A Guide to Successful Residential Moving

Moving to a new home is overwhelming. You need to handle a number of things, like packing your boxes, decluttering, putting your house up for sale, and researching residential moving companies.

If this is your first relocation, you probably don’t know where to start. No worries – this article will provide a few tips to help you waltz through your residential moving.

What Does Successful Household Moving Involve?

Preparing for your relocation at least 7-8 weeks in advance makes the process much more manageable. Naturally, you can modify the timeline according to your schedule and lifestyle. Once you decide when you’ll start organizing the move, here’s a checklist of critical tasks.

Decide on the Date

Choosing your move date shouldn’t be too difficult, but you may need to adjust your schedule a few times. For instance, deciding on the date is more complicated when relocating with children due to their new school.

Another thing you should consider is the season. Most families move in the summer because the transport is easier. However, this is when residential moving companies are the busiest and charge more for their services.

Take these and other factors (e.g., new destination) into account to set the most suitable date.

Create a Relocation Folder and Purchase a Binder

The organization is the trickiest part of your move. Overlook a thing or two, and the entire relocation can go awry. Fortunately, there are ways to streamline your organization.

You should first invest in a notebook or binder and set up a relocation folder on your PC. This gives you a convenient place to store your checklist, organize the timeline, and update your paperwork. It’s also where you can easily keep your receipts, contracts, social security cards, and passports. The same goes for financial documents concerning your new abode, such as loan and mortgage agreements.

Know Your Budget and Take Inventory

Before going any further, you need to decide on your moving budget. Determine how much you’re willing to spend on your residential non broker mover and how much you need in the post-move period. For example, you may want to buy new furniture, renovate rooms, and improve the backyard. All these should help you figure out your budget.

Another essential move is to take inventory. Document your possessions since residential moving services may need this to provide a quote. Additionally, the list can help you insure your belongings more easily in case you forget about certain items.

DIY or Residential Movers? Moving Company Always Wins

The biggest dilemma associated with moving is whether you should relocate on your own or hire residential movers. Many homeowners choose the former, thinking it’ll save them money. They pack, deliver, and unpack their belongings themselves without third parties.

That said, DIY relocations have several drawbacks. You probably have no experience moving your belongings, increasing the risk of damaging your belongings. You may also not know how to store appliances and other sensitive items properly. They might be fine when you pack them, but you could be in for an unpleasant surprise upon unpacking. The machines may no longer work, and you need to get new ones.

You can avoid this by hiring professionals, such as United Van Line Moving. These cross state moving companies take appropriate safety measures to ensure your possessions reach their destination unharmed. They also work fast, allowing you to begin your new life more quickly.

This doesn’t mean every mover offers high-quality services. Some businesses are better than others, and you can find the right one by asking your professional movers these questions:

Do You Have a License and Insurance?

Most moving scams occur due to the movers’ lack of insurance. To prevent this, ask companies if they have proper insurance.

Professional moving companies must have a DOT (Department of Transportation) license number. Ask your prospects to provide one to help ensure they’re not taking advantage of you.

The situation with local companies is slightly different. They relocate clients within a state, so they don’t need a DOT license. Instead, they must hold a valid state license.

Do You Have Experience Performing the Move I Need?

The second question you should ask is whether your moving company has enough experience performing certain moves. For example, you might be moving to a skyscraper, a large city, or a house with several stories. Inquire if the team has provided the type of service. This tells you if they know how to organize the job and address any challenges that may arise, like steep stairs and parking restrictions.

Does Your Company Offer Liability Coverage?

Before you hand over your belongings, you need to be sure they’re covered in the event of mishaps during your relocation. To that end, the transport team should offer multiple coverage options, including the two most common ones:

• Released Value Protection – This is the most affordable option since you’re not subject to additional charges. The only downside is that it provides minimal coverage (up to 60 cents per pound).
• Full Value Protection – Under this arrangement, the mover must refund the value of damaged or lost goods in the entire shipment. Companies that offer this plan charge more, but they provide greater peace of mind.

Besides researching the mover’s insurance, you can also obtain a policy from third-party insurers. But before doing so, check your homeowner’s policy to determine if you’re already covered.

How Many References Do You Have?

An employer wouldn’t hire you without checking your references, so why should you book moving services without going through the company’s references? When prompted, the representatives should provide this information.

Another option is to obtain the references on your own. The most popular solution is to ask your neighbors and friends for recommendations. Word-of-mouth is a reliable way of finding trustworthy movers.

Don’t forget about the internet too. Assess each company by reading their online ratings and reviews. Previous customers can tell you all you need to know about a specific team, including their friendliness, protective measures, and insurance.

