Moving Success Tip #3 – Staging Your Local Move

While I am in great physical shape for my age, I do not have the strongest of backs! I am very conscious of protecting it and moving is one of those times that I have, in the past, abused my back. I wanted this move to be different. Having watched many, many clients move during my tenure as a real estate agent, I have learned that organization is key for making a smooth move. Isn’t that the way of the world though? When you’re organized, things just tend to fall into place a lot more smoothly!

Since I was making a local move, I knew the companies I wanted to interview to help us with the move. I keep an updated list and interview my buyers and sellers following their moves to get their testimonials on the movers they used. One complaint and the moving company is removed from my list; I keep a very tight list so that I never refer a company who has had a complaint from one of my clients. 

I digress…

Choosing a Mover

One particular company seemed to stand above the rest both in customer service and in pricing. I had previously used them when we had our hardwood floors refinished in our last house and we had to move out the entire main level. They were focused on making my life easier and their pricing was very attractive. Seeing what others had struggled with during their move, I noticed that oftentimes, sellers got to the day of Closing, having to push out their deep cleaning crew as they simply ran out of time. I was not going to get caught like that – being the only one physically able to get those final items done, I did not want that falling on me.

SO, I decided that the cost of the move was the same if done in stages; that is exactly what we did. We had the movers help fill our POD storage unit (through NewMove) first. We had the storage unit delivered to be filled in 3 days. I had used stickers to denote all items in the house that I wanted the movers to move into the storage unit. They arrived that day and within 2 hours, our POD was filled. A nice, deep-cleaning was done and then photos and video was done the following week. The POD storage holds items that were not key to our day-to-day activities – in fact, they are delivering that next week and I doubt seriously that a lot of it will be taken into my house! I am confident we will be donating a lot of it instead of bringing hit into the house.

Staging Your Move

The second stage came after we Closed on our new house. We decided to schedule the move of the upstairs the day after our Due Diligence Period (DDP) ended on our old house. During the DDP, I boxed up the upstairs. So, the day after the DDP, the movers loaded our upstairs and delivered it to the new house, placing everything in their respective rooms. I spent the rest of that week unloading boxes in those rooms as I had time between clients & work. I also began packing my most valuable, breakable items and packed them myself. The following week, I delivered those to the new house and prepared for the final move, TWO DAYS prior to Closing.

Final Stages

Why two days? JUST in case we had residual items to pack, surprise repairs, etc., I wanted that additional day. The afternoon after the movers left my old house, the cleaners did their magic. Simultaneously, I was directing the movers for furniture and box placement and we we were settled enough to sleep in the new house that night.

The following day, I took care of yard ornaments (shepherd’s crooks, bird feeders, hoses and flower pots). I checked (and found) for storage items (in garage cabinets) and throughout the house. I had hooks on the backs of doors that I found hanging items that we had missed on moving day! There wasn’t a lot but it really did help that the morning of Closing, we were only focused on Closing and welcoming our buyers into our former home. 

Had we not purchased our new home first, I would still have recommended moving 2 days prior to Closing. Most of my clients spend a night or two with their families or friends who are local and some even spend a night or two in the hotel. Most of us don’t account for the ‘little’ things and the incredible amount of dust bunnies that are buried beneath the furniture! We always want to leave our home in the best possible condition for the new owners. 

Want more moving tips? Let’s talk! Call or text me at (704) 491-3310.

© Debe Maxwell | The Maxwell House Group | RE/MAX Executive | CharlotteBroker@icloud.com | Moving Success Tip #3 – Staging Your Local Move