Should I stay or should I go?

This is the question that is on everyone’s lips at the moment.  Now there is talk of the Chancellor removing stamp duty so anyone considering buying or selling is going to sit tight and wait and see, bringing the housing market to even more of a halt, if that is at all possible in this climate.

Do you buy and sell now before prices drop even lower or just bite the bullet and, if you are able to sell your house and have found your dream home, move now?

It all comes down to the Ikea advert – is your house your house or is it your home?

There is never going to be  a perfect time to buy or sell, neither we can confidently predict when the market will turn.  Take your family’s needs into account and consider what works for you now.  If you need more space, or to be nearer good schools why wait – these improvements will be immediate and you can start enjoying the benefits straight away.

Consider that the moving process is never straightforward and it could take a good 6 months from starting to view properties to actually moving in.

The estate agent’s quick fix is to drop your price now for a quick sale – what pressure is being exerted on your seller to lower his price?  There is no point in moving if you haven’t made any money on your current property and you need to take into account the costs of moving from solicitors to estate agents to removal companies.

In the end it’s all about being in a property that you love and call home.  You can’t put a monetary value on yours and your family’s happiness and security but we all know these are priceless.

Upmarket Removal Firm meets Upmarket Chocolate Company

We are proud to announce that we have joined the Hotel Chocolat affiliate programme.  The company’s banners are proudly displayed on our website, encouraging our customers to “soothe their move” with chocolate!

Having been a member of Hotel Chocolat’s tasting club for a number of years, I am so pleased for Amber Moves to be associated with a luxury product such as this.  We feel that this is a brand that will appeal to our customer base who appreciate the finer things in life.  Moving house can be a very stressful experience and chocolate has the power to make you feel that little bit better about things.

Extract taken directly from their website, which says it all…

Chocolate… comforting, uplifting and inspirational, it’s no wonder we share a passionate and enduring love affair! And for lovers of luxury chocolate it’s an emotional necessity – food for the soul that will send your senses on an exciting journey. When delivered as gifts, by post or in person, gourmet chocolates have the power to thrill, especially if they’re unexpected.

The eternal problem of parking tickets on removal jobs

Moving home in London is never easy but there is almost always one certainty – that you will get a parking ticket.  Often these are issued even when the van in question has been given dispensation to park.  As everyone knows it is often a case of the traffic warden trying to reach his quota regardless of the contravention.

One would like to think that the traffic warden would see a removal van, with the company logo emblazened across it’s sides, and the removal men obviously loading and unloading, and leave them alone to get on with the job in hand.  Very often this is not the case, the ticket is slapped on, and no amount of reasoning or cajoling works.

We make a point of appealing against every ticket issued and our success rate is phenomenal.  We get off at least 8 out 10 tickets and even if the first appeal is unsuccessful, we appeal again.  A carefully worded, polite letter appealing to their sense of reason, even if the stated contravention did occur, is a very good tool.

We are fiercly protective of our customers and know that a £60 parking fine can be that final straw that breaks the camels back.

Join the fight and let’s challenge every ticket until eventually they capitulate.  Everyone needs to move home and it should be their basic right to have a removal van parked outside the front door at no additional cost.