1. Insure your new home

Once contracts have been Exchanged, you are responsible for insuring your new home. You will need to make sure Building insurance is in place at this point. Your existing insurance provider will often be able to put an endorsement on your policy to the effect that you can insure your new home from the date of exchange onwards, and continue to insure your existing home only up to the date of Completion. However, it might pay to shop around for cheaper insurance for your new home elsewhere. In any case, you will need to inform your existing insurance provider about the upcoming move.

If your new home is mortgaged, you must make sure your insurance policy satisfies the criteria set out in your mortgage agreement. Your solicitor will ask for a certificate of insurance to ensure the lenders’ criteria are met.

2. Book a Removal company or van hire

Now that you have a confirmed Completion date, you will know when you can move out of your current home and into your new one. If you are doing the move yourself, now is the time to book one or more hire vans and call in any favours you can from friends and family.

If you will be using a removal company for your move, you will hopefully have had at least quotes from at least three different companies and can now your preferred company to confirm if they are available. Pay attention to the specific services they offer and factor this into your decision: some will include furniture disassembly and reassembly; some will refuse to disassemble or reassemble specific items of furniture, such as cribs or cots; some will want drawers emptied and others want them left full. Most will refuse to transport paint, gas cylinders or any kind of fuel- so arrange to transport these separately yourself.

Make the removal company aware of anything that might impact the move on the day. If access will be difficult at either site (e.g., narrow lanes, or a bus-stop or school entrance directly in front of your new home) they may need to use smaller vans as opposed to a lorry, or you may need to contact the local authority to make them aware of the move and any likely disruption. If you need to arrange with neighbours to use their parking bays for the move, then this is the time to have those conversations.

Although your Completion day is confirmed, things won’t always go smoothly on the day. It might be worth paying a removal company’s Cancellation Waiver or Late Key Waiver to avoid incurring extra costs on the day and help minimise stress.

3. Arrange childcare

Children can feel unsettled and worried with a move going on around them, and as parents your attention is diverted to the removal task at hand; between everything, it can become chaotic and sometimes dangerous for small children. Even the most well-organised moving day is bound to be hectic. Your children’s beloved possessions will be packed away, nowhere to be seen, big boxes and furniture-in-pieces will be going to and fro.

Arrange for a trusted friend or family member to take your children for the day, maybe even have them for a sleepover the night before. This means parents can focus on the move without worrying about the children’s safety or immediate emotional wellbeing amidst the chaos! Older children will no doubt want to be around to help and ultimately get settled in their new room, but can still experience a range of emotions leading up to moving day, and beyond.

To help navigate the move with children, The Mummy Bubble has a guide to packing and moving with young children, whilst Family Lives offers a practical guide for a range of ages here. General tips include:

4. Pack children’s bedrooms last, and unpack them first

Make sure children have an overnight bag containing comforters and favourite toys/books. For older children and teenagers, phone/tablet and (most importantly) chargers will be essential.

5. Arrange pet care

With familiar items packed away, and picking up on owners themselves being stressed and out-of-sorts, it’s no wonder pets can feel ill at ease on moving day. Even worse, in the chaos of moving boxes and fittings, pets can easily get lost; the internet is full of stories of snakes found ‘loose’ in removal vans, cats found in rolled up rugs etc. One homeowner surprised to hear each removal company who quoted for them making clear that her rabbits “will have to be out of the hutch when it’s put in the lorry”- although this seems like common sense, they told her this had happened in previous moves and so they need to make it clear!

Suffice to say, it will be easier for you and your pet on moving day if they are safely out of the way and introduced to your new home once you have set up their bed and favourite things. Ask a trusted friend to look after your pets for the day or arrange a kennel stay.

5. Notify the Local Authority, Utilities and Services

After Exchange, you should notify the Local Authority and Water Authority about the upcoming move; this allows them to calculate the Council Tax and Water Rates due up to the date of Completion.

You will also need to speak to your energy supplier to arrange for your services to be disconnected and, if applicable, transferring your account to your new address. Some energy companies ask you to notify them on Completion day and will not take action before then; others can take notice to disconnect services after Exchange: speak to your energy provider to make sure you do what you need to, when it’s needed. Regardless of whether you are closing or transferring your account, the energy supplier will need meter readings on Completion day; if you have a smart meter, these may be taken automatically, but it is a good idea to take a photo of the meter readings for reference.

