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When someone moves home, it’s usually an exciting time that signifies the start of a new chapter in their life. They toast to new beginnings and get ready for the move, hoping that everything will go smoothly. While it can go smoothly in many cases, there are countless examples of home moves going south and turning into a nightmare. What should be an exciting period is now an excessively stressful one, even though it doesn’t need to be.
Situations like this arise when certain things cause complications during or after the move. By identifying these problem areas – and learning how to avoid them – anyone can ensure that their move goes as smoothly and as stress-free as possible.
Frequent Journeys
This post assumes that someone is in the final stages of moving home, which means they have already completed the sale and all of the legal and admin things are taken care of. Those are stressful in their own right, but one of the biggest concerns when actually moving is the constant journeys.
It’s not good for anyone’s physical or mental health to do numerous journeys back and forth between the old and new properties. Some people do this when moving to save money by avoiding a moving company, but the downsides can be too much. It is simply extremely exhausting to have to load up a car or van multiple times before driving it to and from a destination.
Think about the hours stuck in traffic, multiplied by the hours of loading/unloading, and it becomes an incredibly stressful situation – particularly if the move requires a 100+ mile round trip each time. This is why many homeowners decide to book a removals company to move everything over in one go. It gives them a move-in/move-out date, allowing for better preparation and less stress.
Lost or Damaged Property
One common reason people don’t always like working with moving companies is that they worry about the condition of their property. What if the moving company damages things during transit? Or, possibly even worse, what if some of the valuable household items mysteriously go missing?
It’s a genuine concern, though it can easily be avoided through one simple task: research moving companies ahead of time to ensure a trustworthy one is picked.
As demonstrated by Rambo 121, good moving companies put clients at ease by providing two key services:
- Protective packaging
- Insurance
The former ensures that all of an individual’s belongings are wrapped up and protected with bubble wrap and other materials, mitigating the chances of damage happening. Good movers also utilize straps when filling a truck to secure valuables in place and prevent too much motion in transit. Insurance also covers the cost of any damaged or lost goods during the move. It means that, in the worst-case scenario, the company will use its insurance to cover the cost of replacements or repairs.
Partnering with a good, trustworthy removals company can prevent this from being a stressful situation – pay close attention to recent reviews and testimonials; they’re the best way to see what customers think about a removals company.
Losing Security Deposits (Renters Only)
For some people and families, moving into a new home is a massive deal because it could be the start of their homeownership journey. A lot of families will now move from rented accommodation into their first homes, but this creates one particular area of stress during the moving process: security deposits.
When someone owns their home, they don’t have to pay a security deposit of any kind. However, when renting, landlords use security deposits to protect their assets (the property) against misuse. It’s normally a month’s rent, possibly more, and the deposit is held via a protected scheme until the tenant leaves.
The worry here is that the landlord retains all of – or a large portion of – the security deposits. It can mean that a family has a few thousand dollars less to use as they move into a new home, which is a lot of money. This normally only happens in two scenarios:
- The tenancy agreement was blatantly broken – e.g. the home was left dirtier than it was when the tenant moved in, there was damage to the property, and so on.
- The landlord claims the tenancy agreement was broken.
Tenants can prevent the first from happening by simply looking after the property and making sure they leave it in the same condition as they found it. In the second scenario, it’s not uncommon for landlords to try to claim some of the tenant’s deposit without any real evidence or reasoning. It’s therefore important for tenants to know their rights and to demand photographic evidence of any claims. If the landlord has no evidence against the tenant, then the tenant can easily take legal action to ensure they receive the full security deposit payment.
With a security deposit in the bank, it removes one stressful area of moving house and provides the movers with some much-needed additional funds.
Poor Home Condition
The condition of the home that’s being moved into can also cause a lot of stress during a move. Many homeowners are keen to remodel when moving in, but they still expect their property to be clean and tidy. What can happen is that previous owners or occupants leave it in a lot worse state than expected. It means a family can move into a home and spend a few days cleaning it with all their moving boxes everywhere.
Prevent this by ensuring that it’s written into any contracts that the previous occupants must leave the house in a clean state and remove any of their property from it. It’s also wise to visit the property before the move-in date, just to see the state of things. If it still looks bad, then it’s worth hiring cleaners to turn the place over and leave it in a much nicer state.
This will allow the move to go through without any unexpected surprises.
Moving home can easily become a nightmare for everyone involved, particularly when these problems are present. Knowing what might be around the corner is half the battle, and preparing for the unexpected will ensure that any house move is less of a nightmare and more of a dream.
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