If you’ve finally taken a leap of faith and become a property owner in Pakistan, congratulations. You are now officially set to move into your new home and breathe a sigh of relief with your family. However, before you move in, remember that there is a lot that goes into making a move successful. Even the smallest of mistakes while moving homes can cause untimely delays and extra charges.
Seems like the process isn’t as simple as you thought it would be? Not to worry. We have discussed the critical mistakes that people make when they’re moving to help you avoid the pitfalls along the way.
Leaving the Packing for the Last Day
This is one of the most common mistakes while moving homes. People assume that packing is all about throwing things haphazardly into boxes and loading them into a truck. However, the reality is far from it.
No matter how few belongings you may own, give yourself at least a month or a minimum of two weeks to pack up everything in your existing residence so you can move out in an organised manner. The only items that you should be packing on the last day are the essentials that you are using until moving day.
Over Packing the Boxes
A good rule of thumb for packing is to keep the small and medium-sized boxes for heavier items and use the largest boxes for the lighter load. This makes it much easier to carry each individual box into the moving van without damaging the goods inside.
Also, always remember to reinforce the strength of each box with packing tape. No matter how sturdy a carton may seem, fill it beyond its weight limit and its bottom will give out, causing damage to the items you’ve placed in it.
Not Labelling Your Boxes
Do you know what a nightmare you’re in for if you don’t label your boxes as soon as you get started with the packing? Imagine this: you move in, tired but happy, eager to eat dinner and get some sleep, but guess what? You look over at the piles of boxes the hired help just dropped off and start wondering: which one contains stuff for the kitchen?
Consider the ordeal you’re in for if this scenario happens for real. You’d probably be moving boxes and opening each one until you find the right one, which is not the way you imagined spending your first day at your new place.
To avoid this scenario, start labelling each box with a permanent marker as you tape it shut. This will help you stay organised and give you the ease of opening up only the box that you need.
Not Packing One Box of Essentials for the Moving Day
If you’re moving all your heavier items a day or two in advance, you must pack up a smaller box for all the essential things that you will need until the moving day. This box should contain a spare change of clothes, some toiletries and necessary medicines, chargers for your electronic devices, as well as a few plates, glasses, and silverware for the whole family.
This box will be your lifeline for the remaining days before the actual move, so do not forget to sort out items from your belongings for this box.
Delaying the Hiring of a Truck Driver
In Pakistan, moving companies are hard to come by, and most of us simply hire a truck driver with his vehicle to assist us with loading stuff into the back and driving it off to the new residence. While some of the truck drivers work alone, others have one or two co-workers who are a much-needed help, especially when you’re lifting furniture and other heavier items.
In general, truck drivers can be found and hired immediately and with ease, but when you are planning everything about the move, it is best not to leave this detail to chance. This is especially important for time-sensitive moves, where you need to move out of a rental place on a particular day without fail.
Hire your truck driver well in advance and make sure you communicate on matters like timing, costs of moving and other details beforehand.
Hiring the First Truck Driver That You Find
Never hire the first truck driver that you find just because it is convenient and a lot less time-consuming. You will be trusting the truck driver with all your life’s belongings, so make sure they are worthy of that trust. Take recommendations from your family or friends, especially if they have moved homes recently. Alternately, talk to your regularly hired help, as they may know of a relative or neighbour who owns a truck and can work for you.
Additionally, always have one family member accompanying the truck driver to the new address. This is not done just as a safety precaution, but also to ensure that the driver does not lose their way if they are unable to find the address.
Not Following Up with Your Truck Driver on the Moving Day
While you may have hired the truck driver well in advance, it is always a good idea to take their number when you confirm the date and day of the move. Having a direct number will allow you to call them up on the moving day to ensure they will reach your location on time as planned. You do not want to be left waiting for a truck that isn’t coming.
Moreover, while some drivers might ask for partial payment at the time of booking, it is advised to not pay any driver in full before all your belongings have been successfully moved. If your chosen driver is insistent upon being paid in full well before the move, you need to search for other alternatives.
Lifting Heavy Furniture without an Extra Helping Hand
Most of us cringe at the thought of asking for help when all we want to move is a sofa set down a single set of stairs, but guess what? Take that help. Your body and your family will thank you for it.
Moving a house is not about showing how much weight you can lift singlehandedly. It’s about making wise decisions that will help you retain your strength for later when you’ll have nobody to help you unpack. Hence, take the help you’re getting and make the most of it. This help can come from the people you’ve hired or even from willing friends or family members who want to make the move easier for you.
Not Processing a Request for Change of Address and Utility Bills
While your new house might already have a connection of electricity, gas and water set up, you will need to claim ownership of the property and get the bills converted to your name.
For this, you would need to visit the facility of each utility individually and get the transfer processed after showing proof of ownership of the new home. This process is only applicable to homeowners though. Renters can simply move into their new unit and the bills they receive will most probably be in the name of the property’s owner.
The same goes for the address that you have on your bank accounts and credit cards to name a few. Aside from that, if you regularly receive post from any source, update your address with them as well.
Not Measuring the Furniture before Moving
If you’ve finally made it to the moving day, congrats. This is it. You’ve worked hard enough to afford a new accommodation and the excitement level is off the charts, but what’s this?
You’ve finally gotten the 3-seater sofa off the truck and now it won’t fit through the door? Did you remember to measure the door’s width before ordering a new sofa set? How are you expecting to fit this piece of furniture into an opening that is simply not big enough?
Well, all such problems can be easily avoided by measuring the entryways and room sizes in your new home.
Underestimating the Cost of the Move
Moving does not just include the amount of money you’ve spent on buying the house. It includes the additional costs of hiring a truck and its driver, the cost of labour to lift up heavy equipment, the charges of change in address and utilities, the price of the packing material that you bought, the food you might order from eateries until the kitchen is set up and so much more.
This is why you need to be realistic about the expectations you have in terms of the finance required for the move and how much you might save or spend in the process. Underestimating the cost can upset your budget completely, so tabulate wisely and avoid one of the major mistakes while moving homes.
Rushing Through Unpacking
Unpacking your belongings in a calm and organised manner after the move is just as important as packing it properly. If you try to hurry through the work, chances are you will end up making a mess out of it.
Take it one box at a time or simply, one room at a time. Clean the room, set it up and move on in an orderly fashion. Do not delay unpacking for so long that it starts to become tiresome. Also, store away all the packing supplies that you can save after your home is set up. You never know when these items might actually come in handy again.
Not Changing the Locks on the New House
Even if your house is a newly developed project, the best way to secure your house in Pakistan is to make sure that nobody has a duplicate key for your locks, other than the people you handpick yourself. Therefore, changing the locks, at least on all of the external entrances of the house, is quite high on the list of things that people should do before moving in. Not doing so could, unfortunately, lead to a robbery or theft of your belongings.
Not Rechecking Your Belongings
Regardless of how trustworthy your truck driver and other workers might be, it is always a wise decision to keep a count on the number of boxes that you have sent ahead to your new home. This is especially important if you are making more than one trip, back and forth.
While most people will not try to misplace or steal a box during a move genuinely, it is a possibility. This is why you should always crosscheck all your packed boxes once the load has been delivered.
People often believe that moving a house, while challenging, is still doable on one’s own without the need for expert advice or help. However, if you want to ensure a hassle-free moving experience, avoid the critical mistakes while moving homes that we’ve mentioned above. Happy Moving!
Looking for the best real estate blogs in Pakistan? Your search is over. Stay connected to Zameen Blog, your top source of property blogs in Pakistan.
