6 Top Tips For Moving Home
Moving home is factually one of the most stressful life events a person can go through. We want to make it that little bit easier for you by sharing our 35 years of knowledge when it comes to moving home.
We will be publishing a wealth of helpful hints and tips, taking you step-by-step through the moving process.
No better place to start than at the very beginning…
1. Check your affordability
When considering moving house, the first thing you should do is speak to a Financial Advisor. There are a lot of costs involved that aren’t necessarily considered in the beginning; such as:
- Conveyancing (Solicitor fees)
- Stamp Duty
- Changes in insurance costs; including home insurance and life cover
- Changes in mortgage repayments
- Mortgage fees
- Survey fees
- Removal costs
Of course, there’s also the matter of affordability in terms of borrowing too! Getting pre-approved by a lender will put you in a more favourable position, so, check this one off your list early.
2. Envisage your dream home
Sit down and make a checklist. Assess what aspects of your dream home are absolute must haves and what aspects are negotiable. Consider things like the location of schools, the length of your commute, how far you’ll travel to a grocery store, and possibly where you’ll socialize — in other words, where and how you’ll live your life.
3. Plot your perfect location
Following on from that last point, you need to know where you’re going to move! It’s important that you’ve considered what you need to be close to (as above) so have a good search on Google, do some touring around the areas that look good to you and speak to anyone that you know in those areas to get some feedback on what it’s like to live there.
4. Make the most of your online house-hunting
Favouriting every home you like probably isn’t a good idea—you can get bogged down by the number of homes that have something attractive about them. Instead, go back and review your checklist (from step 2) to see if a home meets your criteria. If not, move on. If it does, review the location. Make sure you and your spouse or partner agree, then put it on your list of homes to arrange to view.
5. Know that not every property for sale is listed online!
Some sellers prefer to be marketed on a low-key basis, so their homes never hit the property portals. This includes new homes, which tend to be released in phases. Another reason you may miss out on your dream home is that the proactive agents among us will contact their database of buyers as soon as they have a signed contract, which is always before the details are posted online.
Whilst we can’t speak for every agent, the key thing here is to register with the most proactive local agents to ensure that you are the first to hear of any newly instructed properties that fit your criteria. Registering with agents will also give you a good idea of how good they actually are when it comes to choosing who manages the marketing of your current home!
Click here to register with Jacobs Steel.
6. Choose an estate agent to market your home
Now that you’ve gone through steps 1-5, it’s time to think about the sale of your own home. Having registered with your local agents, you’ll probably have a good idea of who offers the best service; but we’d always advise that you get 2 or 3 valuations to ensure the price is right.
An estate agent’s valuation is an indication of price, which is determined by using comparable evidence of properties that have sold within a close proximity to your address. A property’s valuation is not necessarily the same as the price it will eventually sell for – this will ultimately be decided by how much your buyer is willing to pay. This can be either more or less than the initial valuation and will be influenced by market conditions.
Another tip for choosing the right agent for you is to check out how often they have been recommended and their review rating. Google is the best place to find this information.
Now that you’re at the stage of putting your home on the market, contact Jacobs Steel to discuss your marketing requirements. To arrange a full sales advice meeting, which includes a valuation on your home contact our team on 01903 500004 or contact your local branch
.
If you prefer, you can get an instant online valuation by clicking here.
