If you're contemplating moving house, the first thing you need is a comprehensive list. Fortunately the government's own website is surprisingly helpful. They tell you exactly what you should do, who you should speak to, and even provide a checklist you can print out.
Scope the area
Not decided exactly where to move to yet, or still thinking about putting your own house on the market? Gauge property prices and assess how much your place has increased or decreased in value with a site like Zoopla - it requires registration but so far I've not received any spam, so don't fear.
Find your dream location
When you're looking at specific properties, there are plenty of websites out there - RightMove and PrimeLocation are both user-friendly, allowing you to see the offerings from scores of estate agents, and filter your results by price, location and type of house. Then you can look at your personalised results, usually with galleries of each property, floor plans, and information about the local area.
Oh, and as for information about the local area, have a browse through the crime rates provided by the police - their maps tell you how much crime there's been in the vicinity and what kind of crime it is. If you're looking near a high street, the stats will probably be skewed by shoplifting incidents; if you're looking in the centre of town, there might be increased occurrences of anti-social behaviour around pubs and bars; so treat the figures with appropriate critical detachment.
By all means have a look on Google Street View to see what the road you're interested in is like - make sure you also look at the neighbouring streets.
Beware of bad debts
It's something you should do periodically anyway, but check your credit rating and make sure there aren't any bad debts attached to your address thanks to previous owners or tenants. Try out Experian or Equifax - they have a free service as well as a more detailed offering for a nominal fee.
Tell everyone the news
Once you've moved house, you'll need to notify a lot of people of your new address.Iammoving.com can do a lot of this for you, promising that they can email over 1500 companies and organisations of your change of details. Handy, but some users have complained about direct marketing after you've handed over your contact information, so it's up to you what you decide.
So once you've spent that time planning out your move online, you then have to take the next step - leave the comfort of your living room and wifi connection and go out and look at the actual bricks and mortar!
