Finding the right home to suit your needs can be a long and difficult journey. There are countless properties available out there, but at the end of the day, not every property will be ideal for you. You’re going to have to get to know exactly what you want to find one that ticks all of your boxes. Now, don’t be hasty with this process. Remember that your home is likely to be one of the most expensive things you’re going to purchase in the duration of your entire lifetime. At the same time, your home is going to be the space that you spend a lot of time. You’re going to want to make sure that not only is it aesthetically pleasing, but that it is practical for your day to day use too. Finally, you’re going to want to find the right property the first time around if possible. Purchasing a home and moving in requires a lot of time, effort and money. You don’t want to realise that the property isn’t meeting your needs soon after moving in, as this would mean going through the entire process again. Here are some things to consider when it comes to choosing the right house for you!
Let’s start with one of the biggest factors to consider when buying a house: location. Where do you want to live? Locations needs to be a really practical decision. Sure, you might want to live somewhere stunning, like overlooking the sea or at the foot of a mountain. But will you be able to get on with your day to day life in these locations? For some people, the answer to this will be yes, or they’ll be willing to adapt their life to be able to live here. But for the majority, the answer will be no. Many people want to live near their work to minimise their commute, near their family or friends to be surrounded by a support system or near good schools for their children. Some people will need to prioritise being near good public transport links or road links. You should also consider safety. You want to live somewhere with a low crime rate if possible. Then, consider price. You’re likely to find a great location in expensive neighbourhoods easily. If you have a stricter budget, this search may be a bit more difficult.
Property Features
Once you know where you want to live, you can start looking at property features of available properties in the area. Your search will have whittled down a lot, but you’re still going to have to compare individual properties to find the one that best suits you. Let’s take size as an example.How big do you want or need your home to be? If you live alone, you can browse anything from studio apartments upwards. If you have a family, however, you’re going to need more bedrooms and living space.
These are just the starter steps towards securing your own home. Hopefully, the information will help to guide you onto the path for this exciting journey!
Buying a new house and selling your old one is not only a stressful process but it can also be a very expensive one too. Even though you are likely to be making some money off the house ‘you’re selling, there are still extra costs that you can easily forget about and may not have accounted for, and they all add up.
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Get The Most From Your Sale
The first thing you need to do to save money when buying and selling your house is to make sure you make as much money as you can from your house and make your house more valuable and get the best price for it. You can do this by decluttering your home but be careful not to depersonalise it. People need to be able to imagine what the property would look like if they were living there, so you need to make it easy for them to see all the fantastic living space ‘you’re offering them but leave some personality in there too. People are often buying into a lifestyle as much as a property, so show them the attractive side of your lifestyle. Once you have done that you could give your home a fresh lick of paint which will make your home seem lighter and bigger and will enable the potential buyers to imagine what they would do to the rooms for their needs. It will also be easier for the buyers to move in and use the rooms immediately if the walls are painted a neutral colour rather than in a bright pink or green. Also make any necessary minor repairs, any holes in walls, broken doorknobs, cracked tiles or torn carpets as people will want to move in and not have to fix things, so get it done for them so they can move in with ease. Then clean everything until it sparkles. Get rid of limescale, clean and repair tile grout, wax wooden floors, get rid of all odours, hang up fresh towels. This will make the place more appealing and allow viewers to imagine living there. Tidy up the garden too.
Be Aware Of Survey Costs
You will need a survey of your house and the house you are planning to buy, and there are three different types of survey that you can get; a Home condition survey which is a basic survey and consists of a visual inspection of the areas that are easy to see and is suitable for new-build and other modern homes. Then there is a ‘Homebuyer’s report, which is a more detailed survey and looks at the inside and outside of the property. It also includes a valuation. Finally, you could get a building or structural survey, which is the most comprehensive survey and mainly suitable for older buildings. The surveyor’s report may raise issues with the property and then ‘you’ll be able to consider whether you still want to go ahead or want to negotiate with the seller about the price.
Take Your Home Online
Once the house is looking in tip-top shape, then ‘it’s time to look at different ways to sell it. Today, you can do this a lot cheaper by taking your home online. When people are looking to buy a house these days, where is it that they look first? A massive 95% of people look for their new property online, and both Rightmove and Zoopla are averaging over 180 million searches every month, so one of the best options is to look for an online estate agent to keep costs down.
