10 Tips When You're Moving House

by Dale Harcombe | More from this Blogger

You know you're moving, you've decided to put your house up for sale and followed some of the suggested guidelines on the previous blog, now what? Here are more guidelines to make it easier.

1. Decide whether you are going to use a real estate agent or try and sell privately. I admit we've only ever sold using an agent. Friends have sold privately and to me it sounded like a lot of hassle. I also see houses put up for sale privately that often then have to be out in an agent's hands.

2. Make sure you factor all costs in. Not just the price of the house to buy but how much legal fees and agents will cost you and advertising. Not all agents are the same. Some charge for advertising. Others it is in their initial coats.

3. Decide whether you want to sell by auction or not. Unless you have an out of the ordinary type of home, I wouldn't recommend auction. We've been to a few as spectators and three times out of four the house was passed in with no bids and that's more likely to happen in a bad economic climate.

4. Clean gutters and walls of the house you are selling. Re-grout tiles if they look a bit shabby. Re-grouting the bathroom and kitchen can make a huge difference, Repair any crack. Clean the oven and scrub the bathrooms.

5. Transplant and put into pots any flowers and shrubs you want to take with you before you put the house on the market.

6. Decide whether you will be using movers or doing it yourself with the help if friends. Even if you are using movers there are certain things you may wish to transport yourself. Collect boxes from supermarkets to transport these items.

7. Start packing up those things not needed often. Label boxes as you go with contents and the room it will ultimately go in. Number the boxes and keep a book which gives detailed contents of each box's contents.

8. Decide whether curtains will be left. I usually leave them since all windows are not the same size and invariably they don't fit the next house. The same might apply to the dishwasher.

9. Declutter your house. That means getting rid of unnecessary furniture and making the rooms look more spacious. Store it till after the sale.

10. Agents often recommend getting rid of personal photographs. Prospective buyers want to imagine themselves living in the house not you and your family. We took down our wedding wall while the house was on the maket.

Related blogs

8 Essentials When Moving House

Creating a Wedding Wall

Packing Up and Moving On

Living Close to Family

Moving House

Learn more about Dale Harcombe

Dale has a passion for books and writing. She writes in various forms, from articles to poetry to fiction for children and adults.

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