did I put that” for the first day and not remember where you’ve put it or not want to rifle through boxes.
We also bought a camera to take lots of silly little photos of the move, getting the keys etc which gave us some cute photos to get developed Good luck and remember to enjoy it if you can!

Rainbow1 · Jun 16, 2021

Lulu Goss said:
You’ll be given a completion date and then once all the money has gone through, you’ll be able to pick up your keys. So yeah, it’s usually the same day for everyone. It’s a nice idea (and one I wondered about when we moved) but once completion is done, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to stay in your current house. Especially if you’re in a chain of people too!

We moved at the end of last year and it’s totally doable to get it all done in one day, but you have to be prepared. Our money went through around midday, our new house was empty but our buyers wanted to be in by 2pm. We had pretty much everything packed up in the week leading up to completion day, and the night before I left us an overnight bag with a change of clothes, toiletries and things like phone chargers so we had them out and ready.

The best thing to do is start clearing things out in advance - drawers and cupboards, clothes etc - just so that when you’re ready to pack you’re only packing stuff you definitely want to take with you. We left packing the kitchen and bathroom until the day before and then got a takeaway that night/McDonalds breakfast on moving day. Our flat looked like a bomb had hit it, full of boxes and bubble wrap for the week leading up to moving day but I’d have preferred that to having a mad rush the day before!

It’s stressful but it is exciting - good luck!

ah amazing thanks so much!

this is the first time we’ve both been in a chain (previously I’ve lived in my own property which was new build so could move in over a few days no rush, in fact I got keys around 4pm and waited til next morning to move)

this is my partners house and to put it politely he has a lot of junk which I’m trying to get him to sort through now before we even have a moving date as aware it could be quite soon!

great idea on takeaway etc never thought of that and wouldn’t want to be having to wash various pots/pans then packing them!

Lollypad said:
The overnight bag (we packed ours for 3 nights so there was enough stuff to hand) and a box for moving day essentials - loo roll, hand wash, kettle, tea bags, tea towel, mugs, wipes, anything you might think “bugger where did I put that” for the first day and not remember where you’ve put it or not want to rifle through boxes.
We also bought a camera to take lots of silly little photos of the move, getting the keys etc which gave us some cute photos to get developed Good luck and remember to enjoy it if you can!

ah thank you!

did you get a removal company or do it all yourself? Not sure how I feel about someone else packing all my belongings away, purely as-well for the unpacking not knowing where everything this!

Lollypad · Jun 16, 2021

Rainbow1 said:
ah amazing thanks so much!

this is the first time we’ve both been in a chain (previously I’ve lived in my own property which was new build so could move in over a few days no rush, in fact I got keys around 4pm and waited til next morning to move)

this is my partners house and to put it politely he has a lot of junk which I’m trying to get him to sort through now before we even have a moving date as aware it could be quite soon!

great idea on takeaway etc never thought of that and wouldn’t want to be having to wash various pots/pans then packing them!

ah thank you!

did you get a removal company or do it all yourself? Not sure how I feel about someone else packing all my belongings away, purely as-well for the unpacking not knowing where everything this!

We did our packing ourselves, just because I actually quite enjoyed it

Mrs Cucumber · Jun 17, 2021

We moved house with a 4 month old and a 2 year old, we were lucky that my mum lives near by and we stayed with her the night before.

We had a bag with everything we would need for the first few days, nappies etc and a box with the kettle, toaster and cleaning stuff. Our move was a nightmare, we were out of our house by 11am but had to wait till 6pm for the keys to the new house! Out buyers were fantastic and very understanding that it was our seller being awkward, they let us keep a set of keys to the old house for a further 48 hours so we could get the rest of the stuff without rushing, so always worth asking!

Also if you have cats, make sure you get them in and lock them in a safe room the night before, we locked ours in a room but left the stupid window open, thankfully they returned before we moved fully!

BelleAmie · Jun 18, 2021

New house day is so exciting, I hope it all goes well for you!
If you’re packing stuff in boxes, scribble on the top/side of the box a list of what is in the box - then when you’re looking for things, you don’t have to dig through each box to find what you’re looking for.

Moving Day Tips

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