Eight weeks out is an odd stage. Your offer has been accepted, so the move feels real, but nothing is legally binding yet and no date is fixed. That combination makes people wait, and waiting is exactly the wrong instinct.
Conveyancing in England and Wales typically runs twelve to sixteen weeks from accepted offer to completion, longer for leasehold or a long chain. Eight weeks before you expect to move is therefore roughly the midpoint: far enough in that the legal machinery is grinding away, close enough that everything you do now buys you slack later. It is also, crucially, the last stage where you have spare capacity. The final fortnight is packing and admin, and there is no room in it for jobs you could have done in advance.
Here is what to get on with.
Nothing is binding yet, so plan accordingly
In England and Wales, neither side is committed until contracts are exchanged. Roughly a quarter of agreed sales fall through before that point, so keep two things in mind: do not spend money you cannot recover, and do not stop preparing on the assumption it might collapse.
Scotland works differently, with missives forming a binding contract earlier in the process, so the risk profile there is not the same.
The practical version: gather quotes, compile lists, declutter, prepare. Hold off on non-refundable bookings until exchange.
Get the professionals lined up
Confirm your mortgage. An agreement in principle is not a mortgage offer. Get the full application moving, since a lender typically takes two to four weeks to issue a formal offer, and that offer then has an expiry date. If the chain drags, an offer expiring is a genuine problem.
Instruct your conveyancer now. Every day at the start is a day at the end. Local authority searches are consistently the biggest bottleneck in the process, taking anywhere from two to eight weeks depending on the council, and they cannot be started until someone is instructed and paid.
Start gathering removal quotes. Get three, and get them properly. A survey, in person or by video, is what makes a quote meaningful. Most firms will not confirm a booking until you have exchanged and have a date, but knowing the price range and the firm's availability now means you are not scrambling later. You can get a quote from our team or look at the London removals cost guide for a sense of the numbers.
If you are selling, dig out your paperwork. Your solicitor will need it, and hunting for it is what holds sellers up: FENSA or CERTASS certificates for replacement windows, building regulations sign-off and planning permissions for any work done, guarantees for damp proofing or a new boiler, gas and electrical safety certificates, the EPC, and for leasehold, the lease itself along with service charge and ground rent statements. Assembling this now rather than in week ten removes one of the classic causes of delay.
Check your insurance covers what you own
This is the job everyone skips and it takes an afternoon.
Go through the house and identify anything genuinely valuable: jewellery, watches, art, antiques, musical instruments, collections, high-end bikes. Most contents policies impose a single-item limit, often a few thousand pounds, above which an item is not fully covered unless specifically listed. If you have never checked yours, now is the time.
For anything you are unsure about, get a professional valuation. You need an accurate figure both for your existing policy and for the removal insurance discussion later, and a valuation done under time pressure in the final fortnight is a valuation you will not get.
While you are at it, note anything a removal firm will treat as special handling: pianos, safes, large mirrors, artwork, wine collections. Flag these at survey stage.
Declutter, properly
You pay to move volume. Every box you do not take saves money twice, once on the van and again on space at the other end. Eight weeks out is the right moment because you still have time to sell things rather than dumping them.
Work room by room rather than category by category, and start with the places that hide the most: loft, garage, shed, under the stairs, the back of wardrobes.
- Sell anything with real value while you still have weeks rather than days. Marketplace listings, auction houses for antiques, specialist dealers for furniture.
- Donate to charity shops. Many will collect furniture free if it has a fire label.
- Recycle through your council's household waste centre, and check whether they run a bulky waste collection for items too large to take yourself.
- Be honest about the loft. Whatever has sat there untouched since the last move will sit untouched in the next one.
If you are downsizing and genuinely cannot decide about certain things, that is what storage is for. Better to store them for a few months than to make a rushed decision on moving day or pay to move furniture into a house it will not fit.
Start collecting packing materials
Do not wait until the fortnight before, when you will pay whatever is in front of you.
Proper boxes matter more than people expect. Supermarket boxes have usually carried something heavy already, are inconsistent in size so they stack badly, and split at the worst moment. Buy double-walled boxes for books and crockery, use wardrobe cartons for hanging clothes, and get more tape than you think you need. Everything is available from our packing shop, delivered.
What to gather now: small boxes for heavy items, larger ones for light and bulky, bubble wrap, packing paper, tape, marker pens, mattress covers, and something to protect furniture corners.
Start packing the rooms you barely use. Books, out-of-season clothes, decorations, spare bedding, anything ornamental. There is no reason those need to wait.
Run down the food
Start emptying the freezer and the store cupboard now, buying only what you will actually eat before the move. A freezer needs defrosting and cannot travel full, and there is no sense paying to transport tins.
Plan the last fortnight's meals around what is left rather than shopping normally and then throwing half of it away.
Eight weeks to go: the short version
- Push the mortgage application through to a formal offer
- Instruct the conveyancer and pay for searches upfront
- Collect three removal quotes, each based on a survey
- If selling, assemble certificates, guarantees and the leasehold pack
- Check contents insurance single-item limits and get valuations
- Declutter room by room, selling what has value
- Order packing materials and start on the rooms you rarely use
- Run down the freezer and cupboards
- Decide whether storage is needed for downsizing or a date gap
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to buy a house in the UK? Twelve to sixteen weeks from accepted offer to completion is the usual range in England and Wales, with leasehold and long chains often running to twenty weeks or more, and chain-free purchases sometimes completing in eight to ten. Scotland follows a different process.
Is anything binding when my offer is accepted? Not in England and Wales. Either side can withdraw until contracts are exchanged, and roughly a quarter of agreed sales fall through before that point. In Scotland, missives create a binding contract earlier.
When should I book a removal company? Gather quotes eight weeks out and book as soon as you exchange and have a completion date. Most firms will not hold a date before exchange, and the popular slots, Fridays and month ends, go first.
What paperwork do I need if I am selling? Window certificates such as FENSA, building regulations approvals and planning permissions for any work, guarantees for damp proofing or boilers, safety certificates, the EPC, and for leasehold the lease with service charge and ground rent details. Missing documents are one of the most common causes of delay.
Are my valuables covered by my contents insurance? Only up to the single-item limit, unless they are specifically listed on the policy. Check the limit, list anything above it, and get valuations for pieces where you do not know the current value.
What is the biggest cause of delay in a house purchase? Local authority searches and the slowest party in the chain. Searches can take two to eight weeks depending on the council, which is why instructing your conveyancer early matters more than almost anything else you do.
Next steps
Next comes six weeks to go, which covers tenancy notice, storage and booking time off. When you are four weeks out, the job changes from preparing to notifying. Our guide to four weeks to go covers who to tell and when, and the moving house checklist sets out the whole sequence from exchange to arrival.
RMV Storage & Removals has moved households across London for over fifteen years, with house and office removals, packing services and container storage delivered to your door, across every area we cover. Get in touch whenever you want to talk it through.
Written by Riki Migliori, Director at RMV Storage & Removals. Originally published April 2014. Fully reviewed and updated summer 2026.