A buying agent's tips for moving home

As buying agents, we are used to advising clients on their move but rarely get first-hand experience of it. However, recently I found myself thinking about when i was on the other side of the fence; below are my top tips which emerged out of my own house move: 

In an ideal world, sell before you buy or before you even start looking, and be prepared to rent. Otherwise, if you find a property you wish to buy before you have sold your own home, you are mentally putting yourself under an immense amount of pressure. This may mean you don’t give your own house a fair time on the market and get a good price. It also shows in the way you care for your house because mentally you have already moved on when it is still important to clean the windows, get rid of clutter, and tidy the garden – even if you hope not to be there the following spring. 

Put your house on the market at a price to sell. It is all about pricing sensibly, listen to the agent’s advice and take it. When we were selling, three people were shown round and we got two offers so to my mind the price was right. The buyer wanted us out within the month; we knew our home wouldn’t be ready for four months but we agreed to move into rented accommodation, which took so much pressure out of the system. Our belongings went into storage at a cost of £300 per month, which is not much in the scheme of things. But plan carefully: I spent several hours in the back of a container looking for my briefcase. 

Choose your removals company with care. All the big names quoted for us and I am sure they would have been good but we ended up going with a local chap who we just liked. He was outstanding. I would also recommend getting your removals firm to do the packing after you have been ruthless with your belongings. We had lived in our old house for 20 years so we parked a skip outside and filled it. Make those decisions before you move, or you will pay to move and store items that you no longer need or want, which will cost you money. 

Don’t forget the detail. Our buyers got over-excited about us removing some plants from the garden so make sure you get everything in writing when you accept an offer.