Can You Give Me a Quote?

No matter how thorough your research has been, the bill can always surprise you. This is especially true with companies that provide non-binding estimates. They tell you the anticipated costs, but the actual expenses can be much higher. Your move may require more time, and the equipment could be heavier than expected. In turn, you’ll need to fork out more money.

That’s why you should hire a team that offers binding estimates. Once written, these help ensure the cost doesn’t exceed the original estimate. They also generally include potential charges and add-ons that may crop up along the way. All these should be specified in your quote, providing much-needed transparency.

Declutter Your House

The fewer items you have to move, the lower the cost of your relocation will be. The key to limiting the number of belongings the company transports for no good reason is to declutter your house. One of the things you should do is use up consumables before you go.

Start doing so as soon as you’ve decided to relocate because this gives you more time to consume the items. For instance, use up the food in your pantry so you have fewer jars and cans to relocate. The same goes for shampoo, lotion, body wash, and other personal care items. Household products also fall into this category, such as laundry detergent, paper products, and cleaning supplies.

You can even do the same with your books. If there’s plenty of time before your move, pass along and read as many entries as possible. You can donate or sell the books you don’t want to keep to reduce the load.

Besides assessing what you have room for, relocating is also a terrific opportunity to decide what really needs to be transported to your new dwelling. This means you can start fresh by letting go of the items that no longer make you happy or serve you.

The easiest way to do so is to ask yourself, “Is this thing really worth the money, effort, and time it takes to move it?” Remember, your goal is to move only what you love, need, and regularly use to make the relocation more affordable and easier. Moreover, this lets you fill the new place with useful belongings and not clutter.

For example, you may decide to update or change the design of your house. In this case, you only want to bring the possessions that match your vision. Otherwise, let go of the items.

There are many tricks to help you declutter faster. Rather than decluttering your home by rooms, try to declutter by category. Gather all related objects in one spot, regardless of the place you normally store them. Then, declutter them at the same time.

Now, your new abode may not be organized the same as the current place. You might shift or change how and where some things are kept, but decluttering your items by category ties into this perfectly. It tells you how many similar items you have. Hence, instead of determining what’s enough for certain rooms, you can tell how much is enough of each type. This way, you won’t raise the price of your relocation with unnecessary possessions.

The tactic can also inspire you to be more scrutinous when decluttering. If there are books in multiple places throughout your house, gather them before relocating. Then, determine how many you want to keep, but base your decision on the collection, not how many books you store in each room.

Do Away With Hazardous Items

Moving flammable and hazardous items on your own is ill-advised. Your residential mover may not want to transport them either, and you shouldn’t throw them away in a standard trash can. For this reason, you’ll need to plan in advance to dispose of dangerous belongings, including pool chemicals, fireworks, gasoline, fire extinguishers, and propane tanks. The most common solution is to visit a hazardous waste drop-off.

Transfer Utilities

A couple of weeks before your household moving company, call your utility providers to inform them of your relocation. Your utilities include water, sewer, electricity, satellite, cable, internet, phone, security system, and trash pickup. If you’re moving within your city, you might be able to transfer the utilities to the new place. But if you’re relocating to a new city, you should research whether your provider offers installation in the area. Having the utilities turned on from day one is crucial, as it allows you to use water, power, and other resources.

There are a couple of points you should remember regarding your utility transfer. First, if you’re relocating to a community where the homeowners’ association (HOA) applies, your policy may cover basic expenses:

• Water
• Sewer
• Trash pickup
• Gas

If so, you can pay just one monthly bill to your HOA rather than five to various companies. This simplifies the whole process and makes it less likely to miss a payment or two.

Second, you should pay your default bills before the move. Ask your providers if you owe anything and pay any outstanding balances. Otherwise, you might be prevented from selling your current home, and your credit rating may suffer. Besides, clear balances allow you to get a fresh start in the new abode.

The next thing you should do is update the address. Call your providers and tell them the new address. This ensures you receive your future bills after the relocation. On top of that, consider changing the mailing address on the USPS (United States Postal Service) website. Here, you can quickly select the day when your mail forwarding will start. Keep in mind that there’s a $1.10 verification fee.

Finally, perform one last meter reading. Have your providers check out your electric, water, and gas meters. Should you receive an unexpected bill after the move, ask them to provide a copy of the reports.

Seamless Residential Moving Is Guaranteed With a Dependable Household Mover

Relocating isn’t so challenging if you take the right steps. The most important thing to remember is that you’re not alone. You can always outsource the job to seasoned housing movers. These qualified professionals know the ins and outs of residential transportation, making the process much smoother. If you’d like to learn more, don’t hesitate to reach out.