Movers Watch

Moving is never an easy task, but if you don’t have too many restrictions while deciding the moving date, there are some things that you should keep in mind.

If you have children, it is but obvious that you will need to consider their school term and vacations. Most people try and wait for the term to end, so that they can comfortably move during the vacations. This is fine as long as you don’t move immediately after the term ends. Give your kids some time to get used to the idea of moving, to say their goodbyes to friends and neighbours. Also allow yourself and the kids some time to settle down. Take the kids to the new school, and introduce them to their new teachers if possible. Some people are of a different opinion and say the kids won’t have friends to spend time with during the vacation. I say that always holds true, and this way they would have time to adjust to their new home and be better prepared for the new school year.

The same applies to you as well.

Try and avoid moving prior to major holidays which is when you’re supposed to spend time with your family. These may include Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and so on. Same goes for birthdays, anniversaries and the like. Move some time before the starting of the holiday season so that you get a sense of belonging and being a part of the community by then. Even moving immediately after a holiday isn’t a bad idea. It’s a rather good time say your goodbyes to friends as well as family at get-togethers.

As for the cost, rates are bound to be high as summer is peak season for moving. Make sure you check with the movers regarding bookings, availability, and service. Often students wanting summer jobs replace full-time employees leading to a change in the level of service. Keep that in mind. It does cost extra to move during the summers, but then moving in winters is not easy. Travel is tough, and there is a risk of items getting damaged in case of sudden and/or extreme climate changes. Summers on the other hand provide near perfect weather, school is off, and help is easily available.

Moving doesn’t necessarily have to be something you only pay for. You can make decent money (of course not always enough to cover the moving cost) in the process. How? Sell stuff of course! Yes, host a yard sale/garage sale. And money isn’t the only benefit. A garage sale is a very effective way to sort through your stuff as well. Keep the stuff you know you’ll need, and put the rest up for sale. In the process, you reduce the weight of the goods to be transported, and save on transport cost as well.

Decide on a tentative date for the sale and give yourself at least three weeks to prepare. Fridays or Saturdays are the best for a garage sale because its the weekend and people don’t have to go to work the next day. Avoid Sundays as your tentative customers might have plans for a weekend outing. Set a sale time that is convenient for you, and should get max customers, say 10am to 5pm.

You can host the sale in your yard, garage + driveway or the basement. In case you’re moving out of an apartment and don’t have these options, a friend’s yard or if nothing else, a flea market is where you need to go.

The success of any sale is dependent on the publicity it gets. So advertising, and good advertising, is very important. The more people know, the more customers you get and the more you sell. You could use any or all of the following methods to advertise the sale:

• Newspaper Ads
• Public Bulletin Boards
• Word of Mouth
• Signs showing the way

Give an ad in your local daily with a suitable title and your address. Depending on the charges, promote the best items in your sale to attract people. Libraries, laundry-mats, stores have bulletin boards where people can put up notices. Put up fliers there, and hand out more to the crowd at these places. Of course, tell your family and friends, and tell them to tell their friends. Word of mouth spreads easy, fast and cheap. Also, on the day of the sale, put up big clear signs in your area that lead to your place, or wherever you’ve hosted the sale.

The advertising is done, now to set up. Put price tags on every item. Categorise - put the furniture one side, electronics and appliances one side, the clothes one side. If you want to make it look more attractive, set up the clothes on a rack, stack the books neatly and so on. Also make sure everything is clean and shiny to enhance the feel good factor. Remember to keep lots of bags, boxes and newspapers for packing the sold items. Hopefully, things will be good.

Of course you won’t be able to sell everything (unless you’re super-duper lucky), so you’ll have some stuff left over. The best thing to do with this is donate. If it was in the sale, you probably didn’t need it anyways. So go ahead, do a good deed, and you shall be rewarded.

Shifting houses is by no means an easy task. Add to that handing over all your belongings to some cap wearing strangers who drive trucks — Stress unlimited! Ok, I may be exaggerating a bit, but the fact still remains that choosing the right moving company is almost as critical to the move as choosing the right place to move to. And making the wrong choice can no doubt prove disastrous. So here are some things that should be kept in mind while choosing a relocating company.

Research is the keyword when making this decision. Check the yellow pages, surf the web, talk to your friends or colleagues, get all the info you can. Do this and make a rough list of the supposedly good ones. The next stop should be the BBB or the Better Business Bureau (http://www.bbb.org). This is where you can check out the if the companies have any complaints registered against them, and most probably you will find some. Also, check with the Department of Transportation (DoT) regarding the companies’ licenses. The last thing you want is to be scammed by a new company with a name similar to an already established one.

