PACKING UP YOUR TROUBLES

Saturday Telegraph: Property Section - Saturday November 21 1998

Is it worth paying people to take all the pain out of moving? Yes, said the Kornbergs, after 36 years in one house. Maggi O'Sullivan reports

Liz and Justin Kornberg bought their first house in 1962. And, while the average homeowner in Britain moves every seven years, the Kornbergs waited 36 years before they did it again.

"Thirty-six years is a long time to stay in one place," agrees Liz. "We had been thinking about moving ever since the last of our three children left home - the old house in Holland Park, west London, had become much too big for us - but somehow we kept putting it off".

They finally put their house on the market last spring and, after spending practically all their married life under the same familiar roof, this month moved to a five-bedroom home less than half-a-dozen miles away in St John's Wood, north London.

It was not, of course, quite that simple. For one thing, 36 years' accumulation of furniture and possessions, including a much-prized rubber plant, takes some moving.

For another, Liz had been ill and her husband was worried it would prove too much for her. "It wasn't just the packing - a removal company can do that for you - but there are so many other things you have to think about, and I knew I wouldn't have the stamina to do it all," says Liz.

Through Tim Wright at Savills, the Kornbergs found Sarah Kampe, whose company, Moving Solutions, organises moves for anyone who hasn't the time or inclination to do it themselves.

"The company had sent us its leaflet. I'd never come across this kind of service before, and frankly, I wasn't sure that there was a demand for it," says Wright, no doubt suspicious that this was just another venture dreamed up at a coffee morning by a well-heeled London housewife with time on her hands.

"When Mr Kornberg rang and asked me if I knew of anyone who could help, I began to see the point. Moving is a huge palaver. If you can, why not take some of the pain out of it?"

Similar services do exist in service-oriented America (there's an outfit in San Francisco that, in addition to organising your move, suggests it has your new home Feng Shui'd) but they are rare here, even in London and the Southeast, where these things generally go down very well.

The company was launched by the 35-year-old former freelance PA Sarah Kampe two years ago, after she spotted a gap in the market. "It simply occurred to me that moving is not that difficult if you are young and fit and well-organised. But how easy it is if you're older, or travelling a lot, or just extremely busy?"

That there is a demand for her services is indisputable - she has just taken a booking for her 100th move - but does her company appeal simply to those who are used to paying for every last thing to be done for them?

"Of course, I've had clients like that. But most of the people I work for are ordinary people who just want a bit of professional help. Some have had disastrous moves in the past; some haven't moved for years and are daunted at the prospect; some have been working abroad and can't come back to England to sort out their move," she says.

The Kornbergs commissioned Moving Solutions to do virtually everything for them, from being there when removal companies came to quote, to overseeing the packing and unpacking and making sure everything ended up in the right place, down to the last framed photograph.

They also delegated the time-consuming jobs of sorting out the utilities (one of the phone lines in the new house turned out to be particularly problematical) and council tax at both ends, organising residents' parking permits, setting up the mail redirection and ordering the change of address cards.

After an initial meeting, there followed two mornings of extensive list-making as Sarah went through their home, jotting down a brief description of every single item in it, as well as taking photographs.

Next she accompanied Liz to the house to map out exactly where everything was to go. Then, over the ensuing four months, she sorted out all the paperwork, giving the Kornbergs a regular update on how their move was progressing.

The move took placed over six days - three days out and three days in, with a weekend at a London hotel for Mr and Mrs Kornberg in between.

The first three days went like clockwork: Sarah sped about, supervising the packing and scribbling on boxes and taking down curtains that were not going to the house, while Liz settled a few local bills and took the curtains to the Curtain Exchange. All was calm, There were no arguments over who forgot to defrost the freezer. Nothing got broken.

The move into their new house went a little less smoothly: the Kornbergs elected to complete the move before their decorators had finished work on several of the rooms; and, rather than get rid of furniture they would not have room for, they took it all with them.

The result was too much furniture and not enough room to accommodate it, which slowed everything up.

"Some clients do find it difficult not being in charge" says Sarah, who put in a minimum 10-hour day on the days of the Kornbergs' move. "And, with boxes and furniture all over the place, it can look as it things are getting out of control when they're not at all. The Kornbergs had a textbook move but if you have a 25-piece set of china and no cupboards to put it in, it's bound to look a bit messy. Moving is a still a stressful business, even with help, but I can assure you, most of that stress is mine!"

When Sarah finally left the Kornbergs, their new home looked as it they'd been living there for years: pictures on walls, books on shelves, sheets on beds and the rubber plant safely in its new spot in the hall.

The only thing left to do was to tip the removals men, which the Kornbergs chose to do themselves.

So what does it cost, and more importantly, is it worth it? "It's difficult to give a definitive amount because each move is different and it depends on what you want done. The starting point is always on-site supervision for the entire move, which is charged at a daily rate".

The Kornbergs were quoted a fee of about £4,000, which included six days on site and several visits to their old and new homes, arranging mail redirection, terminating and commencing utilities and supplying change of address cards. Fifty per cent of the fee was payable on completion of the move. Obviously the fee did not include the removal company's costs or any other costs associated with the move.

Those who cannot see the value of having a cleaner or doing grocery shopping on the Internet are obviously unlikely to appreciate the need to pay someone else to help them move - particularly when they are already having to budget for the fees of the solicitor, estate agent, surveyor and removal company.

But for those who would rather get on with their life while somebody else takes the strain of their move, then the service Moving Solutions provides has obvious attractions. For the Kornbergs, it offered exactly the help they needed and they are convinced it was worth every penny.

Liz says, "We had a few fraught moments but overall it went marvellously. Nothing got broken or lost. We'll probably rearrange some of the photographs and will have to sort out the rooms that are still being decorated. But we're here and we really couldn't have done it without Moving Solutions"

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