Moving Tips: Hiring a Professional Mover or Doing It Yourself?

Once you finally decide it is time to move there are a ton of variables and must-have prerequisites to consider regarding the location. Are schools the most important criteria?  Maybe you want to make sure you live in a walkable neighborhood with access to shopping, schools, and entertainment nearby. A lot of folks want to be closer to older family members to help out when they need it (Guilty!).

There are countless reasons why one particular home and neighborhood is right for you.  And the only people who can really evaluate and rank those rationales are you and your family. That’s the most important component of any big relocation decision.  

But once that decision is made, you have another important decision to make.  Are you going to do all the necessary planning and steps to make this move by yourself? Or are you going to hire a professional mover? Here are some handy moving tips to help you decide.

The DIY Move

So, you and your family are considering doing this next move by yourselves. 

Moving Tips: #1 Get Moving Insurance

You make a list of all the things you’ll need to do to make this move as trouble-free and successful as possible.  And what’s the first thing on that list? The truck? Boxes? No. The first thing on your list should be – insurance!

It’s easy to assume that your homeowner's or renters insurance policy will cover loss or damage to your possessions while they are in transit. But, actually, they probably don’t. Since moving puts your belongings at risk for all kinds of unforeseeable accidents, buying insurance for your move can give you peace of mind.

If you plan to use your own truck to move your belongings, make sure that you purchase a temporary moving policy that covers your property for the full interval of your move.

If you have decided that you’re going to rent a moving truck, check with the rental company. They all offer insurance policies that cover the truck, the occupants and your stuff inside the truck for the duration of your rental.

Don’t skimp on this! Make sure you are totally comfortable with the amount of insurance, and the deductible amounts, before you drive that truck off the lot.

Moving Tips: #2 Don't Forget About the Helpers

If you plan to hire freelance workers to help with your moving just remember if one of those workers is injured during your move, you could be liable for his injury.

There are insurance companies that will write a temporary certificate for these types of workers, even if they are undocumented, during your moving days – but it’s not cheap.  Make sure that every single person who is involved with your move is either a family member or is covered by a temporary Workman’s Compensation policy.

Moving Tips: #3 Stock Up On Supplies

Lastly, for a DIY move, you’re going to need some furniture pads, a sturdy doorway dolly and a whole lot of boxes for your move. These things are all available from a truck rental company, but they are all a la carte type items. They can quickly magnify that bargain-rate truck rental contract into a four-figure behemoth, faster than you can say U-Haul.

Hiring a Professional Mover

So, what’s the alternative to all of the hassle of, basically, setting up your own small moving company business for your relocation? Duh, hiring a professional moving company! All of the insurance issues are taken care of by their comprehensive policy. You, the moving customer, are detached from any liability.

Moving Tips: #4 Just Hire a Moving Company!

When you consider the costs, time, skill and effort it will take to put all of the various arrangements in place before you even start making your move, hiring a professional moving company will probably make your move a lot WAY easier.

Trust me, it is. I've moved 12 times in the last 17 years, with and without movers. Professional movers make things SO much better. The only thing I would never do again is have unpackers (Moving Tips #5). They basically just dump the content of boxes on your floor. Now the actual movers – totally worth it (especially if you are moving a far distance)!