Once you’ve done this much, relax for a while. You’re halfway through! Ok now, back to work. Whatever queries you have in mind, write them down on a piece of paper. Remember to include pick-up, delivery, expenses etc. Now call up all the shortlisted companies, put to them all the questions that you wrote, and note down whatever they tell you, so that you can compare later. Any good company will send an estimator to your place who will provide you with an estimate regarding the weight of your goods and the corresponding cost of transporting them. If a company is unwilling to do so, please willingly efface its name from your list.

Next, obtain a WRITTEN quote from the company. This quote would depend on the weight of the goods, the distance of the move, fragile items, pickup and delivery, and the day/date of the move ( weekend and holiday rates are usually higher than other days). You can choose from a variety of plans depending on what your movers offer, for example movers pack ‘n’ move, or you pack and they move. As such, a company cannot charge you more than 10% above the originally quoted price, but to be on the safer side, get a NOT TO EXCEED clause included in the contract. This protects you from being overcharged even if the cost incurred by them is more. All this must be documented in paper. This is your only scam protection.

Well, you’re almost done. You have the research, the reviews and the rates. Just see what suits you best, and come to a decision. Also, remember to make bookings a month or two in advance. You don’t want to be stuck at the last moment. Just keep all this in mind and you should have no trouble at all.

You must be pretty apprehensive if you plan to move in the near future, especially if you have young kids with you. Moving is a mentally taxing business, and having to handle children makes it all the more difficult… but it is important that you understand your kids’ feelings and help him accept the move without too much anxiety and mental stress. Moving with kids can be thought of in two ways: Preparing the kids for the move and the actual move itself. There are a number of things you can do to make your kids more comfortable about all of it:

PREPARING KIDS FOR THE MOVE

• Make sure that your kids meet all their best friends before leaving town…if possible, arrange a small party for them. You can get some presents for them to make them feel special. It would also be a good idea to create a photo album for them so that they can cherish their dearest memories…
• Getting the kids to psychologically accept the move is very important. Sit down and talk with them frankly and on a regular basis before the move. Make them understand the necessity of the move, and how your new place will be better for them to grow.
• To get your kids excited about the move, it would be a good idea to make your new home beautiful and enjoyable for them. Decorate their rooms with posters and paintjobs based on their favourite characters…get their favourite toys for them…basically create an atmosphere in which they feel welcome.
• Before the move, try to get acquainted with some of your new neighbours, and if possible get your kids introduced to their new playmates. It would also be a good idea to take them to visit their new school, and some of the best sights of your new neighbourhood.

MISSION: MOVING!!

• Ensure that they are satisfied with the way their belongings are packed, and comfortable with the idea of the move.
• Don’t expose them to the hardships associated with moving… If possible send them to a friend’s house when all the rough work is being done. It’s essential that they stay comfortable all the time.
• Do something special to make them feel special during the actual travelling… you could take some special mode of transport which you normally wouldn’t.
• Once in your new neighbourhood, try to make settling into the new atmosphere as easy for them as possible… get them their favourite things to eat, and take them out often.

Make sure that your kids are in their comfort zone before, during and after the move. Don’t let them loose their cheerfulness. Try to make life more colourful for them!!

May is the start of the peak moving season, but the scene doesn’t look so good this time, say the movers. “We get more than 250 bookings in May, but if things keep going like this, we’ll be lucky to reach a hundred,” said Frank Rolapp, president of a moving company in Beverly Hills. He added that this year will probably see a lot of people going out of business in the moving industry. Read more »

Even though it looks like simple, getting your addresses changed is one of the most arduous tasks associated with moving to a new locality. Life seems difficult if bills, magazines and other important mails keep getting delivered to your old address after you’ve moved… Credit card and mobile phone bills specially create a lot of problem because of overdue payment fines. But this difficult task can be made simple if you follow a certain simple guidelines, and go about the process of getting your address changed in a procedural and systematic manner.

It is very important that you have a clear idea regarding all the places you would want to get your address changed. It would be a good idea to sit down a few weeks before your planned move and think of all such places… Make a list of everything that comes to your mind. The first ones would be mobile phone service providers, magazines and banks… but you’ll discover that there are many others as well.

