Tips on Selecting a Mover

Usually, when you're moving from one house to another, there's excitement just permeating everyone in your household. Thoughts of that idyllic new house just waiting to be occupied, with everyone in great anticipation of what to do once everything is settled in, come to mind. But excitement will ultimately give way to fear when you've realized, after spending countless of hours searching, that choosing a mover is not as straightforward as it seems. Thoughts of broken furniture, unexpected extra costs, time-inefficient moving, or worse theft, all because of inadvertently selecting the wrong company will definitely break your hearts and pockets and wipe that wide smile off your face. That is why here are some very precious tips on how you can go about selecting the right mover for you.

• First, dig up all the nitty-gritty stuff about the company. Getting a list of moving companies is easy enough to do nowadays, thanks to the miracle of cyberspace, but getting a reliable lowdown on them is not. There may be tons of reviews, recommendations and write-ups per moving company available online, but sadly, most are either wholly fabricated or just edited half-truths.

Now, the best way to sift through all of this gibberish is to scour various sites, blogs and message boards to get feedbacks pertaining to each potential company. Chances are is that you'll find feedback discrepancies with the dubious companies, and consistencies with the good ones. It also helps to ask some of the people you know that have had some experience in this area for some honest-to-goodness advice. More often than not, they won't pull any punches when it comes to helping you get that suitable moving company.

• Second, dig deeper into legitimacy matters. After narrowing down some prospective movers, you now have to find out if they are licensed companies that can show evidence of insurance. This is important because licensed movers normally run criminal background checks and drug tests on their workers to ensure that they won't be sending convicted crooks or drug addicts into your home. It's good to remember, as well, that with unlicensed movers, they may use borrowed or rental trucks with no company logos or signs that could be traced directly back to them in case of any delinquencies. So, make certain that the mover will send you a certificate of insurance beforehand, and this includes general liability coverage in order to protect you against any damage to your home, cargo coverage in order to protect your properties while in transit in case of an accident involving the mover's vehicle, and workers compensation insurance in cases when one of their workers might get injured while doing their job. So, though it may cost you a bit more to acquire the services of a legitimate company, it will still pale in comparison to the enormous price you'll have to pay if anything happens to your house, properties, or even to you and your family.

• And third and last, ask before you commit. When you already have a definitive number of companies that are both noteworthy and legitimate, try to ask them for a free estimate, as nearly all moving companies do offer in-house quotes with no obligation at all. And not only will you have a really good estimation of how much it'll cost you for their service, but you will also have the opportunity to really size up your potential company by meeting them face-to-face and asking them pertinent questions. This may make or break your decision because any verbal or nonverbal signs you might make out of this first impression will generally be the signs you may or may not be looking for in a mover.

So, these are the tips that could really make a difference in making that significant step of moving from one house to another. And in making that crucial decision, remember that it can make your moving day either an easy and smooth-sailing experience to share to others, or a dreadful and traumatic incident to be forgotten.