Colorado Springs Realty - 10 Tips to take the hassle out of moving!

It is so exciting when you sell or buy a home in Colorado Springs but moving is one thing most people do not look forward to. Many buyers and sellers dread moving especially if they have a lot of stuff. One option that may save time is hiring a moving company. If you decide to hire movers, one way to save money is by reducing the amount of work the movers have to do once they get to your home. It will reduce the amount of your bill significantly.

1. Move ALL of the furniture from the rooms in the upper level and basement level to the garage and main level living area. When we recently moved, we brought a pair of sofas upstairs from the basement and it was tricky due to the narrow hallways! We had to take the stair railing off and remove the couch legs. It saved us 30 min. on moving day because we already moved them.
2. Take apart furniture. Many movers will take apart kitchen tables and remove mirrors off of dressers. Save time and do it before moving day.
3. Pack your own boxes. Save money and pack well in advance. The movers will gladly help you box items but it will not be free!
4. Wrap, wrap, wrap! Movers spend SO much time wrapping dressers, couches, and televisions with plastic. You can purchase large rolls of plastic wrap from your local hardware store and do it yourself. We wrapped some of our own furniture and fragile items which in turn saved the movers' time and money for us.
5. Get a good estimate! We had someone come out for an estimate and the salesman said we would only need on 27ft truck. Everything fit but it took a lot of time on moving day for the movers to plan on how to organize the furniture on the truck, too much time!! If the estimator had planned on two trucks, we would have paid more for an additional truck but saved on the hour or so total time the movers spent just talking amongst each other on the best plan of action...our stuff barely fit!!
6. If given the choice, order 2 movers instead of 3 for loading and hire 3 for unloading. In our situation, when loading the truck, 2 movers would be working and the other would just be standing there doing nada, nothing, zilch! It wasn't worth having a 3^rd mover to load the truck. Two movers could easily have gotten the job done without the third helper. Unloading is a different story, the more movers you have to unload the truck, the better. Unloading always goes much, much faster!
7. Unhook your washer and dryer. Your washer will have some water that will need to be drained and that takes time, so save time and do it yourself before moving day. Unhook the plumbing for the washer and the dryer vent from the dryer.
8. Have a garage sale! If you do not use it, get rid of it! The less you have to move the better. Have two bags to help you sort items when going through your closets: one for charity or a garage sale and one for throw away. Don't lug things you do not wear or use around from one house to another.
9. Get three estimates. Any time you hire a mover, make the time to get a few estimates. What type of insurance does the mover offer? Do the movers undergo background checks? Are there any hidden fees you don't know about or does the estimate include all charges? Some movers charge by the hour, some charge by the weight amount on the truck, etc...
10. Schedule movers well in advance. The busiest time for moving is between June and September. If you are going to move during busy season, try moving in the middle of the month and the middle of the week instead of the end of the month and the end of the week like everyone else.

For further information on available Real Estate in Colorado Springs contact your Colorado Springs Realtor, Patricia Beck.