Removals costs

We hope to be moving out to the CB later this year.... if our house ever gets the reform done.

I see lots of comments about moving and companies to do this but they always want to give a quote.

I am trying to work out how much to take and how much to dump and it's partly dependent on removal costs.

For example... hubby wants to keep our big comfy bed and suite and I want all our personal bits.

If we have to move those anyway and also our 50" widescreen TV  with associated electronics.... where do we draw the line?

So what it boils down to is.... does anyone out there know what it costs to shift stuff to CB? How big is a container? How much does it hold? How much does it cost?

I know... questions questions..

Laury

Hi ya i know what you mean trying to cut down the things you want to take and what youdont need is very hard

We didn't have a great deal to move but we came accros a removals comp based in Spain there website is www.euromover.net they are very helpful and cheap they advertise full load of 21 cubic meters at £1650 fully inc . There is more info on their website.

They really helped us out

Many thanks for all the information. It gives me some more idea on what to and what not to.

Your list sounds quite comprehensive Janice. The way we see it is that the suite was circa £3000 and the bed c£1000. So they HAVE to be worth taking.. don't they?

If that's the case..... do we add more furniture or does it become prohibitive on cheaper stuff like wicker conservatory furniture and such.

So... in English... your volume was  how many feet long by how many feet wide by how many feet high?

The Spanish one seems to be worth a look too thanks.

Laury

Yep. I understand that but in your experience was it a single bed long and wide by a chair high?

You see. I can picture a metre cubed but I can't see all your stuff fitting into a row of five metres long by one high and wide.

To me,  you would get the two single beds and a few little boxes in there.

We once had a 70 square foot storage unit which held the contents of a small 2 bedroomed house that we let out.

I am trying to make a comparison with that really.

Laury

Hi,

Removals can be very expensive. I moved my parents from Bristol to CB in Lo Crispin. We looked at Van hire and removal costs. Van hire was around £1,200, whilst removals was around £1,800 minimum. The route we took was purchase a second hand box trailer for £1,000 last Easter. I moved them over and brought this back, used it for a year and just this week sold it for the same price as the purchase price.

This way was hassle free as my parents took time to pack the trailer and were nor rushed. Also they knew what they packed and knew it was safe. It was also helpful the other end to pick other items up like washing machines TV's A/C etc......

In terms of what to take. I would take just personal poessions not bulky furnitire items or sofas - These can be pruchased in CB and the quality and cost of what they pruchased was a let better than taking it over. The easiest way to look at it, is the space it takes on the removal lorry (If you use one), will more than out weigh the value of the item. Only take furnitire if it is of value of sentimental reason to you - My parents took a dining room table and a radio gram that were there parents.

In terms of TV's if it is a LCD or plasma then it will work in Spain. If it is a standard TV it will not operarte on the hertz in CB - Bascially it will not pickup the TV signal due to the frequency differences. Also LCD & Plasmas are a lot cheaper in Spain. The best place for electiical goods is Carrefour. Big brand name LCD / plasma there were 35% cheaper than the UK.

Take all the advice below. It is not easy but it will be worth it. It is an idea time to de-clutter. It is amazing  how much you leave behind (Believe me, my parents have paid me back for the hassle they had with me - My garage is now full of what they don't want). Also when they got there, and have been there for 6 months, there is still stuff in boxes that they are now going to chuck out. Be ruthless when sorting out what to take !

Good luck !

Thanks for your experiences. It sounds logical to take a box trailer but we thought it would be better to take a luton van over than do that.

I have to admit that I have been shocked at a lot of prices over there.

Your comments...

In terms of TV's if it is a LCD or plasma then it will work in Spain. If it is a standard TV it will not operarte on the hertz in CB - Bascially it will not pickup the TV signal due to the frequency differences. Also LCD & Plasmas are a lot cheaper in Spain. The best place for electiical goods is Carrefour. Big brand name LCD / plasma there were 35% cheaper than the UK.