Visit your local post office and have them change your address officially. It would be a huge bonus if you can get your mail redirected too. This procedure is generally not too difficult, and if the officials happen to be cooperative, it can be carried out with relative ease.

Sequentially arrange all the subscriptions you currently hold. Apply to have the important ones transferred to your new address (This facility is easily available these days…). If you have some business concerns (such as stocks, etc.) then get in touch with the people you deal with and get your mail redirected.

Next comes your cell phone. If you intend to keep your current connection, apply to have the billing address changed to your new place. Otherwise, you can get your connection cancelled. Its very easy to procure a new one these days, you should face any problems on that front.

If you’re not changing jobs, ensure that your residential address is modified in their records…else you might miss some important correspondence. Also, if you intend to have your kids study in the same schools, then have your address changed with them so that all report-cards and the like are delivered safely.

Last but not the least, get in touch with your bankers and have your address changed with them. It’s really important that you receive your bank statements and credit/debit card bills at your new address (otherwise the fines are really hefty…)

If you follow these simple steps, you shouldn’t face too much trouble in getting your mail at your new home… But despite your best efforts, it’s possible that some of it might still creep into your old mailbox ;-P. It’s advisable to get a friend of yours to check your mailbox at some convenient interval and redirect it to you…!!

Announced at May 1st, Lincoln moving and storage are now working as an agent for Bekins Moving and Storage.

Lincoln moving and storage is a local moving company working in Ohio since 1904 which was purchased in 1975 by Parma Movers.

This news adds up with more & more merges that are taking place in recent years by huge corporations over small, local Moving Companies. Read more »

Well…. this is not a review of bekins moving, but more of a request for review.

Since starting this site I’ve received several requests for reviews on Moving Companies and since I’ve not used their services and since there’s no time to wait for someone to actualy submit a review I’ve decided to try and call all of you guys that have used Bekins Moving & Storage services to send us your reviews - good or bad.

When moving overseas, you can move your stuff either by air, or by sea. Moving by air is obviously shorter but more expensive while taking the ocean route is longer but comparitively inexpensive. The latter is the more common choice, but more and more people are opting for transportation of their goods by air. You can opt for either after considering the cost (make sure you include the cost of renting furnished apartments for the time it takes for your goods to reach by boat). Goods are shipped by sea in large containers. You can go for a single container, but a shared container provides more value for your money.

Look for a good international moving company, and let them do their job. It might be slightly expensive, but trust me, the peace of mind is worth it. As is routine, you will get an estimate from the movers based on the weight of the goods to be transported, and most companies ask for prepayment for overseas shipping. You will get a refund, or be billed according to the difference in cost incurred after completion of the job. Do not forget to get all your items insured before the move. Again, your mover will provide you with this option. Get a policy based on the value of the goods in the country you’re moving to. Important documents and jewellery should be carried by you only. Check with the embassy of your country for specific information about customs and other taxes and duties on your shipped goods. Your mover will be able to help you with this.

Owing to the highly expensive nature of the task, try and keep the weight of your goods to a minimum. A good way to do this is to hold a yard sale to get rid of stuff you don’t need. If you’re left with some stuff after the sale, donate it. As for the furniture, if you’re moving long-term, then only consider taking your furniture with you. If you’re moving for say a year or two, first find out about furnished accomodation in your new destination, then see what is cheaper. If moving short-term, you can keep your furniture in storage.

Your vehicle is also an important consideration. My advice would be that unless your car is very valuable, or is modified to suit your needs, or is of sentimental value to you, sell it, and get a new one once you get to your new home. If you have to move it, you can get a shared (or private, if your pocket allows) container and get it shipped by sea or air, whichever suits you. Do remember to obtain an international driving permit if you have to drive your car there. You will also need at least three attested copies of the vehicles make, model, colour and license. Again, your mover should have an idea about this.

If you have a pet, you will again need to consult the embassy regarding rules and regulations for moving pets. Your pet will need to have all their shots and vaccines, along with all required certificates no older than two weeks before the date of your arrival.

You can find more information at some of the following websites:

Association of Americans Resident Overseas (AARO) - www.aaro.org

Expatriate Resources & Resources for Global Relocation - www.expatexchange.com

All American Corporation was honored with the American Moving and Storage Association’s inaugural Moving and Storage Agent of the Year Service Excellence Award. The company was awarded during the Association’s annual Education Conference & Expo held in Orlando, Florida. This award comes as the icing on the cake as the All American Corporation also celebrated its 10^th anniversary recently.

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