5 tips to make your house move hassle-free

5 tips to make your house move hassle-free

Being the largest city in south New Zealand, many families and homeowners are still finding their feet three years after the 2010 earthquake uprooted the city. Moving houses across this wide area – already a monumental task – has become decidedly harder.

But the basics of moving house remain the same and the keyword is: checklist. Following up that checklist by hiring the most suitable company to help with house relocationservices is often the hardest part, but first, here are 5 tips homeowners should follow to ensure a hassle-free move.

1. Keep people and organisations informed

Identity theft is growing issue, and in the hurry to move house and ensure everything is packed, many homeowners forget to inform banks, service providers and other billing agents of their move, so anyone who opens the mail is privy to private information ripe for fraud. Inform your local council, the children’s schools, as well as electricity, gas and other utility providers of your move. Use mail forwarding if necessary. More importantly, ensure your new home is all set up and billing figured out before the move. You should be able to unpack in comfort and ease.

2. Get rid of the clutter

Packing has to start weeks in advance, so you only bring along what is necessary. Arrange your belongings by room or upstairs/downstairs. Too often, many leave the packing to the last minute and end up throwing unrelated items together, making unpacking a headache.

3. Choosing a removal expert

Simply travelling to your new home across the big city can take hours, so even if you want to save money by unpacking the stuff yourself, consider forking out a bit more so removal experts can deftly pack and unpack the boxes in a few hours  - in what would have taken you a whole day - after a long drive. Does the company provide storage facilities too? How experienced are they with handling fragile items? All these factors should be considered when choosing house relocation services. Some companies even offer complimentary auction services if you want to make a quick buck out of your unwanteds.

4. Managing manuals and how-to guides

Too often, moving houses means lots of manuals get displaced. If it was years since your last move, setting up the TV or operating the fridge is going to be troublesome when you realise you left the manuals in another box, or in the old house. Keeping the kids quiet and the food fresh will then be added to your list of worries.

5. Be prepared with basics

Just like a plane ride, keep a bag of ‘basics’ at hand for the day of the move, from toiletries to a fresh change of clothes and snacks. The best-laid plans can go awry; so if boxes are left behind, or the truck is late due to traffic or your keys cannot open the door to your new home, you have at least a day’s worth of essentials while you iron out any issues.