Moving Tips

A guide to the legal process on moving day 

to help ease the stress of moving home

A brief guide to the legal process on moving day

  • What is the procedure for buying and gaining access to your new home when you sell and release your old home all in one day?
  • Consider using our holdover service, it makes really good sense!
  • There are two clear rules to remember:
    • 1.  You cannot sell your old home (complete the sale) to your contracted purchaser until you have emptied the property of all your portable goods and chattels. Until you have completely moved out and checked that everything has gone that is yours, you cannot advise your solicitor or conveyancing agent to confirm to the purchaser’s agent or solicitor that they are in a position to hand over the empty property and accept money in payment of the contract.
    • 2. You cannot buy your new home (complete the purchase of your new house that you have contracted to buy) until your solicitor or conveyancing agent has paid the money that they have received from your house sale to the vendor of your new home.
  • Easy! But things can go wrong. Some of these costly occurrences can be avoided by thinking the process through and by ensuring that others are aware of their responsibilities to assist the transfer to go smoothly.
  • First of all, if you use a conveyancing specialist solicitor, who will be a member of the Law Society, you can be sure of guaranteed expertise backed by a professional organisation to help out on the rare occasion it is required.
  • Secondly, use a professional remover. Ensure you book with a member of the BAR (British Association of Removers), they too have a professional body to back them and provide a real guarantee of help through their conciliation and arbitration service, should there be a breakdown in service and relationship between the customer and remover.
  • Remember to be sure that you make your timetable needs clear to the BAR Mover at the time of booking. You must be sure that all your effects are loaded onto a van that is large enough to take all of your possessions in one load. Many so called ‘removal firms’ or ‘man and van movers’ only use small non-HGV vehicles that are inadequate for anything more than a sparsely furnished one bedroom flat.
  • Remember, you cannot deliver into your new home if you have not bought it: you cannot buy until your movers have emptied the old one in order for it to be sold to release the funds in order to buy the new one. In most situations, the others in the same chain are also moving the same day and if you cause delays and frustration to them, you may have a bill to pick up for the extra costs that they incur through your actions. When you book be sure to advise your mover that you need to be clear of your old home by 12 noon in order to complete the sale if this is the case.
  • Ensure that your new home will also be empty, and make arrangements for delivery to commence no later than 1pm. If the remover cannot start delivery until 2pm or 2,30pm they will usually be unable to complete the delivery in winter in daylight and, of course, the normal working day ceases at 6pm. Make sure you have made arrangements to pick up your keys in good time for your new property and make sure that the vendor understands that his home must be clear by the appointed time.
  • There is plenty to do on moving day, with cleaning up, seeing to meter readers etc. and saying goodbye to neighbours as well as organising the new home and making beds and hot food. It is not a good idea to cut corners by trying to move yourself. It is a lot more tiring than you think and unless you have an HGV drivers licence, any van that you can borrow or hire is likely to be too small and will probably be ill equipped to protect your home contents in transit.
  • If you are in a ‘chain’ of moves then the transfer of cash gets very difficult. If the first purchase takes place at noon and each subsequent transfer takes say 30 minutes, only four transfers can be completed by 2pm. One hold up because a solicitor is busy, a building society a bit slow, or because a bank clerk is a little pre-occupied can create chaos down the line.
  • Discuss this with your mover. With a large move it is often best to plan the move over more than one day to remove deadlines that cannot be kept.
  • Removers give a competitive price that does not allow for lost time. Any delays have to be paid for by someone. There is no substitute for careful planning.
  • Make your life easier, use our Hold Over Service. Avoid the hassle of moving out of your old home, cleaning up and then moving straight into your new home, all on the same day. Do yourself a favour – take advantage of our Hold Over Service.
  • This is usually available and gives yourself more time. The advantage to us is that we can plan the move in and the move out properly and remove the risk of having to organise unplanned overtime, or vehicles not available for the following days work at short notice, when keys are just not released in time to offload. For up to three days (when including a weekend) we will hold your goods safely and securely. The extra time will allow you to give your new home a good spring clean and even have time to steam clean the carpets or redecorate some rooms before your belongings arrive. No panic over waiting for keys to offload on moving day. Discuss alternative timetables with us.
  • These notes have been prepared by Leatherbarrows Removals and Storage Limited – 01202 495600 to try and help explain the moving process and to offer solutions to remove hassle and worry on moving day!
Moving house is an important and potentially exciting event in your life. At Leatherbarrows Removals & Storage, we will do everything to make it a hassle-free experience, offering additional packing and storage services and advice, whenever necessary. We hope that our list of moving tips will help you prepare for the move.

We serve customers in Dorset and throughout the UK. Contact Leatherbarrow Removals & Storage for a free quote.

Tips for a smooth move:

  • Prepare ahead - When moving home, you will have to organise many things ahead of time. Make a list of the things you have to do
  • Choose from a wide range of quality boxes and other packaging materials
  • Think about how the removal van can access your current and future home. Advise your neighbours that the van will be parked outside your house, and get any necessary permits
  • Decide what to take and what to leave behind
  • If you will be packing yourself, you should start packing your items a few weeks before the moving day, and go through everything systematically. Label moving boxes clearly, and pack essential items only in the last few days. Don’t put too many or too few items into one box
  • As you are changing your address, you will have to notify banks, friends and relatives to send your mail to your new address
  • Do not pack personal documents, jewellery and money
  • Research the area where you are moving
  • Check that you have not left any items behind. Also turn off gas, electricity and close all the windows

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Leatherbarrows Removals & Storage provides moving house checklist for clients in Dorset and throughout the UK.

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