If you are feeling the four walls of your humble abode closing in, you have more clutter than you can shake a stick at and there’s no way that you can escape your brood for a moment’s peace, the chances are that you need to consider upsizing. It’s all too easy to stay put, remain miserable, and watch as the clutter builds up as your children grow. Instead, you need to think about putting your house on the market and moving to a different pad that more suits your lifestyle and your family’s needs. Moving home is one of the most stressful things you can ever undertake. You need to try and achieve the highest price for your home, you need to spend your weekends trawling around houses with estate agents, and you need to organise your finances. While this can be tedious, once you have finally moved into your new place and you have the room and space to breathe, it will all have been worth it. If you haven’t moved house in a very long time, you may be surprised at how times have changed in the property market. However, you need to make sure that you maximise your home’s value to ensure that you have enough of a deposit to put on your next place. Take a look and see how you can ensure that you are prepared to move up the property ladder.
Decor
While you may adore your pink bathroom suite and the bright red kitchen that you’ve only recently had installed, the chances are that potential buyers won’t. These are highly personalised decor statements which don’t tend to go down well with the more sedate buyer who simply wants a blank canvas on which to make their mark. Instead, try and bring a more muted palette to your home. Whip out the white paint and get the magnolia out to demonstrate a light and airy space. Take down the hordes of ornaments and knick knacks, and try and make your pad a little more chic. Just because you are moving out of your home because you need more space doesn’t mean you want your buyers knowing that. Tell them a positive pull factor to explain why you are leaving rather than a push. Perhaps you want to be nearer to family, your partner has a new job or you want to be closer to your kids’ school? When it comes to decor, try and be relatively brutal with your decluttering. Anything that you don’t want to get rid of can go straight into the loft in boxes ready to go on the journey to your new home. Make sure that you have repainted the red kitchen, and consider spending some money on a new bathroom suite. While it may seem like a waste of cash, spending £300 on a new bathroom suite will pay for itself if you sell quickly rather than waiting months and wasting hundreds if not thousands on extra mortgage repayments. Sometimes you have to spend money to accumulate. You might also achieve a higher price for your home as there will be a lot less for any potential buyers to do once they've moved in.
Finances
Just because you have had a mortgage for the last five years and you’ve paid on time every month doesn't mean that you are necessarily a shoo-in for your next one. No doubt you will want to increase your mortgage and spend a little more on your larger dwelling. The relevant mortgage people will need to carry out the necessary credit checks and take a look at your bank statements. You may need to provide an employment reference and prove that you haven’t gone into your overdraft for the past three months. If you are a little worried, be frugal for a few months before you consider putting your home on the market and forget buying that new car or venturing off on that expensive holiday until after you’ve moved. If you think you may have a CCJ or that you’ve defaulted on a credit card payment in the past, get registered with a free online credit checking site and do some detective work. If it was given to you unfairly, you should be able to get it wiped from your record meaning it can be easier to obtain the home loan you want.
The House Move Process
The most integral part of any house move is the conveyancing solicitor you choose. Don't go for the cheapest online solicitor who is situated in the depths of the Welsh valleys. You are better off going with a firm who have sold similar houses to the one you own, and who have an excellent reputation for communication. There’s nothing worse than trying to get hold of your solicitor only for them to keep fobbing you off with a generic email. Having a good relationship with you conveyancer is vital if the house move is to go smoothly. Any forms that you receive should be filled in promptly, and any surveys you need to arrange should be carried out quickly. Remember, you need to find a home as much as you need to sell one, so you will be instructing a solicitor to act on your behalf for both transactions. Make sure you have confidence in the named individual who is representing you. Come move day, you will be ready to finally say goodbye to your previous pad and move into your new home. There will be a mixture of emotions as you’ll be sad to say farewell to your family home but you will also be excited to head to pastures new. Ensure that you are packed, you have the movers ready and you have the kids in the car with plenty of games to keep them occupied.
Moving home should be exciting. While it's a happy time, it is also stressful and full of worry. Until you've exchanged contracts any party can pull out. Ensure that you are focused on your house sale and that you keep it on track as much as possible. Follow this guide and you will soon be moving up the property ladder and into the next chapter of your life.
