Four tips to help you budget effectively for your move

Budgeting is an essential part of the moving process and one that can save you money in the long runHouse moves can be one of the most expensive times of our life, particularly if you’re upsizing – perhaps buying a family home or moving to a more upmarket location. Indeed, the financial pressures of moving house can cause significant stress before and during a house move.

However, if you budget effectively and undertake your move at the right time, there’s no reason why you should panic about your finances and whether you’ll be able to afford your house move. Many of the costs associated with moving are common to all cases and thus can be easily budgeted for.

Here are four tips to help you budget for your house move:

Get competitive quotes for services

In the past there was no easy way to search around different companies for removals quotes or conveyancing quotes, unless homeowners had a great deal of time on their hands to phone round various companies. Nowadays one simple search online and you can have access to cost-effective quotes from several companies that may also be able to provide additional services at cut-down prices. This helps you budget as you don’t only get the most competitive quote around but you also know how much you’ll be paying early and can set aside the cash.

Make a list of all moving costs

It’s easy to think of the most well-known moving costs, such as conveyancing, but what about others such as energy performance certificates, carpeting, locksmiths and hiring a skip so you can purge your possessions? Depending on your circumstances you may also need a plumber to disconnect your washing machine or will have to pay for childcare if you find your kids are getting upset during the move. If you can make a list of all the costs you think you’ll encounter it’ll be easier to create a budget that’s realistic.

Here is a summary of the most basic costs to consider when moving home:

• An Energy Performance Certificate is required on all homes that are sold
• Conveyancing Solicitor to handle the legal transaction
• Surveying your new property; essential to ensure your new home is ok
• Removals costs (including packing boxes)
• Cleaning your new home (eg. Carpets and curtains)
• New locks & cutting more keys

Keep an emergency fund

Even the most well thought out list of moving costs will not be exhaustive – little things pop up that you will be unable to prepare for. For example, you may find your sofas can’t be removed without taking off the window. If this is too expensive you could choose to buy a new sofa instead. An emergency fund will be essential in cases such as these.

Ask friends to help

Professionals charge considerable money for their time and expertise – if you want to keep costs down then ask your friends to help you. Whether it’s painting your new house, packing up your belongings or doing some electrical work, we all have different skills and it’s likely one of your friends will be a bit handy around the house. If you check in advance if your friends can help you, you’ll know you won’t have to budget for their services (although regular cups of tea and biscuits will go down well!).