By Hannah Leung
Special to Relocation.com
So you have everything packed up in your old home, and you have your new home ready to receive your worldly possessions. But now what?
If you've never moved before, you might have no idea. Here's how your moving day will unfold.
- The moving company should let you know well in advance when the moving crew will show up. When they do arrive, there will be a driver/van operator who is often the supervisor of the crew – this is your go-to person for any questions or concerns.
- The first thing your moving company will generally do is prepare a written inventory of your goods, assessing each item's condition and assigning it a number for the inventory. You should agree with the assessment, and check to be sure that nothing is listed incorrectly on the inventory.
The purpose of the inventory is to ensure that everything arrives at your destination in the condition in which they started; it's also done so a damage claim cannot be filed on items with previous damage. Make sure you agree with everything before signing.
- After the inventory is completed, the movers start loading the moving van after determining the best order in which to load the moving van. Be sure that anything you don't want loaded -- like personal items and high-value items you plan to carry separately -- is clearly set aside from the things to be moved.
- Professional moving companies have a precise technique of loading your furniture and other items. Each piece will be pad wrapped and taken from the residence to the truck, and the movers will load the truck from floor to roof in a manner similar to placing pieces in a puzzle.
- In order to prevent shifting of the load, the movers may bring pieces from different rooms to ensure a tight fit on the moving van -- if there isn't a tight fight, items can shift in transit. So don't be alarmed if your items appear to be mixed up while on the truck; you will tell the movers exactly where you want each piece placed when it arrives at your new residence.
Now get out of the way! You hired movers so you didn't have to do all this work, right? So relax and let the movers do all the lifting and straining.
Once everything is loaded, the driver presents the bill of lading, which lays out of the conditions of your move, including your estimate and the expected delivery dates. Make sure you're satisfied with everything on this sheet before signing – you're releasing the goods to the mover!
When you get to your new home, try to have two people available who can help with the move: one person will use the moving inventory sheet to check off and inspect items delivered to the home; the other person will be there to assist movers if they have questions on where items go.
When the move-in is complete, you'll be asked to sign off on the bill of lading and moving inventory.
But don't worry: If you discover later that you have damaged items, you can still file a complaint. You don't need to catch it while the moving company is at your home.
Your Next Move: