DIY Home Improvement Tips – Kitchen Improvement – Living Room Improvement

Preparing your old house for sale

If you’re selling your house, you have to do several things to ensure its ready for a smooth and easy sale. You can hire an estate agent, interior stager or complete sales teams to sell your house – or you can do it yourself.

Houses are considered to be easiest to sell when they are clean, tidy, free of clutter, and the walls are neutrally toned – some sites and experts suggest painting your walls white, others suggest that you should paint them with pale, neutral, matching colors. If this isn’t possible, it is important to make sure your walls are clean – removing clutter and cleaning woodwork and painted walls, can give your room a much needed lift.

If you’re de-cluttering, you can also begin packing whilst doing so, but considering some houses sell up to three months before you’re planning on moving OR up to a year after you’ve moved, its also important not to plan to sell straight away, unless your house is in a highly sought after area, and you’ve got a good, competitive price. If not, you might be in for quite a wait on selling your house – and you also have to find a new place to move to yourself.

Estate agents, and Realtors do a great job of selling houses, but in an ever increasingly competitive market, you have to do very unique things to sell your house – it has been reported that some people are offering new cars, or paying the tax on your house for the first year of your stay in the new house. The housing market is always expanding, but you can’t sell just anything – dilapidated houses can’t simply be considered ‘fixer uppers’ and all houses for sale have to meet ever increasing stringent codes – or have new owners that will fix these to meet those codes.

Painting, and Decorating

Painting, decorating and other ways to make sure your house is in a good condition to sell.

House selling has become a very competitive market, and though people are desperate in some areas to buy a house, its important you take care to ensure that the you’ve done all you can to make your house as attractive, safe and saleable as possible.

It is said that the average house buyer has no vision which means you need to make their ‘envisioning’ themselves within the house as easy as possible.
Dark paintwork is a definite turn off as are stained, worn or smelly carpets both of which need to be taken care of.

On the latter, you could offer an ‘allowance’ or remove a fraction of the house costs for carpets or, if you can, invest yourself and replace them, to allow a possibly higher sale price. Walls should be painted off white, or antique white or possibly very pale and pastel shades if you’re planning on redecorating you may have no option if your walls are stained, marked or damaged.

Its also a good time to ensure that everything that you’ve been meaning to repair is taken care of is actually done a faulty stair tread, banister or fence in the garden may only be a minor annoyance to you, but can be a danger to anyone looking at the house.

Its hard to sell your house without help, but one of the biggest tips you can take to ensure your house sells is to make sure you’ve removed your ‘imprint’. Looking at the house impartially, remove anything that screams ‘my personality’ and ‘my personal space’.

Things like photos, pieces of unique artwork, and ornaments and more can be removed before people come to view the house. Remember they want to buy the house, not feel how you lived there, so if you haven’t finished boxing up your non essentials by the time you start showing them the house, its time to consider whether you really need the clutter still unpacked or whether its time to put it in the bin.

Moving House

The average person moves house several times in their lifetime. Moving for a job, more space, or a change of scenery, its one of the most stressful, and rewarding times for the majority of people. From moving a few doors down, to across a continent, moving house is one of the most important things, and sometimes the hardest to organize.

From collecting supplies – buying boxes and tape, to packing your house up, cleaning and moving to your new home, its an adventure for all involved. Small and home offices are also usually quite interesting to move – a new area for local clients and a nightmare for people that run services online, so its important to plan accordingly and ensure that you’ve made plans to cover yourself during the move. Your small office may be the last thing you actually pack fully, but you can start by cleaning through your paperwork and ensuring everything you’ve got has storage – if you run a craft business or have a hobby that takes up space, its always good practice, as soon as you’ve heard you’ll be moving, to start clearing and boxing up your non essential supplies.

It takes careful planning to move house, but you can do so via the web at http://movingplan.com or http://helpiammoving.com – two great sites that help you plan your move and give you an idea where to start. Most importantly, you need to start planning as soon as you know you’re moving – so that you’re as organized as possible.

Whether you’re selling your house or moving due to a new baby, need for more, or less space, because you’re renting and need to move on, or are going to let your own house and move into another one – moving can be stressful….but it can also be a lot of fun.

Hiring a company to move you

Hiring a company to move you is something that you may want to consider if you’ve got enough money to do so, and can’t afford the time to do it yourself, or its impossible for you to pack and move.

Moving companies offer several great reasons to hire them – with different levels of service. From companies who will show up and move you and your belongings to companies who will pack, clean and move your belongings from place to place.

