In This Guide
Apply for a mortgage
Buying at auction
Buying in Scotland
Conveyancing
Find and view
Negotiate
Plan your purchase
1. Buying overview
2. Purchase costs
3. Mortgage costs
4. Move Costs
5. Total cost planner
Success and failure
Surveys and valuations
To buy or not to buy
Plan your purchase
Move Costs
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You can move yourself, or pay someone to do it for you. For anyone with even a whiff of laziness about them, the latter is the safe bet, whilst the former is a surefire path to instant regret. Here are the costs:
Make sure that you either amend your buildings and contents insurance to cover your possessions when in transit, or arrange separate insurance cover for this purpose. This shouldn't cost more than fifty pounds, though could be higher if you have expensive belongings.
As with many things related to buying and moving house, the amount you will have to pay for a removals service is very much dependent on your personal circumstances. A firm will base the quote on the number of hours they expect will be needed to complete the loading and unloading, fuel, driving time and any extras such as packing services, carpet laying, navigation of multiple flights of stairs etc. Expect to pay anything from three hundred pounds upwards for a removals firm to empty a small flat and move it a short distance, right up to many thousands for a large house cross-country trip. For more information please refer to removals companies.
It is quite common for a buyer to be unable to synchronise their sale and purchase. This is not a problem for first time buyers, as they have nothing to sell, but if it is the case, then you will have to store your possessions somewhere in the interim. More often than not, this service will be provided by your removals company and can be included in a single price that they quote you. If this is not the case, then you will have to arrange and pay for it separately. As you might imagine, the cost of a storage facility will vary depending on the amount of space that you need, how long you need it for and the rental values in the area in which the storage facility is located. If paying separately, you will usually have to rent the space for a minimum of one month, payable in advance. A rough approximation of the cost is £12o per month per two bedrooms that your home has.
The main reason people choose to move the contents of their home themselves is to save money. This is not always the outcome…
Often you can save yourself quite a large sum of money if you decide to move everything yourself. This is particularly the case if you are moving a short distance, don't have a great deal to move, or are moving to or from a flat that involves using the stairs and not a lift.
However, when you add up the costs of doing it yourself, in some situations, it can be surprisingly high:
Van hire: Firstly, you'll have to hire a van. This in itself is not that expensive. A standard British driving licence will cover you for vans that have a laden weight of 7.5 tonnes. On top of this you would be wise to pay the collision damage waiver, especially if you are not used to driving a van. This stops you having to pay a hefty charge if you have a prang on your travels. Many companies have age restrictions on van hire, often with added premiums for those below 25. Find out about these up front or you may find yourself unable to hire a van when you go to collect one.
Driver: If you are young and can't find a company that will allow you to hire out a van, or you don't feel comfortable driving a vehicle of that size, you may have to hire a driver. This can be expensive, especially if your move is not going to be completed in one day. A cheaper option is to find a friend who can help you out with the driving. Extra drivers are usually allowed by the van hire companies, but you will usually have to notify them first and pay a small additional premium.
Journey: The next factor is the time and number of trips the move is going to take. If you can get away with half a dozen trips in your transit across town to your new home, then it may be a good way of approaching the move. If it's three trips in a large van from Newcastle to Southampton, then the costs are going to start spiralling:
You may have to pay for excess mileage above a certain level; you are certainly going to have to hire the van for more than one day; petrol is going to add up; you should probably have more than one driver; and are you really going to be in any state to load and unload at each end?
Your time: Not everyone includes this factor when working out their moving costs. If moving home is going to take several solid days of packing, loading, driving, unloading and unpacking, then think about how that time could be used in other ways.
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