There is a common perception that moving house can cost a fortune. It’s true that the expenses around buying a selling a house can quickly mount up, what with solicitors fees, valuation fees, survey fees and all the costs involved in setting up a new mortgage. However, when it comes to the actual process of packing up and moving, there are several things that you can do that can save you money, or at least offset the costs involved. Lets take a look at some of them.
Pre-packing
Go through your house and be ruthless. What have you not used in the last few years? If you don’t use it, there’s no point taking it to your new home. Get the things you don’t use or need onto eBay or Gumtree in the weeks leading up to your move – who knows you might even end up in profit if you sell them for more than your move costs.
Packing
One easy way to save money is to do all your packing yourself, rather than bring a removal company in to do it for you. Professional packing materials are now widely available on eBay or from specialist packing companies. Buy yourself a pile of boxes, raid your local supermarket for old fruit and veg boxes or find someone who has just moved and buy or borrow their leftovers boxes and bubblewrap.
When packing, make sure that you pack well to minimise breakages – there’s no point saving money on the removal if you then have to spend money replacing things you broke!
The Move
The cheapest way to move is to do it yourself. Rent a van, get some friends and family round to help you and for the cost of a van, some petrol and maybe some beers for your friends, you will have moved house. If you are organised and not moving too far, you could even just hire the van for half a day, saving even more money. Check with your local branch of National to see if they offer “van hire by the hour”. It’s a slightly different story if you’re planning to move overseas, but still, the move itself doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. There are still plenty of ways you can keep costs down. You may find these 15 Money Saving Tips When Moving Abroad pretty useful!
If this sounds too extreme, then the next step up is to rent a “man with a van” (or woman with a van!). These services are generally advertised in the local papers and they may also help you with the loading and unloading.
Finally, if you are set on using a removal company, savings can often be made by moving on a non-traditional moving day. As an example, the traditional house moving day in the UK is Friday for some reason and so most removal firms’ peak periods, and therefore highest charges, will be on Thursdays (for packing) and Fridays (for moving and unpacking). Try and move any other day of the week as you may be able to negotiate cheaper rates from the removal company. It’s worth a try!
Moving house is a stressful experience no matter how you do it. But by following some of these tips, you can be reassured that it does not have to be an expensive process.