A moving experience: trials and tribulations

When you are in the process of moving home, there are so many different things to think about: legal representation and the conveyancing process, appointing a surveyor and what the survey might highlight in the place you're thinking of buying, setting a completion date, dealing with utilities in your current home and setting them up in the new one, buildings insurance and whether to take out contents insurance, too, obtaining a mortgage to help pay for the new home, what to do about your pets when the actual day of the move happens, and… well, the list can sometimes appear to be endless and daunting.

But one area that you might think should be relatively straightforward - the physical process of moving all your furniture and other chattels from your old home to the new one - but there are some stories that you might want to consider so that it might help you to prevent them happening to you.

Go.Compare, the comparison site, carried out a survey (a YouGov poll in July 2024 of 2,000 adults in the UK relating their experiences) to identify the woes that befell their respondents.

The results make interesting reading:

Misplacing items was the most common of the responses (26%), although breakages came a close second (22%). The avoidance (or reduction in the impact) of the losing or breaking items while moving comes with how you pack them. Bubble-wrap and balled-up paper can cradle your keepsakes in the boxes and prevent them knocking together in transit. 

You might also consider ensuring like items are packed together and, most importantly, have the details of what they are and where they are headed in your new home written on the box. If something is of great value (either monetarily or emotionally), you might want to consider taking them with you rather than in the removals van, if that's practical to do so. This is important, because 16% of those surveyed suggested that they had forgotten to label the boxes, so had no idea what was in them, making setting up at the new home even more chaotic.

Even if you have considered what is going to go where and you've parcelled up the boxes with clear labels of the destination room and what the contents are, you may come up against the next problem reported in the survey. 15% of those responding to Go.Compare's survey said that they had underestimated the time it would take to load their possessions and then unload them again at the other end. This is particularly important when you are moving yourself, but, if you are using a removals firm, you should get an estimate for packing, loading and unloading. And it might be worth considering getting the loaded part done before the moving day itself.

Next in the litany of problems was dropping and breaking an item. If you have packed the boxes securely, this should help to mitigate any problems, but this doesn't prevent damage for larger items. If you are using a removals firm, before you sign up with them, you should discuss what their policy is with regards to breakages in transit, loading and unloading. You might also want to consider taking out your own insurance to cover the move.

12% of survey respondents said that they had failed to measure the size of furniture. If you are moving yourself, you might be using a car or you've hired a van. If this is how you plan to do it, you need to measure everything (and factor in the boxes if you are planning to do it all in one go) and make sure you can get it all in. A reputable removals firm will estimate appropriately to cater for all your different sizes of furniture and knick-knacks.

Closely behind at 11% is failing to get all the bits necessary for arrival at the new home. One of the key things in your planning should be to consider what you'll need once you shut the door on your old home and arrive at your new home. Kettle, mugs, spoons and other cutlery, tea-bags and coffee, biscuits, milk, cleaning paraphernalia, pet food… Pack them in a separate box and label it clearly as the first one you're going to unload and open on arrival. Also pack a separate bag or box with your vital documents and sundry items, such as passports, certificates, driving licences, credit cards, wallets and purses, spare keys, etc. because you don't want the added hassle of sorting them out if you mislay them.

Behind that at 10% was the failure to pack a specific item. Look in cupboards and behind doors, garden shed, even the loft (and cellar if there is one) to make sure you have absolutely everything with you.

Next, is forgetting to update or cancel bills (9%) and then forgetting to take final or initial meter readings (8%). With the hubbub of moving, it's very easy to forget some of these things. The best way, in a calmer moment, of preventing such occurrences is to create a checklist, maybe even with a specified owner assigned to the task. As the Go.Compare survey highlights, this includes more esoteric but important recipients of your change of address such as your employer, or GP.

While 1% replied that they had lost the keys to the new property, double that had relayed the admission that they had left it too late to hire a removals company (2%). The first is rectified if the keys are kept in the bag of essential and critical items you have with you, while the checklist of things to do will mean that you've talked to a removals company early enough to have them booked in.

Finally, 35% responded that they had never made a mistake in moving (or not that they are willing to admit). 

There is so much going on when you are packing up the old home and getting excited about settling into the new one that you are more likely to make a mistake than not. 

So, the key to a successful move comes in planning and ensuring that you have everything clearly identified so that you know what it is and where it's going. 

And draw up a checklist and regularly review it: there will be things that you haven't thought of yet which might come up when you talk to your conveyancer, surveyor, removals representative, estate agent, mortgage lender and so on.

Need a focused conveyancing solicitor, who will take the stress out of the legal process in selling and buying your properties?

That's where you can rely on the experts at Homeward Legal! 

They will start work on your planned purchase as soon as you agree to the quotation and appoint them to represent you. 

Homeward Legal will also provide a quote that will not change - what you are quoted is what you pay for standard conveyancing process.

There are some unforeseen items that might arise during the purchase and/or sale, but the solicitor discusses these and their cost as they come up. 

In addition, to protect the homebuyer further, Homeward Legal operates a ‘no completion, no fee' promise, which ensures that, should the purchase or sale not go through as planned to completion status, no payment is required.

Call  to get your conveyancing quote started, or to discuss your concerns with your plans to move.

Or you can get a quick quote, using Homeward Legal's easy-to-use quote generator.