Everyone knows that moving house is up there with bereavement and divorce as
one of the most stressful events in life. So stressful, in fact, that a
recent survey by Firsthips.com, an online provider of home-information
packs, found that 2.2m British homeowners have vowed never to move again
because they found the experience so exhausting.
So, why not employ someone to do it all for you? That is what Nick and Mary
Moore did when they moved from Doncaster to Leeds last year. The Moores, who
have three children, Annabel, 9, Lucy, 7, and Oliver, 5, employed
MoveMinder, a “lifestyle service” company based in Cleckheaton, Yorkshire,
to organise their move – and promptly went on holiday. They returned to a
new house with curtains hung, beds made and food in the fridge.
“I didn’t have to do anything other than take my knickers with me,” says Mary,
41. “It was absolutely stress-free and wonderful.”
MoveMinder is just one of a growing number of companies that aim to take the
hassle out of moving house. It will find the best deal on removal firms,
clean both the property you are moving out of and the one you are moving
into, unpack all the boxes and make the beds. If required, it can also check
sell-by dates on food, arrange furniture and even put your CD collection in
alphabetical order.
Among recent challenges, Fiona Hose, the company’s founder, has arranged a
move from a four-bedroom house to a one-room flat; redirected countless
pieces of post; and organised the transfer of an extensive whisky collection
from one property to another. “It’s a lifestyle service,” Hose says. “We do
whatever people want.”
It is a formula that appears to be working. Hose’s company has recently
expanded from its Yorkshire base to open a London service, and she is
thinking of franchising the idea.
So, how does it work? “Usually, a move will be at least two days,” says Hose,
who charges £325 per day for the service in Yorkshire and £375 in London.
“Included in that would be going to see the premises people are moving out
from, and where they are moving to, getting the necessary quotes from
removal companies and notifying people of the change of address.”
On the big day, the company will book clients into a hotel. “We take care of
their old house while they relax and, the next day, put everything to rights
in the new one,” she says.
Some companies will oversee the process from an even earlier stage. Seamless
Relocation, a London-based company that specialises in helping older people
move house, will obtain quotes from estate agents and arrange for standard
searches on property, as well as helping to declutter a home and auction off
unwanted items.
“A lot of people use moving as a time to get rid of things,” says Cheg
Abraham, founder of Aegis Home Relocations. “We’ve had to sell red telephone
boxes that were concreted into the garden.” The company, which assigns each
client a dedicated move manager, available 24 hours a day, will also source
ballet schools in a particular area for dance-mad children, pack and unpack
everything, and stock the fridge with food and champagne.
Most move managers have had a fair few esoteric requests from their clients.
“We had one young couple who had a number of exotic pets – a couple of
chameleons and several tarantulas,” Hose recalls. “They dealt with the
tarantulas, but the chameleons had to go to a specialist store for a week to
acclimatise, so we did that.”
Pets, apparently, are a common worry. Kim Tompsett, co-founder of Seamless
Relocation, was once called in to look after six temporarily homeless
goldfish for a week until a client completed her sale, while Abraham was
asked by one client to find a new home for 200 koi carp.
As well as getting rid of things, move managers will source items for clients.
Emma Fenton, who runs a children’s boutique in Ilkley, Yorkshire, employed
MoveMinder to oversee her family’s relocation from a barn conversion to an
old Victorian vicarage in July. Fenton, 38, wanted a dishwasher in the new
house – so Hose researched models and prices, then arranged for one to be
there. She also had a large trampoline installed in the garden – a present
for Fenton’s daughters, Mia, 6, Evie, 5, and Lexi, 18 months.
Abraham describes such attention to detail as “trying to create enthusiasm for
the move” – especially when young children are involved. “We had one client
who had a young daughter,” he says. “We matched the colour of her pink room
so that the new room was painted in exactly the same shade.
“We took digital photos of her old room and placed all her possessions in the
same position. She went to bed one night in her room, and the next night she
was in an identical room, just in a different house.”
Ultimately, he says, it is all about easing the transition. “Human beings find
it difficult to up sticks and change their circumstances. It’s nice to have
someone independent there to say that it’s all going to be okay.”
MoveMinder, 0870 458 6448, www.moveminder.co.uk;
Aegis Home Relocations, 020 7258 0636, www.aegisrelocations.co.uk;
Seamless Relocation, 020 8621 3553, www.seamlessrelocation.com
The final countdown
- Get at least three quotes from movers. An online search system for obtaining
them can be found at www.helpiammoving.com.
Look for those registered with the British Association of Removers
- Meet your movers before the big day, and check the terms and extent of their
insurance cover
- Start packing at least four weeks in advance. Declutter along the way; you
don’t want to pay to move something you will only throw away later. Label
everything clearly, and separate items that will go in the van from those
you’ll be taking with you
- Ensure that utility companies are informed of your change of address: www.iammoving.com
will provide your new address to a list of companies that you nominate
- Put together a removal emergency box – tea, coffee, biscuits, first-aid kit,
string, sticky tape and marker pens. Remember not to pack the
kettle: a cup of tea on moving day is vital
- Don’t forget to leave behind your forwarding address
- Have a thought for the people moving in: leave clearly labelled keys for the
doors and windows, operating instructions for the central heating and the
appliances you’re not taking with you, readings for the gas and electricity
meters, and contacts for local handymen
- Make sure your property is completely empty before you go
