Preparing to move
About a month before your planned move date it is a good idea to get the following tucked away as these things could be a headache if left until the last minute.
- Once you have your moving date you can notify your landlord if necessary.
- Contact your telephone company and arrange for the reconnection or installation of your new line.
- Inform the gas and electrical companies when you will be in the new property.
- Get all the packaging equipment you will need (boxes, labels, tape, bin liners and newspapers).
- Arrange for enough time of work to move and get settled.
- Start getting rid of any junk or clutter that doesn't need moving, be ruthless!
You should have all of your domestic services under way for transfer by now and have all those lovely empty boxes piled up the hallways ready to fill. Now comes the fun stuff.
- Get your removal plan into action and hire the removals guys.
- Arrange transit insurance if you can as it is very likely that somthing will get broken,scratched or damaged in some way.
- Inform appropriate people of your Change of Address.
- Get down to the Post Office and setup the mail redirect for the date of move.
- Make sure you have someone ready to look after any kids or pets they generally want to help but are more likely to slow things down.
- Notify your local authority of the move to your new address.
- Draw a rough floor plan of your new home and work out which rooms will be used for what this makes things much easier at the other end when distributing your boxes round the house.
- Start packing and look at your floor plan, upon finishing label each box for its destination or room.
Nows when the time when all things movable should be packed sealed and ready to go except the bare essentials. You can get all excited about the move now and start your count down.
Try to get the following completed at this point:
- Get your meters read and paid.
- Pay any other household bills outstanding.
- Cancel all of your services such as your window cleaner or milkman etc.
- Get the boxes all ready to go by planning their exit from the old house and entry into the new house. This can be done by working out how it leaves your present home (first in means last out of the van). This also is the same for furniture.
- You can start cleaning once you have stacked everything as organised as possible as you will find there will be more space generally.
- Get the exchange of keys arranged for as early as you possibly can this will help take the pressure away a little bit.
Almost time to say goodbye to the old and in with the new except for a few extra pointers.
- Get the basics you kept out for survival all packed away but put them to the front of the que of boxes as they will also be just as useful at the new house.
- Once the last bits are packed get the rest of the house clean.
- You can also empty and defrost the freezer.
The big day is here and everything has hopefully gone to plan. Now you can finish all final checks such as:
- Disconnect all remaining appliances.
- Do a quick sweep through the house to make sure nothing has been overlooked.
- Close and lock all windows.
- Get all of your essentials over to the new house before the rest of the house gets moved in and then away you go.
Please remember keep calm and enjoy the day as it should be a positive move, and getting worked up about things like the removals men being five minutes late will only annoy you not them.
Contact Information
Please feel free to contact us with any queries you may have by either of the methods listed below:
If you are selling or buying a property in England or Wales it will be government legislation from the 1st June 2007 to recieve or offer a Home Information Pack during the exchange of your property.
Home Information Packs will include the following mandatory details:
Evidence of titleThese documents prove that the seller owns the property and therefore has the right to sell it.
These provide an up-to-date official record of who owns the land, and consist of:
- Official copies of the individual register
- An official copy of the title plan
For sales of unregistered land, the Pack must include copies of a certificate of an official search of the index map (obtained from the Land Registry.
Energy Performance CertificateEnergy Performance Certificates tell you how energy efficient a home is on a scale of A-G. The most efficient homes - which should have the lowest fuel bills - are in band A.
The Certificate also tells you, on a scale of A-G, about the impact the home has on the environment. Better-rated homes should have less impact through carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
Sale statementThe sale statement should provide some basic information about the site, including:
- The address of the property being sold
- Whether the property is freehold, leasehold or commonhold
- Whether the property is registered or unregistered
- Whether or not the property is being sold with vacant possession
SearchesThe Home Information Pack must include:
- The local land charges register relating to the property being sold. If the search is carried out by the local authority, an official search certificate will be provided. Alternatively a personal search company can be used.
- Other records held by the local authority on matters of interest to buyers, such as planning decisions and road building proposals. These are referred to as local enquiries in the Home Information Pack regulations. A local authority or a personal search company can be used.
- The provision of drainage and water services to the property. The local water company or a personal search company can be used (however, the search must comply with the HIP Regulations, schedule 9)
Leasehold and commonhold documentsMost of the documents that must be included in the Home Information Pack are applicable to all transactions, but some are needed only for leasehold and commonhold sales.
The required leasehold documents are:
- A copy of the lease
- Any regulations or rules that apply to the property that aren't mentioned in the lease and any proposed amendments to same
- Statements or summaries of service charges covering the previous 36 months
- Where appropriate, the most recent requests for payment of service charges, ground rent, insurance against damage for the building in which the property is situated, and insurance in respect of personal injury caused by or within the building during the 12-month period before marketing began
- The name and address of the current or proposed lessor, and details of any managing agent that has been appointed or proposed by the lessor to manage the property
- A summary of any works being undertaken or proposed that will affect the property or the building in which it's situated.
The required commonhold documents are:
An official copy of the individual register and title plan for the common parts. This is in addition to official copies for the unit.
An official copy of the commonhold community statement. You can download this document from Land Registry here.
The following documents and information are also required:
- Copies of any regulations or rules not described in the commonhold community statement and any amendments proposed to those regulations or to the commonhold community statement
- Copies of any requests for payments made in the previous 12 months in respect of commonhold assessment, reserve fund levy and insurance (if not covered by a request for commonhold assessment)
- The name and address of any managing agent or other person appointed or proposed to be appointed by the commonhold association to manage the commonhold
- A summary of current or proposed works affecting the commonhold.
Home Information Pack IndexThe compulsory documents include a Home Information Pack Index listing the documents contained in the Pack.
The Index provides a checklist for sellers, buyers, estate agents and enforcement authorities. Where a document that must be included in the Pack is unavailable, the Index must say so, give the reason it is missing, and indicate what steps are being taken to obtain it. Where documents are added to or removed from the Pack at a later stage, the Index should be revised accordingly.