There are also more and more ‘complete’ package companies springing up, designed especially professionals – allowing them to move to their job, without the hassle of it all. These companies do it all – from finding a suitable house within your price range and requirements, to packing you and moving you in. Some even unpack at the other end for you.

You’ll need to check any company out thoroughly before hiring them – each company should be vetted to your satisfaction, with viable references, if possible. You should also search for any complaints or comments about them online, and see what comes up. These recommendations should also contain information on whether they were prompt, priced fairly, or added additional costs.

You may also want to ask the company themselves for references, and information on when their cheapest and most expensive times are to move. You may find moving midweek to be far more cost effective, as weekends always carry a premium.

The company you eventually choose to move you will want to come out and inspect your home, to work out what they will be moving, and to provide you with a quotation, so you may want to de-clutter before they arrive – they will take an inventory, in some cases, with you and decide what your quotation will be. These companies will also provide you with a complete overview of their insurance – review it carefully so you’re sure of what they cover and what you’re liable for, should the worst happen.

Five Top Packing Tips

1) Boxes are a staple for moving because they are usually quite regular sized, easy to carry and if taped together correctly, rarely fall apart. Regular sizes are important for maximizing your van space and ensuring you’re not wasting areas in your transport that could otherwise be filled. On the flip side, bags can be compressed anywhere! It is possible however for bags to be mistaken for rubbish.

2) Bags are good for items like clothing, and bedding, and when you’ve ran out of boxes to pack anything. Teddies and soft toys work well in bags – edged objects, or items that are likely to be too heavy to carry in a plastic bag would probably work better in boxes. Bags also work well with linens.

3) Whilst packing, it’s important to maximize space – and pack your biggest objects first, and fill space around them. Books are easiest to pack, odd shaped, awkward items such as ornaments and other items are the worst to pack, and both types should go in boxes, as should dishes and other objects that are considered fragile.

4) Mark all boxes and bags (if you can) carefully – it makes them easier to find things in, and to sort into rooms without having to break them open. This will all help in your new house. Always remember to mark bags you’re using for belongings clearly so that they don’t get mistaken for rubbish – or buy completely different bags for your rubbish and your belongings.

5) While it may only take you a couple of weeks to pack, it can take eight weeks – or MORE to unpack at the other end – so though you’re ‘just boxing items up for a couple of days’ remember that you may not find it for up to two months, or perhaps more.

Finding a new house

The adventure of moving home generally starts properly when you look for a new house.

Moving home, though stressful can be a very rewarding experience, but its important to keep several things in mind when moving. These can include the welfare and comfort of your children, the support structure you’ll have when you move (are you moving nearer your family, further away from your family?), ease of commute to your job, schools and more.

Children usually feel moves the most, as they often find it hard to settle into new environments and like, above all else, security, and safety. If the move is in relation to a family separation, it’s important to include them in the process where at all possible, and ensure their voices are heard when picking a house.
Often you can research amenities, such as local shops, schools, leisure areas and more online, which may ease the burden of investigating all of that personally. Highly rated amenities should make it easier to choose between two areas, but its also important to consider what you’re looking for in an area.
Your job too plays a huge part in picking a house – can you easily travel to your place of work, and more importantly, is the area able to offer a similar job, should the worst happen?

You can also balance isolation and city life with what you prefer – if you prefer a quieter pace of life, its better to move to a town, though you may find that houses further out of cities may cost slightly more. But you will obviously find that the houses give you more room, including – possibly – a garden. With all the choices you may have to move houses, the best decision you can make is one that leaves you satisfied, and gives you the closest to your perfect match of needs and wants as you can find.

Booking your Van

Unless you’re moving a very short distance and can do many hops in your own transport – or if you’re moving with a group of people (such as in the Military), or your family has access to a suitable van, its important to book your van as far in advance as possible, to allow you to ensure that you get your van.

You can collect quotes online based on your move date and expected destination – and the phone and confirm and discuss these quotes if necessary. During this phone call, you can also ask about anything you’ve got concerns about, if anything.

You’ll need to decide whether you’re moving yourself and just hiring a van, or hiring a van and moving team. Or even hiring a company to take care of it all, from packing to moving you to your new home and arranging your belongings so that you can unpack.

You may also need some basic information on the amount of items you want to move, the sizes of your bulky items, and whether you’ll be moving into a house that’s up stairs or an elevator – and what access you have, as some companies charge premiums for this if you’re using their team to move. Access includes whether its a long way to your front door, or if parking is readily available, or conversely, difficult.

