Posts Tagged ‘Relocation Services’

Important Moving Terminology

Friday, November 4th, 2011

The following are some terms that will help you navigate the often complicated world of domestic and international moving. Don’t worry if you still don’t completely understand most of the terms, a global relocation service like Unipack can help you navigate the waters of household goods relocation affordably and easily.

Bill of Lading – this is basically a receipt given to you by a mover for all of the goods getting picked up

Binding Estimate – this is a contract that contains a cost calculation after a physical survey is done by the mover. The mover is bound by the charges listed on the form and is usually drawn up by flat rate movers.

Non-Binding Estimate – unlike the binding estimate, this is just an estimate of the costs for a move and should not necessarily be taken at face value

Order for Service – a contract the consumer receives from a mover at least 24 hours prior to the move that comes with a non-binding estimate.

Tariff – schedule of the rates, charges, classification ratings, terms and conditions of the public mover

Taking the Hassle out of Moving Your Household Goods

Saturday, October 29th, 2011

It seems like everyone has tips for family and friends about the best way to move their household goods in the least intensive and stressful way possible. These tips often involve a lot of planning, organizing and leaving a lot of time to set everything up properly. Sometimes there just isn’t enough time before a move to do everything properly, especially when you need to move quickly for a new job or because there are deadlines to meet.

A great way to save a lot of time and hassle when moving domestically is to consult with a relocation service. A domestic moving company can coordinate large portions of the move to be both cost and time efficient. They can do this because they have access to resources and information that aren’t necessarily available to the average mover. They can set it up so that your household goods can travel along several different van lines, effectively saving time and money on your household goods transportation.

For people short on time, hiring workers to help with everything from packing to unloading and loading trucks can save a ton of time as well. A relocation service can help set up a door-to-door delivery service, then you can get people to help move things in and out of the house as well as arrange and set up furniture. Sometimes people get their friends to help, but if there is no one available or you don’t want to burden your friendships, there are always plenty of people available to do any type of work in this economy.

Essential Moving Tips: Infrequent Movers

Friday, October 14th, 2011

The advantage of only moving once in a blue moon is that no matter how stressful the move may be, it doesn’t happen often to be a major problem in life. That doesn’t mean, however, that you shouldn’t make those infrequent moves as stress free as possible. The best way approach a big but infrequent move is to do lots of planning ahead. This means things like packing slowly and over a long period of time, organizing, and getting the help of others for complicated or difficult tasks.

Moving out of a house with multiple bedrooms can seem daunting, so it is important to spread out the work into smaller more manageable sections. Start with the rooms of the house that are used least often, and with items that don’t need to be brought out on a daily basis. This can include things in the garage, closets, and any other storage areas. As you are packing these items, make sure the boxes they are in are properly labeled so that you know exactly where to find them when you are unpacking at your new home.

For infrequent movers, it’s a good idea to get professional help with heavy items and transportation. Using a relocation service for domestic moves is your best bet for value and service. This is because a relocation service can coordinate multiple moving companies and services to create the greatest value and efficiency. Why risk injury and damage to your most precious items by trying to lift and move them yourself. Get the help of professional movers who have the strength, tools and experience to move heavy items like bedroom furniture, kitchen appliances, dining room tables and hutches. The small extra expense is worth it, and you will thank yourself for getting the help afterwards.

 

Relocating Your Pets Safely

Friday, September 30th, 2011

Beside your children or loved ones, your pets will be the most valuable and important thing you will be moving with you to your new home. Relocating to a new place can be difficult for animals, as they are not usually used to travel and may be uncomfortable with some of the conditions they will be forced to move in. A good way to alleviate their discomfort is to keep up as many routines as possible before the move. There is not such thing as preparing a pet mentally for a move, so give them as many of the usual comforts as you can.

Before the move occurs, make sure you have the proper equipment and plans in order to move your pets as safely as possible. Purchase a strong and sturdy transport carrier if you are going to be using a mode of transport that requires one, usually a plane. Plane travel is probably the least comfortable mode of transport for your pets, so make sure that you book a direct flight if at all possible. Make reservations for your flight far in advance and make sure you get full instructions and restrictions from the airline regarding their pet policies.

