By Matt Ballard, Managing Director
Many people often get overwhelmed when looking at all of the associated costs with moving house – especially if you’re moving from one to another, rather than buying for the first time.
Whilst it’s not cheap, it’s always worth taking a look at the numbers in advance (no matter how daunting it is at first!) so that you’re fully prepared for what is to come. If you think ‘worst case scenario’ then anything less than that is a bonus.
Working out the cost of moving
So, let’s imagine you’re selling a house for around £200,000 and buying another for £300,000. There are some certain costs that you just can’t avoid, including:
- Solicitors’ fees – these vary, of course, let’s say £1,000 to £1,500
- Estate agent’s fees – based on a variable % of the sale price, rough estimate £2,000- £3,000. This can be done cheaper with online estate agents, but it’s always worth doing your research to see what’s actually included for the price – as it may stack up if there are lots of add-ons.
- Survey/valuation of the new property that you’re purchasing – say £1,200
- Stamp duty – costing approximately £2,500 for a £300,000 home
We’ve just listed the bigger ones here, so when you add in all of the other bits and pieces associated with moving house, you could easily clock up a bill of around £8,000 or probably even more – just for all of the legal and financial arrangements that are required.
And of course, if your new property is more expensive than the example we’ve used of £300,000, all of the costs will be higher (as most services are charged on a percentage of the house value).
Adding on the cost of broken belongings
After all of these aspects have been considered, you’ve then got the actual cost of moving your furniture and possessions to your new home to get you settled in as quickly as possible. The real question is – what value do you put on your personal and household possessions?
Particularly when finances are tight, it might be (understandably) tempting to save some money by shopping around for the cheapest deal to move your house contents. On the day of the move however, you’ll have a LOT going on in your head – so is it worth worrying about your furniture too?
If your house contents is worth between £20,000 and £50,000, would you want to risk losing or damaging any of them – bearing in mind all of the money you’re already committed to spending during your move?
For the sake of a few hundred pounds, why trust an unregulated, uninsured, un-reviewed, “man with a van” who charges £300 to move you?
Moving a house full of furniture and belongings is hard work – so it needs the right equipment, transport and the skill of knowing how to pack fragile items, how to carry furniture safely, protect things from wet weather, protect your new carpets etc.
Contact our team today and discover the value of a professional removals firm.