Preparing the house – at the other end

Posted on 02/06/2016

A lot of the information here is quite subjective and may only apply in certain situations.  For example, if there’s no chain or you’re moving into the end of a chain or a new build or potentially just if the current house owners that you will soon be replacing are very flexible, you can start preparing the house at the other end for your move before you’ve even got there.  There are a few ways you can start preparing the house.  Chances are you won’t be able to do anything until you’ve exchanged but once you have it’s practically your house – you just aren’t living in it.

Furniture: Taking as many visits as you like and filling up on all that necessary knowledge of the property is a given.  But, especially if you’re upsizing, it might be worth taking down the actual measurements of all the spaces which may or may not require new furnishings.  This way you can shop for them in advance and have them all ordered to arrive at the house the day after your move.  You barely spend any time in the house with no furniture, you don’t have to pay extra for special next day delivery when you’ve finally got it all measured and ordered and it won’t arrive when you do and add extra chaos to moving day.

Decorating: With some of the housing situations mentioned above you can either get first call on the decorating – especially if it’s a new build and you offer and close on the house before it’s actually finished being built.  For example, you may be asked about your decorating preferences because the house has to be habitable from the day you move in and it will not be if it’s all plasterboard and bare, untreated floorboards.  A lenient previous owner or an unoccupied house will also give you every opportunity to start decorating before you move in.  Therefore, give it some thought.  Your decorating may also influence your choice of furniture so that it will match and don’t do any of this from a distance.  Go in and try some samples on the walls, just as you would do if you were living in the house.  You don’t want to do anything based on memory judgements because you could find a completely perfect shade of purple, or at least it looked perfect on the tin, but when it’s covering all 4 of your dining rooms walls you feel like you’re living inside a Ribena advert. Not a good look.

Bills and Providers: This may seem like an obvious one and you might have your own way of doing things but it’s worth checking with the current tenants on their providers and why they have chosen them.  You current internet provider might move your account to your new address free of charge but that won’t be any good if the signal in that area is notoriously poor.  Also make sure that you’re fully appraised on the best deals and opportunities for the utilities providers.  Chances are, the current house owners have done a lot of the legwork for you in finding the perfect deal to suit them so have no fear in jumping straight on their bandwagon.

So there are just a few pointers as to what you might do to make the move easier from the other end.