Friday is the most popular day of the week to move house as it provides new homeowners with a long weekend of moving ’fun’ - unpacking boxes, hanging pictures and all the DIY that tends to accompany a move.

It is therefore likely other buyers and sellers in any associated chain transaction will also have claimed a Friday as their chosen day, so everyone else usually has to fall in line with this too, which makes sense.

It puts enormous stress on an interconnected network of conveyancers, removal companies, mortgage lenders, banks and estate agents. It is not unknown for people to be sitting in their car outside their new property waiting for everything to fall into place as the clock ticks ever onwards towards ’closing time’.

So, do try to aim for a completion date other than a Friday, and seek agreement from other home movers in a chain. There are several clear advantages:

1. Your estate agent, lender and conveyancing solicitor are likely to have more time available to help you, especially if any unforeseen issues arise.

2. Any confusion over transfer of electricity, water, gas, broadband etc can be sorted out during the week, so you won’t be left high and dry over the weekend.

3. Transferring large sums of money is surprisingly manual and banks are less likely to suffer a bottleneck mid-week. Funds must clear before access can be granted, but banks don’t work over the weekend.

4. If there is any catastrophic delay meaning that you cannot move in on your chosen early week day, it is more likely your removers will be able to keep your belongings on their van overnight.

5. Removal companies often offer discounted rates for a non-Friday move.

Here are a couple of tips to help you along the way:

â?¢ Declutter

When you are preparing your house for the sale photos declutter first. Don’t just throw in the nearest cupboard as you can guarantee when you have exchanged contracts with your buyer ’that cupboard’ will be the last thing on your mind. So declutter once - before you put the house on the market and do it thoroughly. The added bonus is that you will save money on packing boxes and materials.

â?¢ Dismantle in advance

It takes longer than you could imagine to dismantle a bed, a cot and the heirloom chest of drawers which has to come down three flights of stairs. Dismantle furniture as far in advance as possible.

â?¢ Leave out kids and pets

You may have a vision of your children running through the door of you new family home, excitedly choosing their bedrooms. The reality is that within approximately one hour they will be bored and possibly murderous. As for the dog, he’ll have run away. We recommend boarding the youngsters with friends or relatives and send pets to the kennels/cattery.

â?¢ Take a survival kit

Take a plastic crate and pack the kettle, milk, teabags, coffee, sugar, snacks, toilet roll, a bottle of your favourite celebratory tipple and mugs. Also, bin bags, cleaning cloths, multi-purpose cleaner, air freshener, headache tablets, a phone charger and tissues for that inevitable moment when you burst into tears.

â?¢ Don’t be too hard on yourself

No house move or house-mover is perfect.

Why not contact us for advice on how to achieve the smoothest of moves, with Black Grace Cowley estate agents.