Real Estate Information Archive

Naturally in our industry we see our clients moving in or out on a daily basis.  This is a stressful time and relocating can be expensive, time consuming and overwhelming. Whether you're moving down the block or across the country, our best advice is to plan ahead.

Here is a rough timeline to consider:

Eight weeks: Choose the type of move. Decide whether to hire professional movers to pack and transport your belongings, do a combination where you pack yourself and hire a service to move things, or do it all yourself.

Calculate all the different costs. Professional movers might charge more if you live on an upper floor of a walk-up building. An interstate do-it-yourself move likely requires paying for gas, hotel stays and food.

If you go the professional route, get at least three in-home estimates. The moving industry while mostly professional does have it share of fraud.  Getting an in-home inventory quote is a key component rather than simply getting a phone quote. If you give your inventory over the phone, and then on moving day and the moves say this is different than what you said over the phone you can be charged more and at that point there isn't much you can do about it.

Make sure your moving company is licensed and insured, and that the estimate you receive is binding, or "not-to-exceed." Also, watch out for companies that charge by the cubic foot because they could pack the truck loosely to take up more space. For interstate moves, you should be billed by the weight of your items; local moves should be billed by the hour and number of movers.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, www.protectyourmove.gov , offers tips on protecting yourself from moving fraud.

Five to six weeks: Inventory belongings and change address. You should start deciding which belongings you want to move, give away and throw out. Also, start notifying others about your change of address, including banks, credit-card companies and insurers.

The U.S. Postal Service allows you to set up a forwarding service online at www.usps.com . www.Moving.com also offers a free change-of-address service under its Tools & Services section.

Three to four weeks: Start packing. You can buy boxes at local storage facilities, home-improvement stores and even online. www.Usedcardboardboxes.com resells used boxes at a discount and ships them to you free. But be sure to inspect all boxes carefully. Even if you save a few bucks on boxes, if they fall apart you lose more than any savings.

One to two weeks: Make final calls. Everything but a few daily necessities should be packed and you should be living out of a suitcase.

Make calls to your landlord to reconfirm your move-in date and to utilities to confirm that you'll have electricity and water when you move in. You then have that last week to handle anything unexpected.

We have a wealth of relocation information and advice. Please feel free to contact us anytime.

With energy prices continuing to rise interstate moving costs are also moving upward. The cost of an interstate move is determined by three factors:

1. Distance of move

2. Weight of shipment

3. Special services rendered

Make sure that your moving quote is based upon a visual survey.

One of the biggest mistakes that people make when booking a move is assuming that a phone quote is guaranteed. The only way to obtain a binding quote is to have your household goods visually surveyed by a moving company. Make sure that you get the quote in writing.

Read all documents before signing.

Once you have been provided a written quote, make sure you read before signing. The quote should document weight, distance, and services to be rendered. If you have verbally discussed any special services make sure that those needs are reflected in the estimate.

Make sure you have adequate valuation coverage.

Standard coverage for interstate moves, which all carriers are required to provide, is 60 cents per pound. This amount will be inadequate if an expensive item, such as a plasma television, is damaged in your move. Additional insurance can be purchased through the carrier or through your home insurance policy.

Use a reputable mover for your move.

The number of choices available for your move is enormous. Make sure that you are using a reputable mover who is licensed, bonded, and insured. A reputable mover will not ask for a deposit up front and will have moving trucks with their own company name on them.

Make sure the mover can contact you.

If you are planning to have your phone disconnected the day of your move, make sure that the moving company has your cell phone number or another way to reach you. This is also applicable for your new residence.

CALL us for more infomation on moving.  We provide all our clients VIP service through VanLineExpress. 

Our seller clients often consider PODS (portable moving containers) as an alternative to full service moving providers.

Usually a container is dropped off in your driveway and you have a period of time to pack and load your own belongings. When the items are loaded, drivers pick up the container and transport it to your new home, where you unload and unpack.

This might be a good option for you if: 

  

• You would like to pack and load some of your household goods into storage while your house is on the market or if you cannot move immediately into your new home. Remember that you will be charged for the unit for the time that you are using it for storage. Compare those costs with full-service van line storage options.
• You have a very small shipment. Most full service movers have a minimum weight requirement. If the weight of your shipment is significantly lower than that minimum weight it may be more cost effective for you to use a portable moving container.

Although portable moving containers provide solutions for the above situations there are some things you should take into consideration:

• Consumer Reports Money Advisor, January 2007, published a study of pricing for moving services. Portable containers turned out to be significantly more costly than other self pack options.
• Don’t forget to add the cost of packing materials to the base price of your portable container estimate. Packing materials are included in a full pack quote from full service van line providers.  
• You forfeit the benefits of having professional movers pack your items for transport. These benefits include professional packing techniques and protection coverage. Don’t forget the added benefit of having someone else do all that physical labor!

We know...this is thrilling stuff.  But part of our job is to keep you inforrmed so make sure that you are comparing apples to apples when you are reviewing pricing and various options for your move.