So we'll be moving in about a months time, and I'm looking into the options relating to doing the actual move. A self move is out of the option due to the amount of stuff to move and the size and weight of some of it like our double door fridge. We have (estimated) between 1800 and 2300 cubic feet of gear to move, which is something like five luton van loads. We're moving between 3 bed properties less than a mile apart. We could rely on friends, but everyone has kids + commitments and with so much had graft needed it's a bloomin' big ask. I've still got a couple of quotes to come in, but so far the two quotes I've had from local companies are for £2,300 and £3,200. Ouch! The local 'man with van' service has basically said no the move as there's just too much to move using the small vans the company uses, Anyone know of a decent removal company that serves the Guildford area? Other options or ideas?
hijack a stobart lorry? EDIT: on a more serious note, i've put word out with ppl i know in that vague area, If any of them can help out [or know who can] i'll let you know...
Have you tried pickfords? I've used them previously and the guys are absolute wizards. They had the entire house (apart from the bed a necessities) packed and loaded into the van by 3pm on Day 1, had the entire house unloaded in the new house in the correct rooms by midday on day 2. Not the slightest bit of damage to the contents or either property and very professional the whole way through. I found their quote to be pretty reasonable - IIRC around £1500 for packing and moving a 3 bed including loft and garage contents around a mile.
Do you have both homes in your possession right now? What my family did when most of the new house was renovated was to move over a suitcase or two of stuff each time they visited into the completed rooms. There was half as much stuff to move when it came to moving day so it only took a few trips in our friend's van. Mind you the homes were within two miles of each other.
OP mentions near Guildford. Surprised the quotes are this high for what appears to be a pretty easy job IMO.
Whoever you end up going with, make sure they're a known name and preferably have their own insurance. Also, check your home insurance to see if it covers you when you're moving house: many will state that they'll cover your belongings during removal, provided it's done by a professional removals company. At least if the removals company give you **** about damage you've always got your own insurance to fall back on. Disclaimer: I've worked for an insurance company as a claims handler.
I know this might sound a little OTT but have you ever thought of contacting a local haulage company? A 17T rigid curtain sider would set you back £400 as a 'day rate' inc driver maybe less as no diesel would be used ...? All you would need is a few helping hands from some friends would would be willing to hump some gear about ... Just putting it out there .. Oh im no expert on moving either as I could pack my life up into a couple of vans but I do know what haulage costs.
Plus.... loading a smaller van 5 times versus loading a bigger one once probably doesn't really save you much time. It'd certainly save you money, but I think a removals company is worth the money. The two guys we had for removals got all our stuff in one trip, and they were all done within an hour and a half - they'd got the sofa in the van before I even realised they'd started, and we lived on the first floor. Admittedly we had a lot less stuff to move than OP since all our stuff fitted in one Luton van...
I guess. but its not a 'van' . 17t rigid is 8m long,2.8m high and 2.4m wide. Im sure you could be surprised how much gear you could fit in one of those things. Is it a case of time vs money?
Needs to be said again, removes so much stress and hassle from the move (there's already enough stress in moving house) No packing up, no sourcing boxes or packing material (and no wondering if you have enough of them... I somehow never did, even when I thought I had way too many), no loading or unloading, no sore backs/arms/hands, no trips to the tip to get rid of the boxes afterwards, nothing broken, scraped, scratched anywhere and insurance coverage if the unfortunate does occur. One day your stuff is in your old house, the next day it's in your new house - without a doubt some of the smartest money I've ever spent. I can't believe I persevered with doing it all DIY (just renting a van) so many times before.
Van, lorry, whatever . To answer that, however... This. A hundred times this. When I moved recently I didn't really care about the cost. We had far more stuff than the last time we moved, it would have taken us far longer to move it, and it would have been quite easy to damage something in transit. Paying for professional removals meant that if something was damaged then the company insurance would cover it and my own home insurance would also cover it. Plus these guys do this stuff day in day out, so know how to pack a van/lorry in a far more efficient & safe manner than you or I do. Plus: no lugging stuff down from my first floor flat! It only ended up costing us ~£270 for 3.5 hours and we had time for several more runs by the time they were finished. We didn't need it though, the only things left were those which a removals company couldn't shift (two very anxious and, by the end of the trip, pissy cats) and those I didn't trust them to shift (my PCs with all their data! ).
You guys are prob right. Ive never had to pack a house up with a family etc and move. Agreed moving is very stressful! Im just a bit old skool i guess and normally just happy to throw everything into a van and crack on with it. Having somebody else do it does sound like bliss, but a couple of grand ..? Its pricey.
Yeah, we didn't really have that much stuff - although it damn well didn't seem that way at the time - and we boxed everything up ourselves. 2 child-less thirty-somethings moving from a rented (unfurnished) flat to a relatively small house is a bit of a different prospect to moving an entire family.
If you was closer I would offer, moving veteran done it so many times but then I have access to a long wheelbase tranny, Cheapest option would be Southern self drive and grab a van for the day, if you pack things in advance that you don't need everyday then the actually move day goes I've found quite smoothly that is if you have a friend to help doing it Solo would be hard.
Easiest and least stressful way to move? Do it yourself over a week, or longer, a little here and there takes no effort then round up mates with cars, vans, trailers and horse boxes for the final push which should be no more than beds, sofas and the TV. I appreciate not everyone can engineer an overlap but it makes moving so easy.
I've heard of some people just getting the large bulky items moved and doing the small things themselves. Is that a viable option?
In isolation it may seem expensive, but the way I looked at it is that you're pishing money up the wall left right and centre on everything else with a move (solicitors, surveys, stamp duty) that the cost of hiring someone is but another drop in what can be quite a big pot. £2000 for movers is expensive, adding ~10% to the moving costs is just "meh", and bend over and take it. Of course if it's rental to rental, then the only other moving cost is probably just a ~2 month deposit on the new place, so it's relatively speaking a bigger pill to swallow. Couple that with the fact that it's usually possible to engineer a week+ overlap when moving from a rental and it all becomes more relaxed and is tougher still to justify. I think moving between rentals and moving in a chain is an entirely different proposition, and it's important to distinguish between them - rentals give you the opportunity to overlap, there's no solicitors or surveys involved in the lead up to the move and it's pretty unlikely anything in the lead-up will call it all off, up to the day itself. Actually moving your stuff is all that's really needed, and when you have a week to do it, it's not the worst thing in the world IMO. On the other hand, when you have an overlap between zero and a couple hours and everything else to contend with in the few weeks before the move, not having to pack and move your stuff yourself is a lifesaver - worth every penny.
As Mr Tad points out - so much depends on the actual move, we had as much time as we wanted as we had decided to put our old place up for rent so it actually took about a month to move all our stuff. Doing this we were able to get a man and a van to shift the heavy stuff and about 50 to 60 pre packed boxes for circa £300. We pre packed as much as possible in the lead up, then post move we just did multiple runs between the houses (3 miles apart). Now if I had a single day to move then it would be a different matter, although 3 grand is a bit steep. I'd opt for a hybrid approach, pre pack as much as possible with the month lead in, de clutter where possible and save a bit. I'd still be looking for sub £1000 with pre packing the bulk.
