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Weight based moves are calculated by a mover coming to your home prior to the move starts with a weight ticket of their empty truck. This is taken at a "dot certified" weight scale. After all your items are loaded onto the truck, it is then taken back to a weight scale and weighed again. The client is then responsible for the balance of the two tickets. (The difference between the empty truck and the truck with the items on it).

A long carry is a charge added by movers which signifies that the distance between where the truck is parked and the entrance point of the home is BEYOND 75 feet. Charges for this service range dramatically in pricing and is a question that should be directly asked to whichever mover you chose.

Common misconception. When an elevator is charged on your order (usually $75) that money goes to the movers directly for having the job take longer then it needs to. Movers are restricted with how much they can fit into the home at once when using a small or even a cargo elevator. Also someone needs to be down with the truck at all times to make sure the items are protected while the other two movers are upstairs regardless on the size of the job. Whereas on smaller first floor job or small house moves; you can use two men for labor.

It really depends on a number of factors: A) how many years have you lived in this home...B) how many people live there. C) how big is your house . Answer A) over 18 years B) over 4 C) over 4K sa ft. If you answer above these answers I posted, I would always recommend an in home.
With that being said, in my professional opinion as long as you are willing to take the time and compile a list of the furniture you are going to take; an in home isn't necessary. People think that an in home transfers the responsibility on the accuracy of the Estimate to the Mover in an in home estimate. That is not the case. Regardless of an over the phone or an in home estimate, the movers have the same level of "binding" attachment to the price and the estimate. I commonly use this analogy when speaking to customers I ask, "if you buy a bedroom set after the in home estimator leaves, the movers are still going to charge u for the extra weight/space of it when they come on move day"

Not at all. In fact, any estimate that is calculated by weight is always considered "non binding" regardless of an in home or not. That is due to the fact that if additional items are added or services are rendered on move day; the additional charges are added accordingly.

That is a question I am always uncomfortable answering but I just say what I have always done. In my moves, I have given the foreman (the head guy $50 per day of work, and the helpers each $30 per day of work). I also make sure to have food and drinks for them to start and finish everything with enough energy.

Never ever no way no how. If you want to insure it; do not go near it. Let the movers handle it all.

For professional packing Entails professional movers coming into your home, taking the items out of the cabinets and closets, and packing them on your behalf. This also includes but is not limited to : mattress covers, stretch wrapping of fabric furniture, and protecting any and all glass front cabinets such as curio, tv, and China cabinets. Clothing is packed either in wardrobes (local) or folded in med/lg boxes(long distance) (this is explained in a question below about wardrobes)

Some of these things are laws, some are my tips: Liquids, propane tanks that aren't completely empty, anything containing gasoline, aerosol cans, live plants, frozen or perishable food. Items valuing over $20 per pound, jewelry, medication, birth certificates/social security cards/ passports, tax documents, any form of currency.

With most movers, a motorcycle can be shipped very easily using a tool called "brace bars." These are placed on the trucks "e-track" system and locks in on both points to secure the bikes not unstable during transit.

No. The department of agriculture prevents household goods movers from taking any living plants on our trucks.

Uhaul/Home Depot/lowes, etc. also, cheapcheapmovingboxes.com does drop shipping to your front door and has a buy back program on unused boxes. Would recommend their multiple- bedroom moving kits that include everything needed for the approximate number of rooms listed. Also your mover can provide the amount and sizes of boxes needed and estimated on your moving inventory so you stay within your volume if you are using a binding cubic footage estimate

Yes and that main difference is one word: HUMIDITY. Climate controlled storage will always provide both air conditioning/controlling of Climate of the items stored as well as humidity. Air Conditioned storage units will not.

With most movers, in order to get the best rates possible, try calling 90-120 days in advance. Most people want to wait until they have their closing dates lined up; and everything perfectly finalized. From the standpoint of someone who has been apart of every stage of a moving company; you will end up paying more for no reason when you wait for every date to be lined perfectly. Either that, or you will scramble for movers last minute. Regardless of your situation, now is the best time to start planning. When you find a mover you feel comfortable with that has a price within your budget, that is the time to book your move. Lots of companies give you a year to confirm your actual move date with just a small deposit to reserve your pricing. That way you have the negotiations as well as a binding price set for the largest variable in your moving budget.

Within 60 days.

