When buying your first home, or moving into you next home, we all have to deal with moving expenses. It can be an exciting time getting into the property of your dreams, or stepping up from your first home. But planning ahead, setting a moving budget and taking the opportunity to ‘clean up’ are essential to a stress free moving experience.

Planning ahead is critical when moving. Removalists usually double book, especially if you are moving in the afternoons. Sometimes a morning move can become an all day affair and you have a last minute cancellation. Not for the feint at heart, especially on a double settlement! Also consider insurances (are you covered DURING your move and at the new home?), packaging materials? Who is doing the actual packaging? Pet moving plans?

Packing your belongings is always the best option finacially. Don’t forget to pad all delicate items appropriately and dont make boxes too heavy to move around. This is quite easy to do filling large boxes with plates, cutlery and other household items.

Packing yourself well ahead of moving also brings a great opportunity to consolidate your items. This is a great time to have a garage sales for unwanted items (eg lawn mover no longer needed if moving into a managed apartment). Ebay and gumtree are also your friends here. But when selling items to the public, be prepared for the hassles of bargain hunters and time wasters. The less items to pack, generally the cheaper the moving costs, both in number of items to load / unload but also in the time it takes to load the truck and pack and unpack.

Moving companies usually are booked weeks in advance. Shop around for prices and make sure you understand how many men will be there to assist. What size vehicle is appropriate for the move? Does the costs include packing of items or not? Be sure to tell the removalist company if you are moving from / into a unit block that has stairs or a lift or may have height restrictions into an underground carpark to get access to the internal lift. Having an idea where to park the vehicle while loading and unloading can save time too. Usually you have an hourly cost, so if the men don’t have to walk halfway around the block for each box, that’ll save you over the whole move.

Consider rethinking all your utility supplies. Now is the perfect time to find a more suitable gas, electricity, water supplier, internet, phone etc. Shop around online and take advantage of competitive marketplaces in these areas.

Lastly consider where all the NEW local points of interest are. Where is the local shopping center, supermarkets, schools, take-away shops etc. Every moving day usually ends in a pizza or takeaway meal of some kind because no-one moves a fridge full of food.

As home loan brokers, Alliance Credit are here to help you find the most suitable home loan for your property purchase. Unfortunately we can’t help carry boxes into your new home.