If you are moving by car things get a little easier. Cats should always be kept in a carrier during auto travel. You can buy special car harnesses for dogs at most pet stores. Stop frequently along the trip so that your pets can relieve themselves and get a little bit of exercise. Of course, never leave your pets unattended in the car or in the back of a moving van during hot summer months. Doing this can be very dangerous when temperatures can reach up to 120 degrees inside a vehicle.

Learn from the Moving Mistakes of Others

Tuesday, September 20th, 2011

We’ve all made mistakes moving before, but if you’ve never gone through a big move and experienced the major problems that can occur, you might want to learn from the mistakes of others. Below are a couple of examples of major moving mistakes that ended up costing the involved party thousands of dollars in recovery costs. These are not errors of stupidity, just lack of foresight and forgetfulness than can happen to almost anyone. You can avoid these types of expensive mistakes simply by reading about them and planning accordingly when you move yourself. Using a relocation service can also ease a lot of difficulties that arise out of moving.

Joseph decided that he was going to move from California to Kansas when he was offered a job in Topeka that increased his salary by 10%. Within a week of accepting his new position he packed up all of his belongings, put them in a truck, and drove all of the way to Kansas. He did this without having ever visited the state or scouting locations to live. When he arrived, he decided to stay in a motel until he could find a house to move into. Within a week he was packing up his things and moving back to California. He found that he didn’t like anything about the place he moved to and decided that the slight increase in salary was not worth living in a place he wouldn’t like.

Another story deals with a near opposite circumstance. A family decided to move from their home in one of the outer burroughs of New York City to a small quiet town in Colorado because it was listed in a magazine as one of the nicest places to live in America. Both parents quit their job and moved during the summer when their kids were out of school. Once they go there, however, they found that jobs in their areas of expertise were scarce. After four months they were unable to find high enough paying work to pay for their living expenses and were forced to move back to the city.

Save Money with Relocation Services

Monday, September 12th, 2011

One of the most daunting aspects of moving your family to a new home is the costs. There are the big costs such as moving trucks and the movers themselves, but there are also tons of little costs that we don’t even think about until we encounter them before we move. One of these costs is the coordination between moving services. Many van lines will not be able to offer a relocation of your household goods from your old front door to your new one. This may be because of remote locations or simply because only certain van lines reach certain areas. In order to account for this it is a good idea to consult with a relocation service that can coordinate multiple moving companies together to ensure that your stuff gets to your new home at an affordable price.

Another significant cost can be getting your vehicle or multiple vehicles to your new home. If there are more vehicles in the family than there are drivers there are a few options. First, you can tow one vehicle behind the other. When doing this you need to account for gas and for any type of trailer equipment. Two, you can use the services of a vehicle transportation company who can arrange to have your vehicle moved for you to your new home at an affordable price. If you are planning on flying to your new home, you may want to have all of your vehicles moved through a vehicle transportation service.

Using a relocation service for your international or domestic move does not just mean saving money, but time as well. By using the expertise and experience of a global relocation service you gain the knowledge and resources of people who have helped others move thousands of times. They know all the ins and outs of the industry and can get you the best deal when it comes to relocating your household goods or cargo.

Deciding to Move or Not to Move

Friday, September 9th, 2011

Deciding whether to move or not is not easy. There are lots of things to consider before you pack all of your belongings and head towards a new home. Sometimes you are planning to move because of a new job and think the decision is simple, but even this may not be an entirely one-sided argument. Many people who are desperate for employment may not realize the full implications of moving to a new location because they think that they do not have a choice in the matter. Before making a final decision, consider some of the facts about your current home and a new one so that you can have as much information as possible before making such a important decision.

Visit your prospective new home. There’s not likely any job in the world that would be good enough to overcome a location you hate. Traveling to and just looking around your potential new town or city can be invaluable in making the right decision that will likely effect the rest of your life.

Do you know anyone where you are moving? Sometimes people forget about how important their social structure is near their home. The internet and technology in general has made it much easier to communicate with family and friends that are far away, but sometimes we neglect how important it is to have more than occasional physical contact with those who we care about.