Booking your own van can be pretty straight forward – once you work out how large a van you need. An average four bedroom house requires around a ten tonne van, but some families have less belongings, and some have more, so its important to judge carefully and ask around rental firms for their opinion. You’ll may also have to pay a deposit on your van so you should take that, and your petrol requirements into account – so that you can budget accordingly. These may or may not be included in your final price for rental, so you may need to look closely at each quote before deciding which one works for you.

Booking a Removal Company

When booking a removal company, its important to do so as far in advance of your move date as possible – removal firms who do all of the packing and moving for you expect to be able to come out and assess your belongings, for insurance and van/person ell cover.

It?s important to de-clutter, or have a guesstimate of how much you’ll have de-cluttered before you move so that they can give you an accurate quote. If you overestimate the space you need, you’ll not get a refund, and find that space is wasted especially, if you book a larger van than you require. Too small and you may find that your belongings don’t fit, or that you get charged extra. You also might not get to move that day, if they have to unload one van and reload another, or book another transport for your belongings.

Allowing a company to pack your belongings isn’t without risk, so before you hire a removal firm be sure to check their credentials and references thoroughly. You’ll have items you don’t want them to pack – make sure you pack them yourself, or tell them, clearly what you expect them to pack and not pack. Its always good to take an inventory before allowing anyone to come in and pack your belongings – and if you can, take photos.

Most companies provide insurance and are consummate professionals, but some can cause more damage than the cost of hiring them, and its important to have redress when moving belongings. Their insurance should be carefully examined to make sure it covers everything – this will also give you an idea of what they will and won’t pack – and what extras (such as mattress covering) they’ll provide. Companies can come in and pack your house in as little as two days – so its important to know what to expect and when to expect them. You will want to stay and watch them packing (and possibly pack some of your own things) so make sure to allow for that when planning your move.

Two Weeks to go

At 14 days out you’ve got less than 12 days to pack, cause your last two days are going to be taken up by cleaning and packing bits you missed. With two weeks to go you’ll probably want to consider telling your mobile phone provider that you’re moving, and consider letting your regular clients know that you’ll have a new address.

Most businesses have items shipped to them if your suppliers deliver to you regularly, you will need to contact them to let them know that your address is changing. You may also want to contact your mail provider and if necessary, arrange a mailing redirect.

Mailing redirects are a great way to make sure you don’t lose your mail without having to remember or track your mailings you should always confirm with the post office depot in question what this redirection service covers and whether its available to you. They will be able to advise you on how best to take care of this, and probably advise you of anything that can’t be redirected, such as parcel deliveries from third party delivery companies.

You should never redirect your major bills, such as your bank statements, credit card statements, notices of payments from people or anything that can be used as ID with the increase of identity theft on the rise, its important to consider what you’re going to be leaving behind when moving. You can’t guarantee that the people moving in to your old home will forward your billing information or other sensitive documents, so its important to ensure you know what you’ve got to transfer and keep a list so that you can mark off what you’re transferring bills.

By now you should also consider paying any deposit if you haven’t done so or made arrangements to do so already. From here on in, your move is most probably assured and things should seem a bit more secure.

Three Weeks to go

At three weeks to go, you’ll hopefully have finished packing your cupboards – you’ll be able to start packing any non essential belongings and put them away too. If you’re painting any rooms, its a good idea to try to do so in the next few days, so its all ready, and order any packing supplies you want or need. Ordering as far in advance is important because you’ll have the supplies on hand.

You can start investigating schools in your new area and list any questions you may want to ask. While considering which the best school in the area is, you also have to consider how accessible it is, whether there’s a school or public bus route to take your children there and whether you need to pay for this.

Your quotations should be coming in now too, from those that you’ve requested them from, and they should be making appointments to evaluate your belongings, to decide what size of van you’ll need and how many men you’ll need to help you move – or just the size of van you’ll need. You should have chosen your new utility provider by now, and have any forms you need to fill out for your bank, so that there’s no delays in changing your details to your new home. If you’re letting, you should also have a lease by now, with details of what you are going to have to take care of on moving in.

Your Internet is also something you should start closing down, and let them know when you’re moving if they have to come pick up (or move) your equipment, now is a good time to arrange this. Internet service providers have a minimum notice clause, so its good to make sure that you meet this, or you may be over billed, or fined.