We’ve learned a few moving tips and tricks from our own personal moves and from helping our clients move.
One of the questions we’ve wrestled with, and so have our clients, is “Should I Hire Professional Movers?”
Moving is stressful and hiring movers can either relieve some of the pressure or add to it. It depends who you are and the specifics of your move. In this video, I’m sharing five questions to ask yourself before hiring a professional mover.
If this is your first time here, welcome! If you’ve been here before, thank you so much for coming back and spending your time with me. My name is Lindsay and I‘m proud to be your Anthem, Arizona REALTOR® with the Wise Move AZ Team at Realty ONE Group. On our YouTube channel and blog we have a lot of fun talking about all things Anthem and real estate every single Thursday, and we absolutely love having you along for the ride.
Moving is Tough
Let’s just get it out there, moving is tough! You have my full sympathy. From crossing oceans, to borders, to state lines, you name it, we’ve done it. We’ve moved with a sea can, we’ve moved with just our vehicle full, and everything in between. Every time we’ve moved, I like to think we’ve gotten a little bit smarter and little bit more efficient. Our own personal moves have even helped us in understanding and anticipating the needs of our clients when they are making moves from all over the country and world to beautiful Anthem, Arizona.
One question that we often get from our clients is ‘Should we hire professional movers?’.
Now, I wish there was some one size fits all answer here that I could give you, but there isn’t. The decision to hire professional movers or to move yourself, is as personal as the items you’ll be moving. So, rather than try and persuade you one way or the other I am instead going to give you five questions to ask yourself. By the end of this post you’ll know exactly how to decide if you should hire professional movers or do it yourself.
#1: How much time do you have?
When I say how much time do you have I want you think about your time on both ends of the move.
How long do you have to get out of your current place?
How quickly do you need to get settled in your new place?
Professional movers are quick. Where you or I might take a while to think about the best way to get the couch down the stairs and out the door, the movers will just have it up and out of there. On the other side, if you need to settle into your new home quickly, because the kids start school right away, or you start your new job the very next day, you may want to hire the help of movers.
Long story short, if you’re tight on time, it might make more sense to hire professional movers.
That being said, just because you are tight for time on one end of the move doesn’t mean you need help on both ends. Personally, I like having movers assist with the packing part, and then taking my time to unpack and figure out where everything is going to go in the new house without feeling rushed.
#2: Do you have the means to move yourself?
Professional movers help to take the guess work out of packing. They have the blankets, ratchet straps, packing paper, trucks, manpower, time, and so much more.
You probably don’t have the same supplies at your disposal as a professional moving company, but it doesn’t mean you can’t do a good job. If you are planning to move yourself, you just need to make sure that you have the resources you need.
Can you rent or borrow a truck? Will you buy boxes or look for free boxes in local buy and sell groups online? How long will it take you to pack? Do you have friends, family, or coworkers that can help with the big or heavy items, like furniture? How many trips will you have to make? Will you have enough time to get it all done?
If you have the time and resources to pack and move yourself, that is fantastic! Chances are you will be able to save some money, too. I recommend that while you are starting to go through your belongings you watch lots of YouTube videos on best practices for packing. For me, learning the KonMari method of folding has saved so much space when it comes to clothing and linens.
Anyways, determine if you have the means to move yourself between the time, energy, and resources. If you don’t, it might make more sense to hire professional movers.
#3: How far are you going?
Are you moving down the block or to another continent? The distance you have to move, in my opinion is a huge factor in deciding whether or not hiring professional movers makes sense. Personally, the thought of having to navigate customs with my stuff, is too much. Both times that my family had to do this, we used the help of professional movers who specialized in cross border moves. They handled customs while we hopped on the plane without a ton of stuff.
On the flip side, where the moves have been shorter in distance, I have been happy to do them with the help of family and friends, rather than professional movers.
The further you have to move, the more expensive it gets to hire professional movers, but also the riskier it can be to move yourself. If you are moving yourself you need to take responsibility for driving a large truck and protecting your items overnight, for example.
If you are going to move yourself a far distance, come up with a detailed plan of where you want to stop, and what valuables you’ll bring into the hotel room at night, for example.
#4: What do you most need help with?
As I mentioned previously, hiring professional movers doesn’t have to be an all or nothing thing. You can hire movers to assist with the parts you are most concerned about. For example, if you want help with the furniture and other large items, but want to pack and move everything else yourself, that’s fine! Or if you just need help with a precious piece of artwork do it!
Think about your upcoming move. What are the elements that you are most concerned or stressed about? If you can identify your pain points, I recommend getting quotes to hire those parts out. Moving is stressful enough on it’s own, without packing added on top.
Whatever services you need help with, I am certain there’s a mover for you. If you really want to hire movers but it seems too expensive, see if there are ways you can take on some of the work to cut costs while still having the benefit of someone helping with the hardest parts.
#5: How much is your time worth?
It is so important to get multiple quotes from movers. You want to compare their service offerings and prices as objectively as possible. Once you have an idea of how much it would cost for their assistance, I want you calculate the value of your own time.
How long would it take you to do the work they would do, roughly?
Remember, they do this everyday so they are going to be faster than you. Now think about how much your working time is worth in a day. If you estimate that it would take you 40 hours total and you are paid roughly $50 per hour, then the cost of your time is $2,000.
Is the mover charging more or less than that?
Don’t forget to factor in the costs of any supplies or rentals you would need doing the move yourself. Doing this, the cost of the movers may not seem unreasonable.
If you could pick up a few extra shifts at work to pay for the movers, it might be worthwhile. They will get it done quickly and have expertise that you likely don’t. This allows you to work on what you know best, and leaves the moving to pros.
If your time on paper is worth less than what the movers are charging, then you may be more inclined to do the work yourself with the help of some family and friends. Don’t forget to factor in the cost of pizza and beer as a thank you to your free helpers.
So, there you have it! What do you think? Are leaning towards hiring movers or doing it yourself? I would love to hear from you. As always, if you’re thinking about moving to or from beautiful Anthem, Arizona, we would love to be a part of your journey. If you would like more information on working with us, drop us a message below or send us an email at Team@WiseMoveAZ.com.
Additional Resources
Lastly, if you’re moving in the near future, chances are you have at least a few things to get rid of. If you’d like tips on running a successful garage sale click to watch this video. If you’ll be selling your items online instead, click to watch this video, where we share tips to stay safe and make money!
Enjoy those and I’ll see YOU next Thursday!