60 cents per pound is exactly how it sounds. The mover is liable for giving the client back $0.60 cents on the pound per item damaged by their services. For example; your 250 pound dresser will be claimed at $150. Your 18 lb LED Samsung tv will get $10.80...(a little cheaper then Black Friday deals )

A bad word for some reason now a days. Here's the Deal with moving brokers, just like any company, if you are a new company that does not have any established business relationships, you probably will not succeed in business. This is what happens in our industry with Moving brokers. Every day a new Moving brokerage opens up with the hopes of becoming number one. At the end of the day all they do is end up ruining family's lives and giving the moving industry and even worse reputation than it already has gotten . The main issue is that these moving companies that the broker subcontract to have no allegiance to the Brokeridge nor the moving plans so they do not care about how the job is handled delivered or treated. The moving company understands that the issues will follow up on the broker and the broker nowadays has done everything in their power of hiding their online reputation whether it's with falsified reviews, virtual addresses, or under bidding jobs . I have worked with brokers that have amazing contracts with amazing company is that any person would be honored to work with. These companies still have difficulty reserving jobs because of the stigmatism the broker name is gotten because of the bad apples spoil the bunch. Don't get me wrong, this is beyond the "MOVING APT's" of the world.( a notoriously bad brokerage out of Miami). This is an issue created by consumers that has now snowballed into a dirty game of falsified reports and hiding behind the shadows. These are not the same values our grandfathers instilled on us when talking about building a company name and standing behind your brand. These are criminals that do criminal things because it was what they set out to do from the beginning. Their only concern is your deposit, your move is secondary.

Moving agent is a smaller company that works with the major Vanlines such as United or Bekins in order to gain notoriety and jobs from their local surrounding areas. These companies survive off of the "major van lines" affiliations and do not usually have a reputation of their own to go off of.

Great question. A cross country delivery of A 2-3 bedroom apartment/house from Florida to California should take approximately 12 to 17 calendar days. The department of transportation gives Moving Company is up to 21 business days from the first date you say you are available. Make sure upon pick up day you are very clear about your availability and when you expect your delivery. Make sure you get all of these things in writing from your sales person. The main way to make sure that you were not disappointed in your delivery time frame is not to be unreasonable with your request. A lot of times companies will say what they need to say in order to get the job, right on, do your best as a consumer and protect yourself with a reasonable delivery window.

That's the movers guarantee delivery days depending on your distance you're traveling. For an additional charge moving companies will guarantee usually 24 to 48 hour window as long as it's within the department of transportation guidelines for reasonable Dispatch.

No, never, please don't. This has happened once with my clients and it is not fun. Never do this.

No, actually the contrary. What happens when you disassemble something at the origin, the movers are legally on able to reassemble it at the Destiination. So basically less is more when it comes to disassembly of standard furniture items. Now, one thing that is legally required to be disassembled by the client and never the mover is a crib. That is the only item unable to be disassembled or reassembled by a professional mover.

Sure. From my research, a deposit has never distinguished between a reputable or scam company. There's been reputable companies that require deposits and movers that I would consider scammers that do not. Sometimes moving companies are going to be traveling a far distance between the point where their truck is going to be in with your pick up location is, so the deposit is used toward expenses as opposed to fronting the cost of the job on your behalf. Regardless of the reason for the deposit, do not shy away from a mover simply because the deposit is required, nowadays it is actually quite common. Another big misconception is that all movers who require a deposit our brokers. This is absolutely not true and I actually frustrating when I hear it. Moving Company is off and request a deposit in order to ensure the fact that when their truck arrives at your home you will be present and not arriving to an empty home that was moved days before. With the small financial commitment given to a mover that you are trusting with your lifelong possessions, a deposit really shouldn't matter.

Believe it or not, a pro mover is actually easier to budget then the self-service option moves. That reason being, when you reserve with the pro mover a lot of times the deposit is required, a portion is paid upon pick up, and then the remainder is paid upon delivery weather after storage or after one or several weeks. Can you do a self-service move, the rental truck needs to be paid in full including taxes upfront, your gas needs to be paid as you use it and once the truck is returned, and your storage needs to be paid prior to entering the unit. Utilize the moving companies payment structure as a way of financing and budgeting your move. As long as you're planning in advance like this guy tells you to, you will be thanking me in the end.

A pod is a term coined by a company meeting personal on demand storage which is a metal container dropped off in front of a home or business left there for usually a maximum of three days in which you can load at your own pace. They are handled on to Trucks with forklifts and offer only a maximum of $.10 per pound liability coverage as opposed to $.60 per pound offered by Moving Company's. Do you also do not have a climate or's temperature controlled option in storage, rather it is left outside your location on pick up or Destiination. Upon review of a lot of the pod companies websites, I see a lot of negative reviews about delivery time frames as well as hidden charges that are not discussed upfront.

A box truck is a Truck that is similar to a pick up truck body with a big moving body on the back. Similar to a U-Haul or Penske size rental truck, the most common size box truck is a 26 foot

A Tractor trailer is a 53 foot moving container attached to a sleeper Trailor that is used for cross country Deliveries and large shipments. It has a volume capacity of 4200 cubic feet. Make sure your destination location can accommodate this size vehicle so you do not have to get a shuttle charge last minute.

