That just leaves us to pack up all our worldly possessions and move them to our new house. We need to find boxes and packing materials, wrap everything carefully so that nothing gets broken, get them all into a van and take everything to the new property. We will probably need to do more than one journey as few of us have the necessary driving licence to allow us to drive a large enough van to get everything into it at once. Having got everything to its destination, we now have to unpack it, assemble the furniture we dismantled earlier and put everything into drawers or wardrobes. We then are faced with getting rid of all the packing materials and boxes.

The main problem with doing all that is it will take days to undertake the removal, we are not covered for insurance for anything that we break. Also, removals professionals know how much weight they can safely lift and carry, you may not, so you might also avoid the pain of a sore back.

If only we had hired a removals company, who like our estate agent and conveyancer are professional and can take much of the stress away from the day of our removal.

A good removals company will offer a range of services from packing your possessions into boxes and containers using packing materials they have provided, right through to re-assembling and placing your furniture in the correct rooms and dropping labelled boxes into the appropriate parts of the new house, without you needing to break sweat. They will have a large, suitable vehicle and should the worst happen, they will be covered by their insurances for any damage or breakages that may occur.

So, how do we find a good removals company and ensure they are the best for our particular needs?

Firstly, find out which removals companies operate in your area. There will be small local companies which may be restricted in the area they cover, but will provide an excellent service to the local market and larger companies which operate nationally, or in some cases, internationally.  Both of these may provide the service you require, so once you have identified them, do your research.

Start online, use a search engine like Google to find “removals companies near me” and check price comparison sites like www.housemovepro.co.uk . This will give you details of who operates in your local area. If you’re not too tech-savvy, ask someone to search for you. Look at their websites to check that they have a genuine local address.

As with any service provider, it is always good to look for accreditations and memberships of trade organisations. With removals companies, look for organisations such as BAR – British Association of Removers, NGRS – National Guild of Removers and Storers, or AIM – Association of Independent Movers, to name a few. These organisations will typically look for certain standards of work from their members and may provide independent dispute resolution in the event something goes wrong. It is, however always worth bearing in mind that there are many professional removal companies that are not members of any of these groups, and continue to give outstanding service to home movers.

Find out how well these companies have performed with past clients by looking on sites like https://uk.trustpilot.com/categories/moving_company. Be wary of customer reviews on the company’s own website, particularly if they are all ‘five star’, ‘excellent’, as these may be only the feedback the company want you to see and any bad feedback has not been published.

Ask friends, family, workmates, neighbours or people who you know who have recently used a removals company. Find out from them, what experiences they have had with removals companies. Look at the company’s vehicles, most reputable companies vehicles are branded, with the company’s name in a prominent position.

It is also worth checking a removals company’s policy if there is a delay in the process and you are not able to get access to your new home in the expected timescale. If it is only a twenty four hour delay, will they charge a premium and if so how much. If the delay is looking more like a week, have they got a facility where they can safely and securely store your possessions and will your belongings be insured whilst in storage.

Moving house is not only a very stressful time for you and your family, it is a time when almost everything that you own in this world, are taken from you by a removals company, put into a van and driven off. They will potentially be stored if need be and eventually taken out of the van and put into your future home. At this time you have no control over your possessions and no matter how professional, reliable and careful your removals company is, accidents unfortunately can happen. On that basis, it is important to ensure that your removals company has adequate insurance and that any loss or damage will be covered by that insurance. It is worth noting that any items you may have packed yourself, may not be covered by the companies insurance and you could find you are liable for any damage or breakages to them. Also check the maximum value of items the company is insured for and if necessary, think about taking out additional cover yourself to cover specific items of higher value, both monetary and sentimental.

By taking time to do some research and fact checking, you may avoid a problematic or even disastrous house move and be able to quickly settle down in the comfort of your new home with your worldly possessions safely around you.