Make Your Move a Smooth One

Making a move can take its toll on you. Just as you think you have everything in order, something else comes up. Such is the life of people who are transitioning from one home to the next. You cannot foresee every problem that crops up, but you can head off each one. Here’s how to make your move a smooth one and survive this life challenge.

Get Organized. You’re organized at work and you have your home in good shape.  But to move from one home to the next requires you to step up your game. Specifically, you need to acquire a planner and a file organizer to track your move. The planner can either be a book or an app; the organizer should have several pockets to hold all the important paperwork you will be assembling from now until you move.

Purge the Excess. Likely, there are any number of items in your home that you don’t need or want. In other words, these are items that won’t or shouldn’t be making the move with you. Separate the items that aren’t going with you from the items that will be moving with you. You want your moving company representative to base her estimate on those goods that are going only explains Allied Moving. Then, throw out, donate or sell the excess.

Contact a Real Estate Agent. As soon as you can, meet with a real estate agent about putting your home on the market. This individual should be experienced, knowledgeable, and have a plan in place to market your home. If you are moving without the assistance of your company’s relocation service, this is a job you will handle all by yourself. Still, if you find an agent who knows her stuff, then you can bet she’ll market your home with abandon. Have that meeting, listen to her tips on home staging, and sign the contract once you feel comfortable about the asking price, the agent’s fee, and the related services.

Get the Moving Company Estimates. Contact the licensed moving companies to obtain estimates for the work you want to have done. Entertain at least three representatives to get a good mix of binding estimates. The estimates will most likely come in near each other, but not always. Verify that the company is licensed, insured, registered, and bonded before you sign the contract. Determine a moving date and begin to work toward that big day.

Start Packing. You should begin packing as soon as possible. Acquire boxes from friends and neighbors as well as from local businesses, including grocery stores, hardware stores, warehouse clubs, and the like. Pick up packing material, purchase box tape, and consider a system for organizing your boxes by room. Color-coordinated stickers is one way to ensure that the boxes end up in the correct room.

Look for a Home. You’ll need to travel to your new city to find a home. Once the moving process is underway; schedule a long weekend visit to your future community. Ask your real estate agent for an agent reference and make contact. Explain what you want, when you will be in town, and make that trip. You may be able to find a home in short order. If not, renting is an option to consider for the short term; you can always buy a home once you have acclimated to the community and understand which neighborhoods suit your family best.

Gather your paperwork. You’ll need to assemble all your important paperwork and keep that in your accordion file. Here, you will include your moving contract, your real estate contract, and copies of medical files from the dentist, doctors, and veterinarian. The school files will be placed there too.

Getting it Done

There is much other work to be done, including holding a moving sale, asking people to help you pack, dealing with the feelings of your spouse and children, and ensuring that the pets are ready to travel too. Moving is a lot of work, but staying organized is the best way to handle it. Before you know it, you and your family will be heading out, starting a new life, and taking in everything that your new community has to offer.

Related source: Ways to get free moving boxes