MoveKind Local move plan Local Move Plan · USD 29
Eight weeks to 21 November, Utrecht to Amersfoort
Every task, in the week it has to happen, with the four that have a legal or contractual deadline marked.
A local move is not one hard task. It is roughly sixty small ones, most of which are easy and four of which have deadlines that cost money if missed. This plan puts each one in a week, tells you who owns it, and marks the four that cannot slip.
Eight weeks is generous for a move of this size. Two items need doing in the next fortnight rather than later: notice on the current flat, because your contract requires a full calendar month, and the mover booking, because you are moving on a Saturday at the end of the month.
Deadlines
The four that cannot move
- By 21 Oct
Notice on the current flat
Your contract requires one full calendar month ending on the last day of a month. Give notice by 21 October to end on 30 November. Miss it and you pay December.
- By 24 Oct
Book the mover
Last Saturday of the month is the busiest moving slot there is. Quotes rise and availability disappears from about four weeks out.
- By 7 Nov
Register the new address with the municipality
Registration is required and has its own timing rules. Book the appointment now; it affects everything downstream from tax to healthcare.
- By 14 Nov
Final meter readings booked and energy switched
Energy contracts need notice. Doing this in the final week is how people end up paying for the next tenant's first fortnight.
Only the first two are urgent today. Both take under an hour and both get more expensive every week they are left.
Countdown
Week by week
- Weeks 8 to 7
Notice, movers, and a first sort
Give notice. Get three mover quotes and book one. Start the cupboard nobody has opened in two years, because it is always the one that delays everything.
- Week 6
Declare what is not coming
Furniture to sell or give away, listed this week. Anything unsold by week 3 goes to a charity collection, booked in advance.
- Week 5
Address list and utilities
Bank, insurers, employer, doctor, dentist, vet, subscriptions. One list, work through it once rather than remembering things for six months.
- Week 4
Municipality appointment and energy switch
Both booked, not just researched. Internet at the new address ordered this week, because installation slots are the most common arrival-week failure.
- Week 3
Start packing the non-essential rooms
Label by room in the new flat, not the old one. Two boxes a day beats a weekend of panic.
- Week 2
Cat, cleaning and the first-night box
Vet check and a carrier the cat has actually been in. Book the end-of-tenancy clean. Pack the first-night box and put it somewhere it cannot be loaded into the van.
- Week 1
Final packing and confirmations
Confirm the mover the day before. Charge everything. Cash or a card for anything unexpected.
- Moving day
Readings, keys, cat last
Photograph every meter at both ends. The cat travels with you, not in the van, and goes into one closed room at the new place with the door shut.
Cost
What it is likely to cost
| Item | Estimate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Movers, two people and a van, half day | USD 780 | Saturday premium included. Weekday would be about USD 600 |
| Packing materials | USD 90 | Cheaper if you collect boxes for free from week 6 |
| End-of-tenancy clean | USD 240 | Often cheaper than losing part of the deposit |
| Cat, carrier and vet check | USD 70 | |
| Internet installation | USD 60 | Waived by some providers on a new contract |
| Overlap rent, 9 days | USD 620 | The largest avoidable cost |
| Contingency | USD 290 | 15 percent |
| Total | USD 2,150 |
The overlap is nine days of paying two rents, and it exists because your new tenancy starts on 21 November and your notice runs to 30 November. That is a reasonable price for not moving in one day, but it should be a decision rather than a surprise.
Arrival
The first week in the new flat
- Meter readings photographed at both addresses on the day
- Municipality registration appointment attended
- Cat confined to one room for 48 hours, litter tray in with them
- Internet installation confirmed for the first working day
- Deposit return chased in writing within 7 days
- Post redirection active from 21 November
- New address given to the bank and your employer in week one
- First-night box opened before anything else is unpacked