How To Save Money While Moving House
Moving house is an expensive business. There are hidden charges absolutely everywhere, and you can end up paying out a lot more than you initially expected – especially if you’re a first time buyer and haven’t had previous experience. However there are some money-saving hacks that you can take on board and, even if you don’t utilise them with this particular move, they’re worth nothing for the future.
Haggle on the sale price
Any sale price that is out there is not set in stone. It’s negotiable – every single one is. You’ll find this out soon enough when you try and sell your home and get ridiculous offers coming in. You don’t know what the seller’s situation is, and they could be desperate to get rid of their home for reasons including family breakups, money trouble or disassociation, and you need to capitalise on this. Start with the lowest offer you can put in without offending and slowly work your way up from there. If the house is popular and you know it will be snapped up then maybe steer away from the low bids, but if it’s a place that will need a lot of work or is a project that you are taking on to do-up yourself then be as cheeky as you like.
See what extras you can get included
If you like the look of something in the house, don’t hesitate to ask if it can be included. It may be that it will only be thrown away or is up for sale anyway – when people move home, they tend to like a fresh start. What is their trash could most definitely be your treasure.
Use a moving company to save on gas and time
You may not have considered using moving companies as an initial way to save money, but they could just be the best thing you spend your cash on all year. They’ll help with the moving of furniture and boxes, travel with it and place it all in your new home. It’ll save on gas being used on multiple trips, as well as any costs that you may have had to pay out for van hire if you can’t fit everything in your car. It’ll be saving you a lot of time and hassle.
Don’t use an estate agent or realtor
If you cut out the middleman, you could save a lot of money. There are companies out there such as Purple Bricks in the UK which offer a low-cost price for an internet sale, receiving no commission. It’s the commission which can be a stinger when selling your property, as the more you sell for, the more they receive – and that’s after paying out for using them. There is the option to not use any alternatives to realtors apart from yourself, but you’ll need to hire a solicitor to deal with the legalities. This should only be a one-off payment and a lot less than you would normally be paying in commission.
