It’s estimated that about 40 million people in the U.S. move every year, and you’d think that, because of this, hiring a moving company would be an easy process. But if you have any experience with making a big move, or if you’re getting ready to move, you probably already know that finding a good team of professional movers is anything but easy.
In particular, the process of collecting moving estimates is incredibly important, but it’s also very complicated. Here are just a few tips about why you should never overlook the importance of finding estimates:
1. First, you’ll want to get organized and mentally prepare yourself to sift through at least three or four different moving services. The best way to find different services is simply to ask around — find out which companies your relatives, friends, and neighbors have used recently, and check out any home improvement websites that offer unbiased reviews of the companies.
Don’t feel as though you need to hide this information from moving service estimators, either. You don’t need to be an expert on professional moving services, but simply showing that you’re not going to cut any corners and that you’re willing to do some behind-the-scenes research will encourage estimators to give you the most honest estimate they can.
2. You want to look only at professional moving companies that are willing to do an in-home estimate; the big companies offering online estimates won’t be able to see everything that you need to move, and they’re more likely to give you a much lower estimate than what the actual cost of moving will be. Most companies offer these estimates free of charge, but they are legally allowed to charge if they wish. The most important thing to remember is that a moving company isn’t allowed to charge you for a nonbinding estimate — it must be free of charge, or else the service can be held legally responsible for it as if it were binding.
3. In fact, the U.S. Department of Transportation even warns that professional moving companies will try to give estimates that are lower than the actual, final cost. One way to make sure that you aren’t overcharged exorbitantly is to ask for the companies to give you binding estimates — ideally, these are binding estimates that give a “not-to-exceed” cost for your move. This is more of a precaution than anything else, but it’s especially useful for eliminating stress if you’re moving to a new state.
For cross-state moves, you’ll likely be charged by the weight of your items plus the distance you’re travelling. For interstate moves, you’ll likely be charged by the amount of time it takes for the moving company to pack, transport, and unload everything. States usually issue their own regulations on moving services because there are few federal regulations, so it’s always a good idea to familiarize yourself with the regulations that your moving company is supposed to be following.
Remember, the most information you have before your move, the more comfortable you’ll feel throughout the whole process — and after all, what’s the point of hiring a moving service if it stresses you out more? Check out this site for more.