Moving homes can be an extremely exciting time in your life. It signifies that the next chapter is on its way, and often this might mean an upgrade in your living situation. If not an upgrade in the physical size of your home or the quality of the area you live in, it might be upgrading your social situation, such as living with your beloved while about to start a family. Moving is an extremely wonderful time for most people, but it does require that we keep aware of all factors we must pay attention to.
Of course, one of the first considerations people think of when moving are the costs involved. This is not surprising; moving home can be very expensive. However, so can the hidden costs, or rather, the costs that seem to spring up the moment you decide to buy. These amounts can build up quickly, so it’s critical to plan for them in advance. Here some of the costs you need to keep in mind when moving home…
Stamp Duty
Stamp duty is not particularly a hidden cost, but it can be one that you might not keep in mind. If your home is worth a certain value, the mere act of moving paperwork and taking care of the application process will warrant its own tax. This means you need to calculate this in advance, and you can do so online. This will likely need to be accommodated for, and can obviously be added onto the final house valuation as one of those pre-emptive costs you understand and accept before making an offer. Good property agents will help you make this decision, but so will your own careful calculation. If you plan in advance, there’s no reason why this should limit the kind of property you can afford and search for from the beginning.
Moving Insurance
Moving your belongings from one area to another can be fraught with dangers to your property. Of course, for the most part removal companies are careful and willing to accommodate any and all requests that mean something to you. However, it’s also important to understand that you might need to pay a decent amount ensuring your goods are insured for the entire trip. For short distances, this might not be that much to consider. If moving long distance or even internationally, the cost of transmitting your goods will be much higher, and your insurance might even run into the thousands. It’s important to also factor this into the price of your home, as it’s likely when buying you’ll need to move by a certain date. Contacting your local removals company with the capacity to go long distance is important, because they can likely quote you an amount you can refer to in the future when it comes to budgeting your move.
Notary Public Services
If you are moving internationally, you might well need Notary Public Services to help with authorising legal documents or opening a new bank account, such as the services offered by Prosperity Law. This is another cost to be factored in, but one that could be essential to ensure a smooth move – either as a non UK citizen entering the country, or as a UK citizen opening a bank account abroad, for example.
Damage Collateral
This might not seem like a consideration, but often transporting goods ourselves, especially long distance, can lead to us damaging our own goods. When we damage our own goods we are responsible for them, and mostly no amount of insurance will help us with that. The removals company might mvoe your goods in pristine condition, but t’s always best to consider your own failings in this regard. This is because moving is quite a complex process. You need to not only manuevre your belongings but pack them, transport them and unpack them. It’s not uncommon for a person to drop, damage or incorrectly store items and thus lose out on their value. For example, storing a box in a garage susceptible to moisture might run your sofa cushion covers that you had paid a premium for.
This is not something that is guaranteed or that can even be assigned a set value from the outset, but it can be important to keep in mind. At the very least, having a working extra budget assigned for personal damages can help soften the blow if these things do occur.
Energy Tariff Costs
Of course, setting up your energy tariffs for your home will likely incur a set up charge, particularly if you’re hoping to switch providers. This can potentially take a few days to be provided in the first place also, so it’s important to keep in mind any extra considerations you might have in the first few days of moving. For example, it might be that no gas requires you to focus on takeout food or eating at restaurants – a fine and indulgent method of cheering yourself into your new home.
Some energy tariffs require payment in advance, while others might simply require a call out charge and a setup potential. This can be essentially important to consider when moving in, because you cannot evade this cost by any means at all.
Additional Setup Costs
There are many other costs that might come in apart from your usual energy tariffs. These might be your internet installations, your cable television provisions, and maybe even a payment to your local housing authority for a service rendered. For example, if living in a gated community you might be expected to contribute to the servicing of the front security station keeping your home safe. It could even be that your home has hidden damage in need of repair, such as a broken window or a damaged garage door. Again, allowing your working budget to work with you rather than against you in these circumstances can help you to no end.
In Summary
Before long you will find yourself set up and comfortable in your own home, but that might require some extra financial investment that you might not be realizing when excited to move in. Be sure to keep a large working budget to help you skirt around any issues, and to identify and calculate the costs that might be the most important for you to resolve.
With theses simple tips, you are sure to move into your new place without hassle or worry.
Do you have any moving cost tips to help plan finances and manage money? Tell me in comments!
* This is a collaborative post.