Your first time buying a home can be an exciting but mistake-ridden journey. If you’re now planning to upgrade your home avoiding some of the mistakes you made first time around is probably one of your top priorities. However, you also likely have less time to invest in property viewings and behind the scenes research this time around meaning the process of upgrading your home can be just as daunting as that first purchase.

While there’s plenty of advice out there for first-time buyers sometimes those looking to upgrade to a larger property can be ignored. Fortunately, our AA Life team have put together some advice on what to prepare for when upgrading your home, the insurance implications, and even some tips on making the physical move as stress-free as possible.

What are the insurance implications?

While it might not be the first thing that comes to mind amid the excitement and panic of moving to a new home, you’ll have to upgrade your home insurance and mortgage protection policies to cover your new property. This may seem like another chore on a long list of jobs you have to complete when moving home, but it’s a great opportunity to fix some mistakes you made the first time around and make some savings in the process.

If, like many first time buyers, you took out home insurance and mortgage protection with your bank (or a recommended partner) you could be paying more than you need to. Switching your mortgage protection is a straight-forward process and could help you save thousands over the life-time of your mortgage. Similarly, when you’re upgrading home it’s important to shop around when it comes to home insurance and make sure you’re getting the best deal.

Preparing for the home move

When it comes to planning your move it’s important to consider the distance between your current and new home, your budget and the time constraints in place. If the properties are close by and you know some people who owe you a favour then you might bae able to complete the move with the help of a few strong friends. However, if you’re short on time it may be worth getting a professional mover to take care of the job, although this will involve some extra costs.

In advance of the big move collect as many boxes of all sizes, bubble wrap, labels and markers as you can. Even if you feel you have enough you’ll be surprised how many boxes and how much bubble wrap you’ll wind up using so be sure to build up a decent stock. Unlike with your first home move you may have kids or a family pet to factor into your plans this time around. If any of your friends can’t help out with the physical move it may be worth asking them to play the role of baby/pet-sitter for a day or two while you pack everything up and get moved into the new home.

Keep the essentials separate

You’ve been through a home move before and probably still have memories of eating food from plastic containers while sitting on the floor in the days after moving into your first home because of the lack of furniture and plates. Now that you’re older and hopefully a little wiser then you can avoid a repeat mistake by packing a small collection of essential items in a separate box so that you’ll have quick and convenient access to what you need to get you through week one. When it comes to deciding what counts as essential consider the things you use on a daily basis such as a toothbrush and toiletries, how much cash and clothing you’ll need during your first week, as well as utensils and a frying pan so you’re not relying on takeaways for the first few weeks.

What about my contents insurance?

Moving from your first home to your second will likely mean that you’ll have some extra space. However, when you begin packing for the move you’ll likely come across a range of items you’ve bought, been gifted or inherited over the years… many of which you probably no longer need or didn’t even want in the first place!

While you may opt to bin or re-gift some of these items, the realisation of how much you’ve accumulated over the years serves as a good reminder than you may need to re-assess your home contents insurance when moving to your new property. Compared to when you first purchased a home, you likely have a higher value of contents currently so if you haven’t updated your contents cover in recent years then now is a great time to do so.