Similarly, you will need to inform your broadband and phone network supplier of your move. You may need to request your services are disconnected and account closed, or that you take your services with you to your new address if they serve that area. In either case, you will need to make contact and establish this. If you are closing your account, the supplier will ask for their equipment to be returned and might arrange this either by collection from your new address, or by courier.

After Completion, you will need to change your address with a whole range of organisations. Although you’re not there yet, it can help to compile a list of who you’ll need to contact and may want to set up a mail redirection service in case you forget to change your address with someone. As a guide, after Completion you’ll need to change your address with the following:

• HMRC and employer
• Banks
• Car and Life Insurance (assuming your Home Insurance provider is already aware of the move)
• Driving license – there is an online form for address changes here. 
• Vehicle logbook- complete and returns a V5C form
• Vehicle tax
• Online shops.  If you have regular orders or subscriptions with online shops, make sure to suspend your deliveries over the period between Exchange and Completion, and update your address after Completion.
• GP and Dentist
• TV Licensing authority
• Mobile phone provider

6. Compile paperwork for your old home

Compiling key information about the property and fixtures will be incredibly helpful to your buyers. Although the location of the gas shut-off valve, fuse box and water stop cock should be noted in the contract of sale, in an emergency this document is unlikely to be to hand! Create a small folder or file that you can leave with the new owners, detailing:

• the locations of the gas and electricity meters, water stop cock and meter
• warranties or guarantees for integrated appliances or other fixtures/fittings you are leaving
• instruction manuals for appliances
• forwarding address/contact details (if you wish)

7. Get spare keys back

Over the years, you may have given a spare key to a number of people: family, a neighbour, the estate agent… Make sure to collect these keys in good time before Completion. Depending on the arrangements for Completion day, you may need to give these to your estate agent to release upon receipt of funds being confirmed, or release these yourself.

8. Pack an ‘on the day’ bag, and overnight bags

With the vast majority of your possessions safely packed away, you will need to pack a bag with essential items you’ll need to hand on moving day. This could include:

• Toilet rolls
• Hand towel
• Dishcloth and tea towel
• Antibacterial surface spray
• Washing up liquid
• Handwash
• Snacks
• Cups or bottles for water
• Instant tea/coffee
• Kettle
• Bin bags
• Torch
• Small toolkit if you are assembling furniture yourself
• For each member of the household, also pack a small ‘overnight’ bag containing: toiletries, phone chargers, pyjamas and clothes for the next day, bedlinen and a favourite toy/comforter for small children.

9. Pack!

Your most obvious and pressing task between Exchange and Completion is to pack. Depending on how long you long you have between the two dates will determine just how pressed you are for time, but tackle the task steadily over this interim period and you will get there.

There are numerous guides on how to pack efficiently and carefully. The internet is full of advice, from packing hacks to common-sense tips. Your removal company will also give you a checklist and advise on packing your belongings, both general advice and tips specific to your belongings.

Some top tips include:

• ‘If it shakes, it breaks’: use blankets/throws/tablecloths/bed linen to fill gaps in between items in boxes. Give the box a shake, and if you hear objects moving, add something to cushion the contents and/or fill the gap.
• Start by packing the rooms and items that are used least. Summer/winter clothes and shoes (depending on when you’re moving!), items in the loft, study or spare bedrooms are a good place to start. You can then finish by packing the kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms etc. closer to moving day.
• If you are taking a garden waste recycling bin, ensure this is emptied ahead of your move date and fill the bin with long-handled gardening tools for the move
• Pack knives and sharp utensils in the mitts of oven gloves
• Consider labelling boxes with coloured stickers to make it easier to sort these into rooms of your new home. This can often be quicker than reading labels.

Disconnect your appliances (washing machine, drier, dishwasher etc) 1-2 days ahead of your move, so these are ready to go first thing on moving day. Defrost your freezer 1-2 days ahead of the move. Disconnect your fridge on the day of the move, moving any items in there to a cool box.

10. Plan

Use a floor plan of your new home to mark where furniture and boxes are to go. This makes it clear for whoever is moving your furniture and saves confusion on the day. It can also help identify any furniture that might not fit in to your new home, well ahead of the move: you still have a few days or weeks to sell or freecycle anything you can’t take! Rather than going to the effort and expense of disassembling or moving anything you need or can’t fit in your new home, deal with it now.

Nominate a member of your moving party to be at your new home to help direct where boxes and furniture needs to go, according to your plan. It might be worth having a couple of copies of this plan on the day in case one goes astray.