DIY Removals

CBush86

Hi can anyone offer any advice from experience please? My husband wants to do a DIY removals, we are in a chain of 4 so the thought of this is filling me with dread! Will it even be possible to do DIY removals if buying/selling on the same day?? Only moving 5 minutes down the road but it would take us a couple of trips as we would only be able to hire a luton van. Any advice appreciated!! 

AdrianC

When the chain completes, you no longer have access to your old house.
Until the chain completes, you do not have access to the new one.

One trip? Easy, Empty house, leave before completion, sit in van until after completion, empty van.

Multiple trips? Nope. You can't empty the van from the first trip until after you no longer have access to re-load it for the second. Unless you have somewhere else to leave things...

Or you hire two vans. Fill both, convoy to new property - or leave second van parked outside old house, walk back, collect it.

Grabs39

We did it as we couldn’t get removals in due to the rush after lockdown eased.

We would never do it again.  Took 4 van loads (LWB transit) so had to store most things at my parents over the weekend.  That was moving from a small 2 bed house and we’d thrown out a lot first.  Took a good couple of days to shift it all, then to shift it all back from my parents to the new place.

The removals quote was only a few hundred including boxes.  We paid £200 for a few days for the van and another £100 on boxes, bubble wrap, tape etc.

We were so exhausted after doing it as well, which took a lot of enjoyment out of the new house for the first couple of days.

Its a good job that 8PI was on Furlough as it took up a lot of my time.

Edit to add, it was a chain of 3 with simultaneous exchange and completion.  The date did move once which cause more stress.

GDB2222

It’s the filling and emptying of the van that will take time. Will you have lots of help on the day to speed this up? Otherwise, you’ll run out of time. 

Theoretically, you cannot complete your sale until the house is empty. Since that will take two van loads, and you cannot unload the van until you complete your purchase, you’ll need some very very understanding buyers.

A solution to all this is actually to hire two vans and load them up the day before. Then you each sleep in one of the vans, so nobody can drive off with all your stuff. 

By the time you have paid for two lots of van hire plus some help, will you actually save any money?

CBush86

Thank you, that has made the decision in my eyes... DIY removals is a definite no go! Much less stress to get the professionals on it! 

MovingForwards

Did it with the help of 4 mates, that took a few trips and I didn't have white goods. A van and two cars were used.

I wouldn't DIY again.

When I recently moved I found a local business advertising on gumtree, they did it effortlessly and I've since recommended them to people.

GDB2222

MovingForwards said:

Did it with the help of 4 mates, that took a few trips and I didn't have white goods. A van and two cars were used.

I wouldn't DIY again.

When I recently moved I found a local business advertising on gumtree, they did it effortlessly and I've since recommended them to people.

I assume you didn’t tell your solicitor. He’d have been horrified.

kangoora

Depends on how many 'mates' you can get to help out. Did it once myself in USA but had about 10 people turn up (friends/work colleagues), cost a couple of van hire, couple of crates of beer and a small mountain of pizza. BIL did it in UK, again 2 van hires and about 10 - 12 people - he cheaped out on the beer/pizza though so cost him less . Even with all the help we probably took about the same time as a professional moving company, maybe a little less.

Doing it yourself with maybe 1 or 2 helpers, I probably wouldn't consider it unless really stretched for cash.

iwb100

Seriously unless you have storage you can move to gradually ahead of the completion date just do not do this. You need everything packed in a van (or multiple vans) by say 11am ready to go on your solicitors word. You almost certainly can’t do this unless of course you have been moving gradually into storage. All that’s going to happen is you won’t be moved out and your buyers will be their with their big van and some grumpy removals men wanting to move in but unable to do so as you are still trying to get stuff out. It’s not worth it. Trust me. Also factor in you have enough to worry about and do on the day without being exhausted by 9am trying to lug your furniture around.

Girlisgettingthere

We moved on Friday and we had to move out and in on the same day. It was so stressful and we had hired a removal company to take the big items we only had to load up all boxes etc. We had to be out of ours for 3pm max and we ran out of time - we totally mis calculated how long it would take to fill cars with boxes then having to reload them at new house then return to load again etc. If I was to do it again I'd get a removal company to the do the whole lot. We were all exhausted by the time we got to the new house and there's so much to be done there too.

pinkteapot

You technically *can* do it if you're a FTB, or top of the chain, so can take your time. Middle of the chain so need to have the house empty by midday? Absolutely no way. 

A few years back we bought a 4-bed house and the people moving out DIYed it with a Transit. They didn't finish till almost 5pm. *Luckily* we were in rented and not moving in on completion day. If I'd been waiting with my stuff on a truck I'd have been absolutely raging at them. 

Even in a situation where you can do it, I'd always say DON'T. Buying/selling costs thousands. Spend the money on removals. Even if you can't afford a 'proper' removals company, these days you get some very good man-and-van type firms who do it a lot cheaper (just make sure you get a recommendation and don't just use the first guy with a Facebook ad and no reviews).

If you're middle of the chain you really have to make sure that you can get everything out in one trip - so need a truck or trucks big enough for all your stuff.