It's really expensive to hire a moving company!!

Aneeda72 said:
Decades ago my husband’s company moved us from California to Utah. A suitcase was lost in the move which contained things that were extremely important to me. Besides the costs I just can’t trust a moving company. While we plan on staying here a while, plans can always change.
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Sorry that happened to you, probably makes sense to keep your most valuable papers with you, if possible. I am lucky, never had anything lost, and very little damaged.

The opposite happened to me once, on arrival the mover counted one box fewer than loaded, he reported a box missing. He even had the number they had assigned to the missing box. After unpacking we could not figure out anything missing, in the end settled for $100 for the "lost" box. Several years later when I was reusing some of the old moving boxes I found one with two labels and two mover's numbers on it... Including the missing one!
 

Colleen said:
Hubby, who's 80, and I (74), are planning to relocate back to our beloved PA from AZ as soon as he can get his total knee replacement done. He has an appointment on Monday (26th) to see the Ortho surgeon and hopefully get things rolling.

Since we are kinda in limbo right now and can't move forward with anything definite because we have no idea how long he's going to have to wait to get it done and how long recuperation time is, so we've been doing research. First, we had a realtor come out and give us a listing price but we can't list it yet because it would sell in less than 2 weeks or less and then we'd be homeless but at least we have an idea of what we can list for.

Then we contacted a realtor relocation specialist in PA and she has been very helpful...but, again, we can't pursue anything we see right now. We have been amazed that homes we've looked at online in our price range, have been selling within hours.

Since our destination is over 2100 miles, and hubby can't/won't do the UHaul thing any more, we called the local moving company, who is affiliated with Atlas Van Lines. She came out yesterday and itemized everything. We have a 1772 sq. ft. 3 bedroom, 2 bath house with large shed and 2 car garage. We downsized considerably when we moved into this smaller home 4 years ago so I was surprised when she totaled up the weight at around 10,000 lbs. and the grand total (drum roll)....would be $14,000. Hubby thought it would be $12,000. I said no way...it will probably be $10,000. No senior discounts. Nothing.

Holy Moley! Maybe that's not a lot to some people, but that's a nice chunk out of our profits from the house....not to mention the 6% the realtors are going to get. Sheesh...what can you do??? Pay it, I guess and move on (literally).

We're going to need that "huge" social security raise....haha :)
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None of my business I do understand, so if I'm being to nosy , just ignore me but ...........

Why in the world would you move from sunny Arizona , to PA ??
 
Butterfly said:
One thing we learned when moving so frequently in the military (because we had to pay if our household goods weight went over our allotted poundage) was to consider carefully if items are worth moving. For instance, is it worth moving things like everyday dishes, half shot pots and pans, etc.? In many cases it is cheaper to replace stuff like that on the other end than to pay to ship it. The same is true for very heavy furniture and furniture you're not really crazy about. Be sure that if you are moving it, it's something you really want and really need and really use, and something you can't replace cheaper on the other end.
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I agree! We got rid of a LOT of furniture when we moved from PA to AZ, but as we've looked around our house, even though there is basic furniture, etc., there are only just a few pieces I would keep. For example, our former house here in AZ was huge and we had big furniture, so when we downsized 4 years ago from that house, we didn't have a couch because we sold it. We lived without it for a while but when we had company there was very limited seating, so one day we were at Sam's Club and saw a couch that was reasonable (cheap) and we bought it. We've not hard on our furniture and what little we do have, we've had for years and it's still in good condition. We bought furniture when it was still affordable.

Anyway, there's other things we've been debating on selling and not moving and that would be our patio furniture. We have a swing, 2 rattan swivel chairs with footstools, a large glass top table with 4 outdoor chairs and rugs.

I can also clean out my food storage containers that I've had for years. Most are plastic sets with lids and they can be bought at Walmart. No sense hauling (and paying for) them, when they're mostly junk.