Choose The Right Lawyer
As mentioned, moving home can be very stressful, whether you are a first-time buyer or ‘you’re an expert and have been buying and selling for years, either way, ‘there’s still a lot to be done, and ‘you’ll need to choose the right legal team to help you too. According to Keoghs, you should always shop around to find the solicitors that can offer you the expertise, experience and commitment that you need to support you throughout the process, with all fees and costs highlighted and outlined so that you receive a specialist, friendly and efficient service at all times.
Showing Your EPC
When you sell your house, you will need to show the buyer an Energy Performance Certificate to show how energy efficient your property is. To do this, you will have to pay for an accredited domestic energy assessor to come in and look at the loft insulation, the boiler, hot water tank, radiators, lights, windows for double glazing and how the building is ventilated and constructed. A certificate is valid for ten years, and you can usually get an estate agent to recommend one, however, if you have chosen not to use an estate agent then have a look online for recommendations and reviews from other people. If you look on Purple Bricks, their assessors charge £84 for this service.
You’ll Also Need Insurance
You will also need to take out buildings insurance to protect your new home against damage from fire, floods, subsidence and other unforeseen circumstance and natural disasters. While ‘you’re doing this, it might be a good idea to look at contents insurance for your possessions too. Like any other insurance, the cheapest option will be to go onto comparison sites and see ‘what’s best for you.
Paying Stamp Duty
You need to remember that ‘you’ll have to pay Stamp Duty too if you are purchasing a property worth over £125,000. First-time buyers only pay on properties over £300,000 while those with second homes pay on property worth over £40,000. This is a rather significant sum of money, and many people add it to their mortgage.
Removal Costs
Finally, ‘don’t forget about the removal costs. Of course, you can do the moving yourself and pack up the car. Or one of the cheaper options is to hire a van and do it yourself, or if you ‘can’t do that, then a professional removal company will also be able to supply boxes, insure the items and provide temporary storage if there are any delays in the move.
Moving home is an expensive process, but you could hugely reduce that expense with sufficient planning well in advance. The key is to avoid jumping into decisions without properly weighing up your options. You might be eager to move and perhaps you’re even working within a limited window of time, but you can’t put a price on thorough research when it comes to saving yourself a fortune. In this article, you’ll find some suggestions that’ll help you to make the process of moving house as cost-effective as possible.
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Do your property research.
As mentioned in the introduction, thorough research is essential to saving money when it comes to moving house. We’ve discussed this on our site before. And research is incredibly important when it comes to the purchase of your new home. After all, this will be the biggest expense you face throughout the entire process, and it’s a purchase that should serve you for many years or decades to come. Of course, we’re not going to suggest you should aim for the cheapest properties possible. You should aim for the most cost-effective properties possible. You don’t want to compromise on quality when it comes to buying a house that you’re hoping to call “home”. You might want to check out https://www.redrow.co.uk/ for high-quality new builds that come at an affordable price. There are plenty of cost-effective options when it comes to modern properties. Just make sure you weigh up plenty of different options. Get good at haggling too.
Declutter.
Another way to make the process of moving house as cost-effective as possible is to declutter. For starters, this gives you the opportunity to make some money. You could sell old possessions online or at a yard sale to raise some funds for the house-moving process. But it’ll also save you money when you hire a removals company to help you transport your belongings to your new home. You’ll get a much cheaper quote if you have fewer belongings to move. Decluttering is sensible both in a financial and a mental sense. You don’t want to drag all of your clutter with you to your new household, after all.
Search for free or cheap furnishings.
Even if you save a heap of money throughout the moving process, you might be worrying about the cost of turning your new property into a home. This is particularly the case for those who are moving into their very first property, but even people who are moving from one home to another might have to get rid of old things and buy new ones to replace them. However, before you spend a fortune at your nearest furniture store, you might want to search for free furnishings in your area.
You’ll find so much fantastic homeware and pieces of furniture online that doesn’t cost you a thing if you look in the right places. Freecycle is a great site for finding free furnishings, as suggested at https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/. Facebook Marketplace also has options that are either free or cost next-to-nothing. It’s worth browsing the internet to see if you can find anything that’s perfect for your new home before you waste a lot of money. The perfect furnishings could be waiting out there for you at a fraction of the price you’d pay in a standard store. That being said, some charity-run furniture stores stock absolute gems at amazing prices.
