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No matter how simple it might seem on paper, long distance moving is hardly ever that simple. To minimize the impact it has on your life you’ll have to sit down and plot the way forward. Get out a notepad or your favorite tasks mobile app and put together a checklist.
Do things like contact moving companies months ahead of time to figure out every detail from costs, to the logistic,s but most importantly; their availability.
Most of the work that movers do usually happens in the summer so it can be difficult to find a date and time that works out best for you if you wait too long to contact one as they can be booked up. Taking the time to contact them ahead of time will help make sure that nothing falls between the cracks.
To get an accurate grasp on just how much an in-home moving will cost you, a moving company that knows their stuff will have someone visit your home to see just what will need to be moved. This has two benefits, it gives the company a chance to give you an estimate ahead of time of the cost and it’ll let you see just how professionally they operate so you’ll be in a position to make a good decision.
Stay away from companies that put up resistance with doing this estimate visit for you. It could be a sign that while they claim to be a moving company, they’re actually a broker instead. The issue with this is that it can unnecessarily bog down the process by adding an additional part to it. In most cases, move brokers are usually trying to salvage the biggest cut of the fee for themselves by hiring the cheapest moving company after securing the agreement. This can highly impact the quality of your move as the mover selected may not be the most professional and delicate when handling your items. A good way to avoid problems with this is to fire up Google and do a search on your “mover”, this way you can see their track record or equipment if any and whether they are just talking the talk.
As hinted on above, not all moving companies are equal in the way they operate. To ensure the move is a success and that you are free of any stress, it’s important to look into whether your prospective choices are high quality ones. For a start you can check out sources like the BBB, Yelp, Angie’s List and the website the movingscam.com. These will help with verifying that the companies are proven and know their stuff. Alternatively, if it’s going to be a long distance move then you could make the process a bit simpler by looking into working with one of the larger established companies like United Van Lines. The areas covered and the equipment available with these companies are a lot more than what a local moving company would have access to and you’ll stand a higher chance of having a proper crew sent to your house on moving day.
The longer the move, the higher the cost will be, adding to this will be the total weight of the items that will be shipped. If money is not an issue then feel free to ship whatever you like but for most people, you’ll want to save some money. This can be done by taking the time to catalog each of your belongings and really decide on what you need to take with you and what isn’t worth it. This can be dealt with by selling or donating the items that you won’t be needing. Also it’s worth keeping in mind whether you will need the items at your new home. It’ll help with deciding whether you need that snow blower in Florida.
Something else that needs to be considered is thinking on how all of your furniture will fit into your new home. If you are moving into a smaller house then it’s possible that you could end up feeling cramped with the lack of space that will come from trying to fit everything in. Something won’t be able to fit? Then you probably should get rid of it beforehand. Think about every room and what will go where and how they will interact with the new layout. Can they fit through the stairwells or be maneuvered around the corners? An older home may require you to make some bigger decisions with what you can bring compared to a newer home. Older homes were designed different and may not be able to fit that king size bed that you love so much.
It’ll be worth the extra time it takes to label the boxes during the packing. Not just the items inside but the destination room. This will greatly improve the efficiency of the job done by the movers with placing the items as they won’t be done in a random fashion and you’ll easily be able to tackle the unpacking when you know where everything is.
Get familiar with the information that’s in the booklet of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. In this information you’ll find out exactly what the moving company is responsible for and what you need to do. Valuation is big issue that must be understood when working with a moving company. The amount of compensation that can be provided for lost or damaged goods can greatly vary. There’s released valuation protection and full valuation protection. With released valuation protection is included with all moves and the moving company is only liable for $0.60/lb on each item. This means that on the damage of a $100 item you will compensated with $60. Full valuation protection on the other hand makes the company liable to compensate you in full for the cost of the item, either by replacing it or repairing any damage. To find out which will apply in the case of your move, will have to be discussed with your mover, this will help avoid any unpleasant surprises later on.
Depending on the timing this may not be possible for everyone but it is advisable if you can. Prices usually go up during the busy season and it’s no different for moving companies during the summer months. Prices are naturally lower in the fall, winter and spring seasons due to the lower amounts of moving taking place. Try to coincide your plans for these dates to keep a bit of your hard earned money in your pockets.
It may not seem believable but moving expenses can be tax deductible once the move is for work reasons. To find out exactly what is deductible you can visit this website. Just be sure to add the expenses when you are filing your taxes to recoup some of the money spent.
It’s highly likely that after making a long move, you’ll experience feelings of being “homesick”. While it’s possible that you won’t have many new friends in your new city yet, they will come with time, what you should be trying to do is familiarize yourself with the experiences that can be in store for you.
Need some new restaurants, cafes or gyms to frequent? Hit up Yelp to find some good spots before you complete the move. To find groups of people to help ease you into your new surroundings you can try resources like Meetup to find people that share your same interests. Also research the local economy in the part of Phoenix you plan to move to. It may not seem like a lot but taking time to do these will go a long way in making you new city become a home.
The above 10 tips will go a long way to making sure that your move is a success and minimizing any doubts that you had about the process.
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Helpful Tips & Resources from the Phoenix Moving Experts