So.....do we get rid of a couch that's very heavy but wasn't that expensive in the first place or do we sell it? And what about our 60" TV that the moving company will charge $325 to move it? Hubby thinks we should get a U-Haul trailer and take our mattresses (memory foam) and sandwich the tv between them instead of paying then $325. They also can take any household items, like shampoo or aerosols or cooking oil, etc., so that was going to go in the trailer. All the heavy duty shelving my husband has in the garage and in his shed he wants to take in the trailer. That only reduces the weight of the total van weight by about 400-500#. I'm not sure spending $1200 for a trailer is worth it. I would rather just get a new tv when we get there and leave the shelving here.

Any suggestions???
 
rgp said:
None of my business I do understand, so if I'm being to nosy , just ignore me but ...........

Why in the world would you move from sunny Arizona , to PA ??
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If you've never lived in AZ you don't understand. I was raised in MI where there was fishing and green grass. I'm not a desert person where the seasons never change. We also lived in south TX for a few years and I wasn't cut out for that, either. To each his own ;)
 
Colleen said:
I'm not sure spending $1200 for a trailer is worth it. I would rather just get a new tv when we get there and leave the shelving here.
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That sounds good to me, Colleen, (y):)
but you and your husband will need to take time and think it over, and discuss, and re-discuss....:rolleyes:;)

At least you are not rushed, as you've begun planning well ahead of time,
so you have plenty of time for both of you to consider and reconsider, and discuss.
 
feywon said:
Also, be sure you research the climate in part of AZ you're moving to--there are all kinds of online resources to also research services for seniors and such.
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We're moving FROM AZ to PA and the town in PA is larger so there are a lot of drop off places. Glad you got to NM safely.
 
Colleen said:
If you've never lived in AZ you don't understand. I was raised in MI where there was fishing and green grass. I'm not a desert person where the seasons never change. We also lived in south TX for a few years and I wasn't cut out for that, either. To each his own ;)
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I want out of this nightmare that is California so bad, I can't even fully express it.

I've watched some live cams in Michigan and New England. How I'd love to move. But one, my stepfather has me trapped here and two, I don't know how I could do the move and even afford it being on my own. But I wish I could. I see the green and the water.
 
Kaila said:
That sounds good to me, Colleen, (y):)
but you and your husband will need to take time and think it over, and discuss, and re-discuss....:rolleyes:;)

At least you are not rushed, as you've begun planning well ahead of time,
so you have plenty of time for both of you to consider and reconsider, and discuss.
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Haha...yes, we've "hashed" it over several times and trying to look at all possible scenarios...BUT, you know what they say...the best laid plans of mice and men....
 
Remy said:
I want out of this nightmare that is California so bad, I can't even fully express it.

I've watched some live cams in Michigan and New England. How I'd love to move. But one, my stepfather has me trapped here and two, I don't know how I could do the move and even afford it being on my own. But I wish I could. I see the green and the water.
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I'm so sorry you're trapped somewhere you don't like. I've been like that for 7 years living in AZ. Hubby finally came to his senses (he was the one that wanted to move here in the first place) so we are leaving while we are still in good health (except for his knee, which can be fixed).

We lived in CA for years and when hubby retired in 2001, we couldn't leave fast enough. We've only been back once and that was for his 70th birthday that was to celebrate with his kids.

Yes...my roots are from MI and PA and I need to get back to what I know and love. I hope you find some peace. Life is short.
 
RadishRose said:
I would leave everything.

I would pack the U haul with only personal items and valuables, maybe the TV sandwiched between the mattresses.

Hopefully you'll downsize on your next house, something smaller but classy and cozy. Buy new furniture in PA.
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We don't have that much now as we already downsized when we moved here. We have things that are family "heirlooms" like my mother-in-laws desk and rocking chair and I have a couple antique pieces of furniture I've had for many years. I could easily get rid of the big tv and huge, heavy credenza it sits on. I'm not attached to them emotionally. Besides, the tv is 10 years old!
 
