You've budgeted for the removal van.

You've budgeted for the solicitor.

You've even accepted that the first week in the new house will somehow involve spending £200 in shops on things you were absolutely certain you already owned.

Then the removal company asks where it can park.

And suddenly moving day has found another way into your wallet.

The tricky thing about moving costs is that the expensive surprises often aren't part of the obvious quote.

£350 or £950 for a Peterborough move?

That's quite a difference.

One Peterborough removals company included in our original research gives a typical local range of £350 to £950 including VAT.

But that's precisely why asking for “a removal price” isn't enough.

Moving from a ground-floor property with a driveway is one job.

Moving from a three-storey house where the van can't get close to the front door is another.

Before comparing quotes, ask exactly what's included:

• How many people are coming?
•  
• How many hours does the price cover?
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• Are boxes included?
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• Is dismantling furniture included?
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• What happens if the job overruns?
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• Is waiting time charged?
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• What happens if the van can't park close to the house?
•  

The cheapest quote can stop being cheapest remarkably quickly once the extras begin.

The two houses are ready. Unfortunately, not on the same day.

This is where storage suddenly becomes interesting.

Perhaps you've completed on the home you're selling but can't move into the new one immediately.

Now your sofa, beds and 37 boxes marked MISC need somewhere to live.

Our original Peterborough research found storage advertised locally from around £45.93 a week plus VAT for some smaller units, with the actual cost depending on how much space you need.

You may also face another collection or delivery charge if the original removal plan changes.

If your dates look even slightly vulnerable, ask the removal company:

“What would it cost if you had to store everything for a week?”

Hopefully you'll never need the answer.

That's much nicer than needing it at 4pm on moving day.

Then there's the Peterborough parking question

This is where moving from one part of Peterborough to another can be a completely different operation.

A house with a large driveway in one of the city's outer residential areas presents one kind of problem.

A property where parking is controlled or access is tight presents another.

Peterborough City Council has specific parking-permit arrangements, so don't assume a large removal van can simply appear outside the property and stay there all day.

Check the exact street.

Then tell the removal company what you've discovered.

This is the kind of boring conversation that becomes fascinating when a fully loaded van has nowhere to stop.

Clearing the house?

Watch the skip as well

Moving often triggers the Great Cupboard Reckoning.

Old furniture.

Broken garden equipment.

Things in the garage nobody can remember buying.

The mysterious contents of the loft.

If that clear-out means hiring a skip, check where it will actually be placed before ordering it.

Peterborough City Council currently lists a £70 charge for a skip in a metered parking bay, £85 for a city-centre wait-and-load skip and £260 per day for a city-centre skip.

Most movers won't encounter those charges. But if you're moving from somewhere with restricted parking or awkward city-centre access, it's an easy cost to miss.

That's the point.

The cost depends on where the property is and what you're doing.

Check before the skip arrives rather than after somebody discovers it needs permission.

Packing is another “we'll do that ourselves” job

And plenty of people do.

Then moving week arrives.

You're still working.

The sale paperwork is happening.

Half the kitchen is in boxes.

The other half apparently needs to remain available until precisely 8:17am on moving day.

Professional packing costs more, but if you're comparing removal companies, ask for it as a separate price.

You can then make an informed decision rather than discovering three days before the move that you'd happily exchange money for somebody else wrapping 46 wine glasses.

Stamp Duty isn't hidden but it can still be forgotten

If you're selling one Peterborough home and buying another, the largest additional cost may have nothing to do with moving vans.

Stamp Duty Land Tax can apply to residential purchases in England.

How much depends on the purchase and your circumstances, and different rules can apply in situations such as owning another residential property.

This is not a figure to calculate casually from what a friend paid when they moved.

Get the amount confirmed as part of your purchase budget.

Build the “something went wrong” number

A moving budget shouldn't only contain the costs you expect.

Give it a contingency.

Perhaps the van needs an additional journey.

Perhaps furniture needs storing.

Perhaps access takes longer than expected.

Perhaps you need to stay somewhere overnight.

Perhaps the wardrobe that definitely fitted through the old front door refuses to acknowledge the existence of the new one.

You don't need to predict which thing will go wrong.

Just avoid building a budget that assumes nothing possibly can.

Property Speak — Translated

Completion — The day the purchase money is transferred and ownership of the property changes hands. Usually, this is when the buyer gets the keys.

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) — A tax that may be payable when buying property or land in England. The amount depends on the purchase price and the buyer's circumstances.

If you've moved home in Peterborough, what was the cost you didn't see coming storage, packing, parking, an extra van journey or something completely different?

Tell us in the comments.