In many ways, there has never been a better time to sell your home, with house prices soaring and the demand among aspiring buyers racing record highs.
In May 2021, the number of people seeking a new home in Britain peaked at 153,472, with this many searches recorded during the month and in the wake of the worst of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, selling your home can still be a challenging and costly pastime. So, how can you save money when selling and relocating? Finance whiz Dan Stevens tells us how.
What are the Costs of Moving Home?
The cost of moving can be incredibly high, not least because you’ll first have to identify and purchase a new property before selling your existing abode.
Then there’s the cost of shipping and transferring your material possessions from one property to another, along with the mortgage repayments on your brand new home and the price of liaising with specialist conveyancing solicitors.
In terms of the former, you can at least store some of your home’s belongings in self-storage facilities in Liverpool and similar cities, but this also comes at a premium and long-term cost.
Overall, it’s estimated that the average cost of moving house in the UK is around £11,777, although this doesn’t include the price of purchasing a new property.
So, How Can You Save Money When Moving Home?
The question that remains, of course, is how can you effectively reduce these and similar costs? Here are some ideas to help you on your way!
- #1. Choose the Right Time to Move: Timing is everything in most facets of life, and this includes selling your home and relocating to a new one. Certainly, choosing to move during the off-season can reduce costs considerably, while the absence of demand can also increase the speed and efficiency of your relocation. Currently, the summer is thought to be the busiest time for moving home, while the process is much cheaper during the winter months.
- #2. Declutter the Home Before You Move: It’s also important to remember that clutter can directly increase the cost of moving. After all, the process of packing, shipping or storing items will increase directly in relation to how many material possessions you own, so decluttering your property and discarding unwanted items prior to the move can save you money. Interestingly, this may even create a more appealing minimalist space that makes the home considerably easier to sell.
- #3. Reduce Waste Where Possible: You’d be surprised how costly waste can be when moving home, from the amount of food that you leave behind to the use of excess cardboard boxes that are subsequently discarded after your move is completed. So, try to plan meals out before the move so that you don’t leave excess food in your old fridge or cupboards, while you should take the time to recycle your cardboard boxes once you’ve finished with them.