Shuttle is the rental of a smaller box truck by the moving company to transport the belongings from there large 18 wheeler tractor trailer to your home since the tractor trailer cannot access the home within a reasonable distance.

I always suggest yes. They way can verify the fact that the movers are doing a good job on both pick up and delivery, all the items are being packed and wrapped satisfactorily, as well as the possibility of any additional increase in costs; you want to make sure you are there in order to handle any charges that may arise, and negotiate on the spot as opposed to after the fact.

Yes tape is included on most long distance moves. Make sure if you're moving locally that your mover includes tape...(that is a common scam and last minute charge added on by scam movers).

A TV crate is normally a broken down cardboard box or a piece of corrugated cardboard that is folded around a flatscreen TV after being bubble wrapped in order to protect it in transit. Do not assume a crate is always wooden in moving. As a matter of fact, 99% of the time it's not necessary and way more expensive then a corrugated crate would be that offers the same level of protection.

The million dollar question. The most unexplained and misunderstood portion of any moving estimate from both the consumer and the estimator. It's sad to know that 9 out of 10 "sales representatives" at these moving companies don't even know how to properly explain this, causing a lot of issues. With that being said; full value protection is NOT insurance. It is protection/coverage of a monetary value offered by the moving company which is now acting directly as the insurer of your goods. The calculation of the valuation coverage on the damaged item is six dollars per pound as opposed to the released valuation which is standard of $.60 per pound.
Essentially it is 10 times the coverage offered by the moving company. The issue with this is, you are now dealing with the moving company acting as the insurance company. If there are any discrepancies as far as the condition of the furniture prior to loading; (scratches, dings or dents), they will notate this on the inventory; making the item unable to be offered a claim at time of the payout. It is also limited on how much valuation coverage you can add to your shipment. They calculate this by six times your shipments weight. Example: A 5500 lb shipment can only get a maximum of $33,000 of full value protection from your mover. This has to be purchased on move day from the mover directly and noted on your bill of lading.

Movers will make you sign A declaration of exceptional value stating that anything shipped is not valued over $20 per pound. They also will not ensure any items that are by yourself. They will mark on the inventory is about condition of the furniture prior to loading that may not be accurate therefore making it harder to file a claim. If you book with a broker they can work as a Liaison between you and the mover after the move has been completed if there are any damages. A lot of times, especially with inexpensive moves, movers can't take ANY loabity due to the cost being so low and the profit margin being so low. On a $1600 cross country minimum move (200 cu ft or 2000 pounds) unless you're within 50 miles of the movers Warehosue; there is usually less then $300 profit on the job. So when one of these items is a family heirloom valued over $5000, it's encouraged to go with a third party insurance agency just Incase anything may happen. It is not only unreasonable but unfair for a client to want the mover to take liability exceeding the value of the shipment costs without having additional coverage.

No! Absolutely not! Cubic footage estimates aren't only legal, they're the only estimate I would ever recommend.

When you need to. Lol. There is no answer to this question that is right or wrong. Movers always have the same cost (give or take 50c per cu ft in the summer if they outsource deliveries like 80% of movers do). So find a mover that you feel comfortable with, find a moving coordinator at that company that you work well with and understands YOUR NEEDS; and move!

You can very easily check the department of transportation website and search your movers dot number. Also, I will post a link : HERE to a part of our site where you can verify local movers licensing by their state.

Call us now at 877-219-8549

First don't panic. Is it the weekend? Is it past or not during business hours? Is it a holiday? If not, and you feel you're being avoided, check the moving companies reviews by googling their name. If you see a lot of sites with less then 3 stars, send an email stating you are no longer interested in using their services and contact your credit card company to stop the payment on your credit card.

NO.

Yes, most movers will include a stop up to 20 miles for no charge. Inquire with your mover to see if they charge. Also see what size truck so your accessibility isn't an issue on any of your locations.

No. If you are looking for this answer to see if it will save you money; then I'm sorry but you shouldn't be hiring a professional moving company. Even the most well thought out move with a perfect inventory is subject to "Murphy's law." (Which happens to love moving). If an unexpected $75-$100 is going to throw your budget off so much that it will make it unaffordable; then please rent a truck and do the move yourself so you know exactly what your costs are.

Most of the time moving companies do not charge for internal stairs such as two story homes or basement flights.

No. Local moves are calculated on an hourly basis (or weight in California). Long distance moving quotes aren't subject to change depending on hours. Some companies charge "wait times" if they show up at your home and you are unavailable. But not in regards to the actual labor.

That is up to your moving company. For a two bedroom move or less expect two men. Three to four bedrooms three men/ four if there's a full packing service included. Five bedrooms or a move over 3000 cu ft should have four-five men but that's the most there should ever be on a move.

No. Boxes should all be covered to protect the items inside.