Local Movers - When it’s Time to Relocate

All of the personal items and decorative touches that help to transform a house into a home, plus furniture and electronics and maybe the appliances, will need to be boxed up, bubble wrapped or dollied onto a truck in order to make the trip out of the old place and into the new dream home across town. This process can seem daunting, maybe even a bit overwhelming to some people, if left to tackle it all on their own. Where to begin the task can feel like an impossible decision to make when faced with a life’s worth of “stuff”. A very wise decision to make at this point is to contact some local movers and request a representative come out, do a walk through and evaluation of the contents of the home, then write up a few estimates. This will help to break down what the process will entail on the end of the homeowner and help to determine how much of a financial investment they are willing to make to get it done.

Professional local movers will produce several different estimates for the homeowner based on the level of work to be done, either by the movers or the homeowner. A full pack move includes all contents of the home being packed up by the movers, put on the truck, delivered to the new location and deposited into the various rooms of the house. All labor, packing materials and delivery should be written into the estimate. A second option is to purchase the packing materials and the homeowner packs everything up, the movers simply load the truck and deliver everything to a single room (living room or garage) and they are done. There are several “optional” services that can be provided:

- Dismantling and packaging electronics and setting them up at new home.

- Referring a locksmith or cleaning service for new home

- A carpenter/builder person can be available to assist with certain types of furniture

- Moving appliances

- Towing or transporting a second vehicle

- If there are stairs involved, request a written estimate for a “flight of stairs fee,” an additional charge that can add up very quickly during a move.

Rates for local movers can vary: a binding flat rate (from start to finish, until the job is done), non-binding (subject to change) and an hourly rate (per person, per hour, per truck). Have the rate put into the written estimate, and ask about the 'flight of stairs' fee, if the home has a staircase.

Professional local movers should be bonded, insured and all of their employees pre-screened since they will be inside the client’s home and handing personal items. The company should have a good reputation and have been operating their business for several years within the community. The use of local movers can make relocating from the old home to the new one a smooth, less stressful transition for the homeowner.