Remy said:
You are right, that is expensive but I'm actually not surprised. Any chance you can have some sales and downsize more?
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I'm considering it. I'd get rid of the couch even though it's only about 3 years old, but it's nothing special. I'd also get rid of the big tv that's 10 years old and the huge, heavy credenza it sits on. TV's are so cheap these days, I think it's crazy to haul it back to PA. Need to convince hubby, though :)
 
Colleen said:
If you've never lived in AZ you don't understand. I was raised in MI where there was fishing and green grass. I'm not a desert person where the seasons never change. We also lived in south TX for a few years and I wasn't cut out for that, either. To each his own ;)
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Well yeah ........... I guess I was just thinking of being warm in January :cautious:
 
Colleen said:
I'm considering it. I'd get rid of the couch even though it's only about 3 years old, but it's nothing special.
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A move is a great time to downsize and declutter. I always tried, but was not very good at it. I can look around the house and find lots of things I wish I had not paid someone to move. However from time to time when I can't find something I want I remember that it was left behind...
 
As you have already stated, homes are literally selling within hours after going on the market. For that reason, I have been considering delisting the Florida home and trying to sell it myself. Why not? If, after maybe a few months it didn't sell, then I would relist the home. If I can save the 6% commission fee, I could pass on the savings to any buyer. And besides, I never did like the idea of a realtor taking 6% of my equity.
 
oldman said:
As you have already stated, homes are literally selling within hours after going on the market. For that reason, I have been considering delisting the Florida home and trying to sell it myself. Why not? If, after maybe a few months it didn't sell, then I would relist the home. If I can save the 6% commission fee, I could pass on the savings to any buyer. And besides, I never did like the idea of a realtor taking 6% of my equity.
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I know that feeling and have done some private sales myself. It is surprising how little the realtor actually does for you, mostly just marketing the place, the rest of the sale process is pretty easy to DYI. And in today's environment the marketing may not help you a lot.

That said in some cases I believe good realtors have found buyers when I could not, and/or gotten more for the property than I would have on my own. Just need to consider your situation.

When buying it is harder of course, the property you want may already be listed. In those cases I always try to go through the listing agent, knowing they will not have to split the commission can help them help you. Knowing they will make more selling to you than to a competing offeror. In the negotiation process I have had some of these folks cut their commission as a part of the deal.
 
rgp said:
Well yeah ........... I guess I was just thinking of being warm in January :cautious:
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Haha...I can understand that thinking. We live in a higher elevation (3500') so we get snow but it doesn't stay. It can get cold but by March, it's getting nice and we can have windows and doors open until about May. Then it heats up.
 
oldman said:
As you have already stated, homes are literally selling within hours after going on the market. For that reason, I have been considering delisting the Florida home and trying to sell it myself. Why not? If, after maybe a few months it didn't sell, then I would relist the home. If I can save the 6% commission fee, I could pass on the savings to any buyer. And besides, I never did like the idea of a realtor taking 6% of my equity.
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I hear ya. I especially hate it when you have to give that commission to an agency that did absolutely nothing to promote your house. That happened to us with Keller Williams Agency. They put the worst possible picture of our house on Zillow as the lead picture. When I asked our agent to change it, she said she had no control over what Zillow posted. That was a lie. Then she put the wrong leaflets in our box . We had a guy come to the door one day and handed me the leaflet and said...I don't think this is your house. We took the leaflets in to her and she never replaced them with the right ones. I urked me so much that they got half the commission because another agency sold our house.

We thought about listing it ourselves, but after talking to a guy recently in our neighborhood that did that, he said he took the listing down and went with an agency. He said it was really a hassle to screen people and then there were scammers and investors calling him at all hours. He said it was more of a headache then it was worth.
 
I could not handle any part of a move.
They sent over 10 men
The mov was in state 2020 CA.
The cost for 3bd no appliance 5000.
Move was quick....
 
Colleen said:
We have things that are family "heirlooms" like my mother-in-laws desk and rocking chair and I have a couple antique pieces of furniture I've had for many years.
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Those are the kind of things that I’d be moving.

Sell the Sam’s Club couch - there’ll be a new one for a good price when you arrive. The old one might not even fit properly. No matter how well packed, a ten year old tv may not make it and it’s weight you’re paying for. If your memory foam mattress was $$$, I let them move it. You’ll be paying extra for the gas you use.
 

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