Moving to a new location is often fun and exciting, even if the moving process is not the highlight of your day. Besides hiring someone to pack and unpack your things or do it yourself, the cost of hiring a moving company and equipment is not cheap. And if you’re moving far away, you’ll need a lot more help than having a neighbor with a truck to help you out.
If you want to ensure that everything will arrive safely, then you will want to do it yourself. This way, you can pack and unpack everything carefully. Of course, it takes a long time.
An alternative is to find a reputable professional moving company that you can sign a contract with that clearly states that your things are guaranteed to arrive safely or will be replaced by the company.
Even if you pack your own house, you will probably find that it is almost impossible to move on your own, especially if you move to the other side of the state or the country. Even if you have a garage sale to get rid of things, you will probably find that it is less expensive to move most of your belongings to your new home than to furnish it from scratch.
With that in mind, the process of hiring a moving company requires a bit of planning. This is because some companies may offer you a free moving truck upgrade and charge you by the mile, while others may offer unlimited mileage but charge you based on the size of the truck you need.
So to save the most money, you will have to shop around for potential prices. The best thing to do is get quotes from various moving companies. How early you contact them and the day of the week you move will affect their cost.
If you know you are moving long before the actual move, don’t delay in calling the moving companies. Then, when you find one you want to hire, sign a contract to guarantee the price. Don’t wait because prices can change.
And when you get quotes, keep in mind that demand for moving equipment is typically lower in the middle of the week. If you can schedule your move between Tuesday and Thursday, you can save a lot of money.
When obtaining quotes, find out if boxes, packing materials, and packing tape are included in the price or if an additional fee will be charged. Also find out if you have to rent dollies and other lifting and moving equipment or are included in the price as well.
Once you’ve narrowed down your choice of moving companies, ask for the contact information of three of your most recent clients and give them a call to find out what their experiences were.
Before you move, take a written inventory of everything. Then once you’ve moved in, check each item on your list to see if it arrived safely. If it’s damaged, you know that the sooner you file a complaint, the more likely you will receive compensation for it.
Since moving companies may not be qualified to disassemble and assemble complex electronic equipment and / or gadgets, you should either do it yourself or hire other professionals to do it.
And finally, if you decide to hire a moving company to pack your things, make sure you are charged by weight rather than volume. If they charge by volume, you are opening the door for them to intentionally pack under their boxes to charge you more.