As an adult, you’re probably well aware of all the hassle that moving house tends to entail. You know you’re going to spend months viewing properties, scanning over contracts, and juggling buying a new house with trying to sell your old one. It’s likely a situation you’ve been through at least once before, so you know what it’s going to involve.
Your kids, however? They probably have no idea. By the time they’re of an age to understand what’s happening, their first move is going to be an alarming time. They can only remember ever living in one particular place. What happens to move them to another house is a somewhat mystical process, most of which goes over their heads.
This isn’t necessarily the best choice. If your children are of an age to understand what’s happening, then it’s worth seeing moving as a teachable moment. Rather than the process being something your kids have to go along with, but don’t get much information on, it can be a time of learning. There’s so much you can teach them during this time, but perhaps the most useful things to extrapolate are…
#1 – The Basics Of Home Ownership
Teaching your children about the basics of home ownership is a necessary part of your job as a parent, anyway – but what better time to do it than in the midst of a move?
Explain how ownership works. If they’re of an age to understand the math involved, then you can also teach them what a mortgage is. Obviously, you don’t need to delve into hugely complicated legal and economic detail – but a basic overview should suffice.
#2 – The Process Of Moving House
There’s no need to hide what happens to facilitate a house move. The sooner your children are exposed to the way the housing market works, the more time they will have to understand it before it becomes relevant to them. Focus on the basics:
How to find homes for sale. While going to real estate agent’s shop windows is the established method, the truth is that your children will probably primarily search for their own properties in future via the online property market, so you’re going to need to cover this.
How you go about selling your house and how you choose a price for it.
The basics of the legal process of exchanging contracts.
How the escrow process works – obviously, only if this is applicable to the move you’re doing.
Most children should be able to grasp at least the basics of the above; you can add or subtract where necessary depending on your child’s age specifically.
#3 – Stress Management
It’s not just financial teachable moments during the house moving process, either. You can also teach about how to handle stress. We all know how tough moving house can be, so showing your children that you’re on top of all the stress – and managing to keep smiling – can be a great practical lesson. Making it a lesson will also force you to cope with the stress better, so both parent and kids will benefit!
Undoubtedly, one of the more stressful experiences we go through in life is moving house. To make your life easier, these are some of the things you need to consider before the big day.
Throw away things you don’t need
Now is the perfect time to declutter your house. To save on packing, get rid of those things you don’t need anymore. That magazine subscription you have collected for years? Ask yourself, how often do you flick through back copies. Still have toys that your children played with ten years ago? They probably aren’t collector’s items if they are covered in scuff marks. Get rid of them. Of course, you don’t need to throw unwanted items in the trash. Give them to charity shops so somebody else can make use of your once cherished possession.
Pack early
Packing takes time, and you will be amazed at what you have collected over the years. Begin with the rooms you don’t use frequently and start packing the items that are not needed on a daily basis. By starting to get ready early, you will be able to collect all the packaging you need for your precious items. Be sure to label them all as well, for easy access when you get to your new home. So what if you live in a house of boxes for a few days? It will only add to the excitement of your pending move.
Hire a removal company
You could just hire a van, or make a hundred trips back and forth in your car. However, you can save yourself a lot of work, and back breaking pain, by hiring the professionals to do it for you, for example, this London waste removal company. Whether you are crossing over to the next town, or moving interstate, the cost of getting somebody to help you will cross one extra chore from your list.
Keep hold of the essentials
There are a few things you will always need to hand, so be sure to pack them in a separate container. There will be items necessary for the car journey, and on your arrival at your new home, so don’t give them to the removal men. Items such as the kettle, mugs, tea bags, bottled water, paper towels and toilet rolls, are just some of the things you might deem important.
Tell everybody
Unless you are planning on moving house in the shadow of night, so nobody can find you, it is probably a good idea to let your friends and neighbors know you are moving. They may be able to help you on the day you leave, and it would be good to exchange contact information so you can keep in touch. You could even ask a neighbor to keep an eye out on any mail you receive, so leave a forwarding address.
Stay positive
You may be feeling emotional at the prospect of leaving your home, but you can still take those memories with you. It’s time for a new start, keep it together and get ready for the next chapter.
