You’ve sold, or you’ve found somewhere, and now everyone’s waiting. The buyer’s mortgage offer hasn’t come through. Someone further down the chain is chasing a survey. Your solicitor says “a few more weeks” and you’ve stopped believing it.
This autumn, a lot of people are in the same position. The housing market has slowed through 2026, with fewer sales agreed than last year and the most homes coming onto the market in a decade, according to property data firm TwentyCi. HMRC reckons completions happen two to four months after an offer is accepted and that’s when things go smoothly. A Barclays survey earlier this year found almost half of people in a chain had their move delayed or saw a sale fall through.
So if your dates don’t line up this winter, you’re not unlucky. It’s common. And storage is often the thing that lets you keep moving forward while the chain catches up.
When storage helps
Storage earns its keep in a few situations:
- You have to move out before you can move in. Your buyer won’t wait, but your new home isn’t ready.
- You’ve sold and you’re renting for a while. A short let is usually smaller than the house you’ve left and you don’t want to pay to move a full house twice.
- Your purchase has fallen through. You’d rather keep your sale than lose your buyer, so you move out and look again.
- You’re trying to sell in a slow market. Clearing out a third of your furniture makes rooms look bigger in photos and at viewings and that matters when buyers have more homes to choose from.
If you’re in a chain and it’s all feeling a bit stuck, our guide to moving house when you’re in a chain covers the wider picture. This piece is about the storage part: what kind to choose, how to get your things through a damp British winter in good shape and what to ask before you sign up.
Which type of storage suits a chain delay?
There are a few ways to store furniture, and they suit different situations. We offer three from our unit at Old Sarum, just outside Salisbury.
| Crate storage | External container | Self-storage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it works | Your things are packed into wooden crates by our team and kept in our warehouse | A secure container on our site holds your belongings | A unit you can get into yourself |
| Access | Arranged with us in advance | Arranged with us in advance | Whenever you need it, within opening hours |
| Best for | Whole households waiting on a completion date | Larger loads and bulky items | People who’ll need things back during the wait |
| Moving in and out | Goes straight from the van and back again | Goes straight from the van and back again | You load and unload, or we do it for you |
For most chain delays, crate storage is the simplest. Your things go from your old house onto our van, into crates and stay there until you have keys. Then we deliver them to the new place. There’s no second van to hire and nobody has to carry everything twice.
Self-storage makes more sense if you’re going to need to dip in. If you’re renting short term and expect to want the winter coats, the kids’ bikes or the spare duvets back before you move, being able to get to them yourself will save you some frustration.
Getting your things through winter in good condition
Winter is the season to be fussy about how things go into storage. Cold on its own does little harm to most furniture. Damp is the problem and the worst of it usually goes in with your belongings rather than finding its way in later.
Make sure everything is dry
Anything that goes into storage damp will stay damp. That means:
- Defrost the fridge and freezer at least a day before the move, dry them out and leave the doors slightly open in storage.
- Drain the washing machine and dishwasher properly. Water left in the pipes can freeze and split them and it smells awful by spring.
- Don’t pack anything straight off the washing line or out of a cold garage. Give it a day indoors first.
- Clean and dry garden furniture, tools and the lawnmower before they go in.
Let it breathe
Plastic wrap is useful for keeping dust off on moving day. Wrapped tightly around wooden furniture or a mattress for weeks, it traps moisture against the surface. Breathable covers, blankets or the wrapping your removals team uses for storage are better for anything staying longer than a few days.
The same goes for clothes. Hang them in wardrobe cartons or fold them into boxes. Bin bags hold in moisture and are easy to mistake for rubbish.
Pack for the long wait
Chains rarely run to the first date you’re given, so pack as if you’ll be in storage longer than planned:
- Fill boxes properly. Half-empty boxes collapse when they’re stacked.
- Label every box on two sides with the room and a short list of what’s inside.
- Take mirrors and pictures off the wall and wrap them flat.
- Keep anything that can leak, rust or go off out of storage altogether. Paint, cleaning products, gas bottles and food all stay behind.
If you’d rather not deal with any of this, our packing service can pack the whole house for storage. [to confirm: is this the best page to link for packing or is there a dedicated packing page?]
What to keep with you
It’s worth spending an hour on this, because getting something out of crate storage means arranging it with us and nobody wants to do that for a phone charger.
Keep a box or two with you of the things you’ll need while you wait: documents for the sale and purchase, passports, medication, chargers, a few changes of clothes, the children’s school things and anything you use for work.
And because it’s winter, think about Christmas. If you’re likely to be in temporary accommodation over the holidays, set aside the decorations, presents and anything for the dinner before the van arrives. They’re easy to forget when you’re packing the loft in October.
Questions to ask about storage
Not all storage is the same, and the differences show up when you need something back. Before you book, ask:
- What does it cost and is it charged by the week or the month? Is there a minimum term?
- Are my things insured while they’re in storage, and up to what value? Does my own home insurance cover them?
- How much notice do you need to deliver everything to my new home?
- Can I get to my things during the wait, and how does that work?
- Do you take an inventory when things go in and will I get a copy?
- Is it the same team that moves me in and out?
That last one matters more than it sounds. When the removals firm also runs the storage, your things are handled by one team from start to finish and it’s their job to get them to you when the keys come through.
At Spire, your belongings go into our own storage at Old Sarum and come out with our own crew.
When the chain finally moves
When it does, the call from your solicitor saying you’ve exchanged often comes with very little notice. If your things are already packed and in storage, that’s the easy part done. All that’s left is agreeing a delivery date and getting the kettle out first.
If you’d like to talk through your options, have a look at our storage service and get in touch for a bespoke, no-obligation quote. We can store for a few days or a few months, and we’ll fit around wherever your chain has got to.
