Planning, Watching and Waiting for your property move in the wake of Coronavirus

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks hasn’t it. 

After the decision on Brexit on the 31st of January if you have asked us what the rest of the year would hold, we would have said that we hope that there would be no more bumps in the road for cast which would prevent our clients from renting, selling or moving into their dream properties in 2020.

Little did any of us realise that a few short weeks later, we would be in a situation where everything is up in the air again! We know that it’s definitely uncertain times for the moment, so for those of you that may have been in the middle of a house  move, or just getting ready to start thinking about putting your house on the market, here are a few tips for things that you can do whilst you’re waiting.

Start to prepare your home for sale or rent

If you were quite early on in your rental/sale journey, now may be a good time get “your house in order” before putting it on the market. Perhaps consider what jobs need to be one before the home is in tip-top condition for market and focus on getting these jobs done if possible. Get in touch with us if you are considering a valuation and we can get you booked in for as soon as is safe to do so again. Having this planned means that you will be ready to get to market as soon as possible once the current landscape starts to improve. 

Do your research on your planned move

If you are in the early stages of your moving journey, start to have a think about the different areas that you might like to move to and do some research into the kinds of properties available in the area and what’s available within your price bracket. Register for property alerts on areas you’re really interested in. It may also help to decide on what areas you absolutely aren’t interested in locally. 

You could also write a list of everything that you want in your next property. If you have a clear idea in your head about the negotiables and non-negotiables then this makes your move easier!

Review your Finances

Given the current financial state of the country and your personal finances, it may be that you find yourself having to rethink some options which could’ve been available to you the last couple of months. So make sure that you have a chat with your mortgage advisor or financial advisor, to ensure that your house move will still be realistic in the current climate and you can still borrow as much as you thought that you would be able to borrow previously as circumstances can tend to change quite quickly. 

De-Clutter

Whilst you are at home perhaps with less to do than an average week, now is a great time to try and clear some clutter, so grab a couple of boxes and start sorting out what you do and don’t need. Although charity shops may not be open, you can always store the boxes until they reopen. This means that you will also then only be moving with belongings that you want to move with. It’s also a good time to perhaps indulge in some pre-moving packing if you know that you are hopefully going to be moving in the near future. 

Already found your new dream property? 

Start planning your new space. 

Just because you aren’t currently moving into or nearly moving into your new home it doesn’t mean that you can’t start planning for your future space.

Start to visualise the new space in your home and consider how your current furniture will work in the space. If it won’t, then you can make lists of what needs to be bought either for new or replacement and start planning now so that you can get new furniture ordered once you have a moving date confirmed.

Similarly, you could start planning your garden and outside space, especially if you want to move in warmer weather. 

Familiarise yourself with your new area

Although you aren’t living in an area yet, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t start to do some research into the new area you are moving into via the internet. There’s lots of information to be found online, so you can work out where your nearest takeaway, corner shop, supermarket, park, gym, schools etc are and start to familiarise yourself with the local area. You could also consider joining some local social media groups for your new area, if you aren’t a member already. 

Stay up to date

It’s definitely important to keep in touch with your estate agent and solicitors at the moment, who can keep you in the loop about what’s happening with others in the chain, and can let you know of any changes or movement at this time. 

Keep calm and carry on! 

Easier said than done, but try to keep a cool head, and stay patient. Just remember that whilst it may be a no to moving for the moment, it’s not a no to moving forever

Think outside the box!

If your plan to move was time pressured due to changes in lifestyle or circumstance such as a new job, school places or a change in family circumstance, then please do come and speak to us, as we’d love to help you think outside of the box about different options which may be available to you, which could mean that you can still reach the goals you are looking to achieve through your house move, it might just be that you need to take a slightly different to more difficult or alternative journey to get there. 

We LOVE to help our clients, and even more so in the current climate, so why not give us a call on 01727 221290 and let’s help you plan for the next few months so that you can get going on your move again as soon as you are possibly able. In the meantime, please do stay safe!