How do we know what will fit?

We measure the pieces you are unsure about against the new property at survey. Send a floor plan ahead if you have one.

Should we sell things first?

Rarely, if you can avoid it. Selling under deadline pressure produces poor prices and regretted decisions. Hold the uncertain items and decide once you are settled.

Can items go to different family addresses?

Yes, planned into the same job. Much cheaper than arranging it separately afterwards.

Can you help with the packing?

To whatever depth you want. On a downsize the small possessions take far longer than the furniture, so it is worth starting early.

Can we move in stages?

Often the best way to do it. Essentials first, the remainder when the rooms have told you what they take.

The owner · OWN

Downsizing in Romford

Moving from a family house into something smaller. Havering does more of this than most London boroughs, and the removal itself is rarely the difficult part — deciding what goes is, and that deserves more time than a moving week allows.

Our strongest advice on this page is about sequencing, not about vans.

How a downsize is handled

Fit assessment What the new rooms will take, measured against what you have, at survey.

A marginal list The pieces that are genuinely uncertain, identified rather than left to the day.

Staged moving Essentials first where it helps, the remainder once you can see the rooms.

Holding Somewhere for the undecided items so nothing is sold under deadline pressure.

Distribution Deliveries to family members as part of the same job rather than as a favour later.

Disposal run One drop at a charity shop or recycling centre for what is not travelling.

Do not decide everything in one week

This is the thing we would say before anything about vehicles. In the week of a move you are tired, you are surrounded by boxes, and every decision feels urgent. Decisions made in that state get regretted, and things get sold for less than they are worth.

The alternative is straightforward: move what you are certain about, hold what you are not, and decide once you are in and can see what the rooms actually take. It costs something to hold goods. It usually costs less than the alternative.

Measuring, properly

At survey we measure the pieces that matter — the dining table, the wardrobes, the three-piece suite — against the dimensions of the new place. Not to talk you out of anything, but so the conversation happens with numbers in it rather than hope.

Send us a floor plan of the new property if you have one. An estate agent plan is rarely precise but it is enough to flag the obvious.

Things going to family

A downsize frequently means items going to children or grandchildren at two or three different addresses. That is much cheaper handled as part of the same job than as a series of favours afterwards.

Tell us at survey where things are going and we will plan the loading order around it.

What tends to be underestimated

The garage and the loft, as ever. And the sheer quantity of paperwork, photographs and small possessions accumulated over decades, which takes far longer to pack than the furniture does.

If you want help with that side, say so early — packing spread over weeks is calm, and compressed into a weekend it is not.

Downsizing

Questions about downsizing

How do we know what will fit?: We measure the pieces you are unsure about against the new property at survey. Send a floor plan ahead if you have one.
Should we sell things first?: Rarely, if you can avoid it. Selling under deadline pressure produces poor prices and regretted decisions. Hold the uncertain items and decide once you are settled.
Can items go to different family addresses?: Yes, planned into the same job. Much cheaper than arranging it separately afterwards.
Can you help with the packing?: To whatever depth you want. On a downsize the small possessions take far longer than the furniture, so it is worth starting early.
Can we move in stages?: Often the best way to do it. Essentials first, the remainder when the rooms have told you what they take.

Tell us who is signing

Owner, tenant, landlord or executor — plus the two addresses and roughly what is going. The first of those decides how much of this job is recording.

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