Published 2026 · Herts & Essex Removals
Buying a house involves a lot of moving parts, and it's easy for small tasks to slip through the cracks when you're juggling solicitors, surveys and a mortgage offer. Here's a practical order of operations to work through once your offer has been accepted.
Offer accepted
- Instruct a solicitor or conveyancer and get the ball rolling on searches straight away — this is usually the slowest part of the process.
- Book your survey. A basic valuation isn't the same as a full structural survey — decide which level of detail you need for the property's age and condition.
- Confirm your mortgage offer in writing and check the conditions attached to it.
While you wait for exchange
- Get buildings insurance quotes so a policy is ready to start from the day of exchange.
- Start collecting removal quotes — a home visit gives you a firm price rather than a guess, which matters once you have a completion date to plan around.
- Begin decluttering room by room. Anything you're not taking with you is one less thing to pack, carry or pay to move.
After exchange, before completion
- Confirm your moving date with your removal company and get it in writing.
- Set up mail redirection with Royal Mail so nothing important goes to your old address.
- Give notice to your current utility providers and arrange final meter readings for moving day.
- Update your address with your bank, GP, dentist, DVLA and anyone else who needs to know.
Moving day
- Keep a clearly labelled "first night" box of essentials — kettle, chargers, toiletries, a change of clothes — so you're not digging through boxes at 9pm.
- Take meter readings at both properties as you leave and arrive.
- Walk the new property before the removal team unloads, so you know where everything should go.
None of this needs to be stressful if it's spread out over the weeks between offer and completion, rather than crammed into the final few days.
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