OrganizedMove
(Article
Sponsored by WeekendRUSH Moving Center) By Amy
Allen Clark Here is a
true story of a move from hell. My husband was offered a job in
Indiana, which would require us to make a cross-country move from
Massachusetts to the Midwest so we were then faced with the daunting task of
moving our belongings. Being in the insurance field, I realized that there were
a few important things I needed to do in order to make sure my belongings would
make it to our new home without any mishaps. I researched
moving companies and
priced them out to make sure that I was receiving the best deal, I asked for my
estimate to be made to me in writing, I checked the company with the
Better
Business Bureau, requested a binder of insurance, and added extra coverage to
our
homeowner’s policy to cover our contents while we were transitioning into
our new home. Doesn’t that sound like an educated consumer? Well, we were in
for the shock of our life when the move actually took place. The cost of the
move was about four thousand higher than the original estimate, all of our
furniture was ruined (many of which was irreplaceable), and the movers kept on
telling us that they were going to move our belongings, but then would not show
up on the days that were promised. To say it was a nightmare would be putting
it mildly. So how does an educated consumer avoid living a horror story like
mine? Well, the honest truth is that sometimes these scenarios are unavoidable,
but it never hurts to be educated and to know what precautions to take to avoid
becoming victim of your own move from hell.
Moving Stress Let it
first be said that most of us are going to have to move at least once. In fact,
the average American moves between seven and eleven times in their lifetime
(depending on your source for statistics) so it will probably hold true that you
are going to have to do this a few more times then you realize. Moving stress
is inevitable and even the most organized person is going to be stressed out by
the time moving day comes around. Psychiatrists list moving as one of the top
trauma-creating circumstances right after death and divorce. With as many times
as we move in our lifetime it should come as no surprise that the moving
industry generates seven billion dollars a year in revenues. Moving is taxing
physically, emotionally, and financially…. so take a deep breath and let’s begin
the steps towards an organized move. Choosing Your Mover
Before you
can begin thinking about moving you need to be thinking of whom you are going to
hire to accomplish this task or if you are going to try and move yourself.
Obviously, ideally you would like to hire someone else to take care of this for
you, but many of us cannot afford the luxury or there are those of us who just
don’t trust anyone else with our belongings. Although, financially speaking, you
may think that moving yourself is in your best interest, you really must weigh
your time, the gas for the vehicle, the rental of the vehicle, the mileage on
the car, and the loading and unloading, versus the amount paid for someone else
to do it.
Dave
Ramsey, who wrote, “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Smart Moving” came up with his
own Unreal Formula for Pricing the Do-It-Yourself Move.”
His
formula for this was:
Miles x
cubic feet x days on the road x current price of a Big Mac Meal + distance
between your location and Puckerbrush,
Nevada + distance required to avoid
driving by Aunt Martha’s / rental fee for videos in your new hometown. Reverse
the formula if you cross a longitudinal line during your move. Margin for error:
100%.
Of course
this formula was just a joke, but as with all moving expenses, it is very hard
to gauge the true cost of the move.
Should you
decide to hire a mover, you have to begin researching companies to find out
which mover is going to provide the best service for you as well as the best
price. A good resource for you when choosing a mover is your friends who have
experienced first-hand what a move with a particular company is like. Upon
getting a few referrals, then you will want to check with the Better Business
Bureau to make sure that the company does not have any claims against them. You
really want to research the company well and request references from each of the
companies to receive other first-hand accounts on the mover.
The best
advice I can offer is to check the company and then check the company again. I
think George E. Bennett put it best at the American Movers Conference when he
said, “You have people wanting to move all their earthly possessions, and they
just look in the Yellow Pages and call somebody. It’s amazing. The truck pulls
over; they take everything and drive away. That’s fantastic faith in your fellow
human beings. A lot of people just don’t do enough checking.
Amy’s Moving Tips
One thing
that you want to check for is if the company is licensed by FHA (if your moving
interstate) or by your state for intrastate moves. Keep in mind that some states
do not require licensing and that is when you want to rely on information
provided by the Better Business Bureau. The FHA has certain guidelines for
interstate moves and one of these is that the company is required to compile and
to make available to their customers their “Annual Performance Report” which
includes information such as their number of claims they have received for loss
or damages, how often they delivered late, and how often they incorrectly
estimated the final cost of shipment.
Don’t pick
just one company to work with- have at least three companies in mind so that you
can do cost comparisons between the companies to ensure that you are getting the
best deal.
Getting Your Estimate
I find
this to be one of the trickiest parts of moving because it is so hard to
estimate what you have especially when nothing is in
boxes and you are supposed
to estimate how many
boxes you anticipate having along with the estimates for
furniture and all that you have in
storage.
The most
important thing you need to know is that you must get your estimate in writing-
this is a must. If a company will not put the estimate in writing, then this is
not a company that you want to work with. The most reliable estimate you can get
is if they send a representative to your home to come out to do the estimate.
The reasoning for this, of course, is that they will be able to provide a very
accurate estimate and usually are held within a certain percentage limitation
for how high they can raise the price. Many movers, in fact will guarantee
their estimate if they compete a home survey.
If you are
unable to get a home estimate, you will have to tally up everything as best as
you can. Go from room to room making a list of all appliances and belongings.
Make rough estimates on the amount of boxes that you think you will have and I
think it is always better to overestimate rather than underestimate because you
probably have more than you think you have. Use this list as a guideline for the
moving company to come up with their estimate. Don’t forget to include things
like bicycles, exercise equipment, large screen televisions, and stereo
equipment.
There are
two types of estimates that you can request- a binding or a nonbinding estimate.
A binding estimate is a guaranteed final price estimate. Most companies charge
you extra to have this type of estimate, but Consumer Reports magazine
recommends going with this type of estimate “even though they can run slightly
higher than nonbinding ones.” A nonbinding estimate is just an estimate with no
guarantees. The final cost is then determined primarily by the actual weight of
the shipment multiplied by the distance traveled.
Once you
have received your estimates and you have chosen your mover after thoroughly
checking them, it is time to begin gathering up some paperwork you will need to
protect your belongings.
Amy’s Moving Tips
Have your
estimate done no more than sixty days before your scheduled move. Moving prices
can change as well as the amount of belongings you have accumulated, so sixty
days or less will provide you the most accurate estimate.
Don’t just
go with the cheapest company because they offer you the best deal. George
Bennett of the AMC says, “Be leery of the lowest one…the cheapest company could
have old equipment, people who aren’t trained movers, inadequate insurance,
whatever,”
Movers are
busiest at the end of the month. The busiest time is the last week of May, June,
July, and August. Some moves are planned four to six weeks in advance for these
dates- plan accordingly. Choose times where movers are less busy because this
will hopefully save you of having your belongings put into
storage and then
reloaded onto the truck. Every time your belongings are taken off of the truck,
that is one more time that they could be damaged.
Ask what
their packing policy is- do they wrap furniture for you? Do they have any
special requirements for lamps or other belongings that cannot be wrapped? Make
sure that you fully understand how your belongings are treated during the move.
Make sure
that they have adequate space in their truck for all of your belongings. Our
movers did not have a large enough truck to be carrying our belongings so they
shoved chairs on top of furniture and stacked things haphazardly in the truck
because they did not have enough space. Without adequate truck space your
belongings will definitely not be treated with the care that they should.