If you own a home how easily can you sell? Having liability over an existing mortgage at your old home can be an insurmountable financial burden. Some people decide to move before they are even sure their old home will sell, which can make their life in their new city too expensive before they are even able to settle down. Some employers are willing to take on these costs but many are not.

What are my job prospects? If you are moving because you have found a new job in a different city then this question may be simple. If not, research the job opportunities in your prospective city in comparison to your current one. You may end up finding that you are better off staying at your current location to find employment, especially when you take into account all of the costs of moving.

Remove the Hassle from Moving

Friday, September 2nd, 2011

It’s hard not to have nightmares about the work that needs to be done when we are about to move. Packing, wrapping, cleaning, lifting, rolling, painting and tons of other tasks present a large workload that we never look forward to. Even though all of this work may seem like an insurmountable task, with proper planning the work can be spread over a period of time where it won’t feel like such a large job. There are several things you can do ahead of time to relieve the workload that comes with your actual move.

Start by organizing and sorting everything in your home. By doing this, you will eventually have every item in your home divided into two different groups: stuff you want to keep and stuff you want to get rid of. This type of organization accomplishes several goals. You can sell the stuff you don’t need in order to ease the cost burden of your move. You can reduce the amount of space you will need in a moving truck and you reduce the amount of work you need to do when packing and unpacking. Organizing will also give you a clear view of what you may or may not need to fill your new home when you get there.

After organizing, you can plan to pack all of your valuable items of the course of several weeks or months if you need the time. Start with the items that you do not need on a regular basis and work your way up to everyday items like hygienic supplies, food and clothing. By the time your moving date comes you will have everything packed and ready to go and will have your everyday needs with you at your disposal. To make everything even easier, you can use a relocation service to arrange the pickup and drop-off of all of your household goods from one house to the other.

The Benefits of Moving to Hawaii

Sunday, August 14th, 2011

The Hawaiian islands are some of the most remote islands in all of the world. Thousands of miles of Pacific Ocean separate them from the mainlands of North America and Asia. Their isolation is explained by remote fissures in the oceans floor that cause volcanoes, which then erupt to create land and thus the islands. Even though the islands are volcanoes in a geological sense, most of the islands are inactive and living on them is perfectly safe. Even the active volcano on the large island is predictable enough to allow humans to stay out of danger.

Since the islands are remote, many everyday items need to be imported. This means that the cost of living can be a bit elevated. Despite of this, life on the islands is beautiful and enriching. There’s nearly an infinite amount of natural wonders to see and experience: beaches, volcanoes, rain forests, natural gardens, lava fields, ocean reefs and diverse wildlife. Hawaii also has unique and delicious food influenced by the indigenous Polynesian population. Diets consist of a lot of tropical fruits and local fresh meats and fishes.

Global relocation services like Unipack can make your move to Hawaii as simple as possible. Using a relocation service to move to a place like Hawaii means getting the experience and resources of a company who has helped people relocate there thousands of times.

 

Corporate Relocation Issues: Training

Friday, August 12th, 2011

Many companies have found that relocating certain parts of their operations to international locations is good for the bottom line. Reduced labor, tax and land costs can reduce overall expenses and increase profit margins. Labor, however, often does not transfer perfectly to new locations. Many businesses may find subtle differences in culture, language, and ethics that make transferring operations more complicated than a simple move. Training new employees before the move can prevent a disaster from occurring when operations are suddenly put back online at their new home.

Depending on the type of business that is being relocated, training can occur at the new or old site. If manufacturing operations that require large and expensive equipment are being relocated, it is usually best if the new employees travel to the original site to train. This will allow for a seamless transition of operations that mitigates down time when the equipment is set up in its new location. For relocation of equipment that is cheap and easily duplicated, training can occur at the new site before all operations are fully relocated.

Special training may need to take place for any technological deficiencies that may exist in the new work force. Many workers and managers take things like phone and computer use for granted, but may find that employees in a new location lack the necessary experience to utilize these tools. Simple training on computers, phones and fax machines before the full relocation will allow for a minimum amount of down time when the relocation is finished. These things, along with using a comprehensive global relocation service, can make corporate relocation a success.