We are taking a DLP 50" HDTV  (it covers all the PAL systems and NTSC) over with us  and all our satellite boxes as we have multisatellite setups anyway. Carrefour is expensive for electrical and electronic goods and we haven't found anything cheaper than here on the electrical front. So much so that we were beginning to think it would be cheaper to bring our own washing machine and dishwasher over.

The cheapest furniture shop we could find in the area was just up the road from the shopping Mall at Torrevieja and although it's reasonably priced. The furniture is cheap too. The quality stuff costs from what we could see.

Soooooooooooo..............  with a £2000 removal cost and a decent sized van, it would be by far the cheaper option for us. Or is the £2000 for a small quantity?

Thanks again

Laury

It is a bit of a worry deciding on what to take and what not to take.  We will be having the same problems next year and I've been looking into some of the ins and outs.  We have stuff we mean to keep because they are our personal possessions and we want to keep them, not just photo albums and stuff but things we've bought over the years and want to keep.  My wife wants to take out bed which is fairly new.  I have to look into whether the cost I will get here by selling it (and the second hand furniture market is very low) and buying new in Spain will a. get us a bed as good as the one we have or b. will putting it on furniture van be cheap.  We aren't taking the suite as they are excellent value in Spain and some places have them extremely well made.  Our daughters are fighting over that!!  Then there is the dining room furniture.  Wall units cost me over 6 grand 10 years ago and the table was also expensive and I know I will not be able to get the quality in Spain unless I pay another fortune.  The chairs can go as they are easily replaced. But will the stuff I take a. fit the house in Spain (both size and design) and b. be cost effective by shipping them over?

We have decided to take over everything we consider personal and the good quality stuff.  The "designer" computer table from MFI can go on the skip, the Nathan sideboard is coming with us.  A box filled with all the kitchen stuff you accumulate over the years shouldn't cost that much if I stick it in with the other load and cram every inch of the box.  The quandry is the white goods.  Yes, you can get them in Spain but usually more expensive.  Selling them here I would be lucky to get 50 quid for the washing machine, 30 quid for the dishwasher, 50 quid for the fridge and freezer etc.  They would probably cost about a 1000 quid to replace in Spain and I reckon I could ship them cheaper than that so I would probably be better taking them with me, unless the fact that they are so bulky means the price goes up.

Mind you, the junk I have in the garage and shed should fill a skip by itself.  Anyhoo, big decisions.  Last thing I want is our house in Spain to be as full of junk as our house in UK is now.  But what to throw away??  Obviously , the photos of the mother in law can go (they take up tons of room) ...........

  You find the same as me then Babaol..

White goods seem very expensive over there and they don't have the super deals that we have.

We will want a small LCD TV for the bedroom and they are hellish expensive there whereas we can pick up a cheapy in Woollies for example for peanuts.

Like you, we will be dumping the cheap furniture. I found a wonderful thing on the internet for getting rid of that sort of thing for nothing. No skip costs.

Have you come across "Freecycle"?  Internet message board which is nationwide but aimed at locals. You post on there what you want rid of ... free... people come and grab them and take them away.

Can't be bad.

Eight boxes?  Wow. That's not bad then.

I suppose what we will have to do is bite the bullet and make a decision on what we want to take. Get someone round and when he says how much it's going to cost, we'll dump a load more.

Laury

Thanks Simonadv.

I suppose you realise that we are just trying to work out the viability of sh ifting stuff over.. What will be worthwhile and what won't..

It's a 4 bed finca at the other end and will take some filling.

Laury

For anyone contemplating moving abroad there is much to think about and planning is of course crucial? Weve recently begun this onerous task after receiving an offer on our house the first day it went on sale!! We now have around 10 weeks to : Find a school for our daughter, a home in Spain and complete all of the necessary forms to help make the move more bearable. We also have years of clutter in our very large old Victorian house and many items of furniture to decide what to do with? Its all just dawning on us and at times it seems a bit of a nightmare with so much to organise and with so little time to actaully complete the task! This is just the beginning but to help with organising everything I've put together an initial spreadsheet "project plan" with the help of a mate who's also on his way travelling around the world soon. This plan is just version one and has I learn more I'll update it.

Anyone who would like a copy, just send me a Personal Message and I'll email a copy to you

Mike T