Moving to a New Flat in the Same Building: How Easy Is It?
Perhaps you want a flat with more space, a better view or an alluring extra such as a balcony. Moving to a new flat is an involved process that still requires careful planning, but what if you're lucky enough to have found a new flat that's incredibly close, like in the same building? Moving into a new flat in your existing building seems like it will be a simple enough task, but is it really that easy?
Moving in Increments
The physical distance (or lack thereof) from your old place to your new place can be extremely beneficial. However, this benefit is only available with careful timing. If possible, arrange for there to be a short overlap between receiving the keys to your new flat and the date that you must vacate your old flat. This allows you to begin moving in increments, taking small items to their new location whenever time allows. And you don't need much time either. You could conceivably move a box to your new home during the ad break when you're watching TV.
Larger and Heavier Items
You'll find that most (if not all) smaller items will have been moved to your new flat before your official moving day, which will have been reserved for larger, heavier items. This is where the apparent ease of the process can run into some difficulty. Just because these items don't have to be moved over a great distance doesn't mean they can be moved all that easily.
Using the Elevator
If the building has an elevator, you may be able to handle moving some large items yourself. This is not a given, and residential elevators are often smaller than their freight counterparts, with a subsequently lower weight capacity. Perhaps the elevator can be used for moving certain items (confirm this with building management first), but it's important to acknowledge that it's unlikely an elevator will be able to handle all your furniture.
Professional Moving Assistance
Even though you're only moving within the same building, it's wise to hire removalists for the heavy items. Given the very real possibility that these items will need to be carted up (or down) several flights of stairs (perhaps with awkward angles), you need to be realistic. It's not practical to assume that you (and whichever family members and friends have been recruited to help) will be able to accomplish this difficult task. Since the actual time commitment for this type of move is lower than most moves, you might not need to engage the services of furniture removalists for the whole day, since they're likely to be able to get the job done quite quickly.
In some respects, moving to a new flat in the same building is very easy. However, it's important not to overlook the fact that you're likely to need some professional moving assistance.
To get started, reach out to a local removalist.