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

Colleen said:
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.
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I thought about those things too. However, with homes selling so quickly, I would only show our property in Florida to anyone that had a letter of being prequalified. This should help to eliminate some of the ignominious people out there.
 
Colleen, are you aware that PA is one of the most expensive states to live in? Their taxes are horrendous.
 

Colleen said:
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???
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I sold my sofa with my house rather than move it-it was heavy
 
Colleen said:
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....
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That's true! ;)
Get your ideas and priorities and opinions shared,
and plenty of information gathered,

and then, keep in mind, that you will have to adjust any tentative plan, when the time comes, but at least you'll have done some of the groundwork!:)
 
Another thought.... in support of selling more items beforehand, and moving significantly less.....
After the expense and the challenges and stresses of packing and trekking items across the country so far,
You might not even be able to use some of the furniture you bring; If you bring the sofa, for example, because you don't know what the exact dimensions and shapes and number of the rooms, in your next home. :oops:

That would convince me, if I were him..... but again, you'll have to discuss it..... with him.... :rolleyes::ROFLMAO::LOL::):sneaky:

(Remember what my main advice was: Try to hang on to your sense of humor! :giggle: )
 
Thanks for all the advice and ideas. I really appreciate your feedback. I've been banned on here for several days or I would have thanked you sooner.
 
Have you looked into three men and a truck? I know they offer a senior discount, or at least did when I used them last. Not sure how they'd stack up in terms of price, but they'll give you an estimate for free (as I think most do). They work throughout the US and I know they have on office in PA so they might be worth looking at, or at least comparing to others pricewise. Just my two cents, but I had a very positive experience with them.
 
Alligatorob said:
I have moved cross county several times, and paid movers several times. I can pass on some things I learned in the process that could keep your costs down a little:
  • Get bids from multiple moving companies, you will be surprised how much different they can be.
  • Bargain, I have found you can often talk the movers down a bit, particularly if they know you are getting multiple bids.
  • Ask about time of year, if you can control your timing at all that can help a lot. Rates are higher at peak times, lower at other times.
  • Do all of your own packing, having them do it costs a lot.
  • If your things need to go into storage, do not use the moving company's storage. Costs a lot less for you to rent space from one of the storage companies, not connected to movers.
  • I have not tried them myself, but have heard good things about the moving pods. A container gets delivered to your place, you pack it, then it gets delivered on the other end. I am told renting the pods is not too expensive so that can also be a storage solution.
Best of luck with it all, moving can be very stressful.
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I agree with the last statement about "moving can be very stressful." I moved a couple of weeks ago and it took me 18 days from the 1st day I picked up the keys to the last day when I got rid of the last box. I'm single and I don't have a good gal to help me. It got pretty frustrating putting the pots and pans, the plastic, the cutlery and all the dishes away. My wife used to do all that. I'm still dead tired from that move. After moving in, I decided to move my chesterfield, computer desk, hide-a-bed and and big entertainment center. WOW! That nearly did me in. I had to go to Princess Auto to get one of them "dollies" but I moved it all in one day so no wonder I am still just plain played out! Good luck but I don't envy you. Been there, done it and as sure as hack I don't want to do it again.
 
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bingo said:
don't take it with you...sell it...buy different stuff when you get new place...it's just stuff
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When we moved from AZ back to Florida we did a series of garage sales and the sold some more on Craigslist. The moving company filled 2 containers that were about a third of a load on the truck. When we got back to Florida, we bought a condo that was an estate sale. It was fully furnished. We were up to our ears in furniture. We donated a sleeper couch and replaced it with 2 electric recliners. That was a good exchange.

Do NOT plan on moving right after the knee surgery. It is imperative to do the rehab afterward to have good success. I have had both of mine replaced, so I know first hand. One was done in Sun City and the other 2 years later in Sun City West. They have worked very well for me. I got the first one on my 70th birthday.

We moved back to Florida when I was 80 and my wife 79.
 
Manatee said:
When we moved from AZ back to Florida we did a series of garage sales and the sold some more on Craigslist. The moving company filled 2 containers that were about a third of a load on the truck. When we got back to Florida, we bought a condo that was an estate sale. It was fully furnished. We were up to our ears in furniture. We donated a sleeper couch and replaced it with 2 electric recliners. That was a good exchange.

Do NOT plan on moving right after the knee surgery. It is imperative to do the rehab afterward to have good success. I have had both of mine replaced, so I know first hand. One was done in Sun City and the other 2 years later in Sun City West. They have worked very well for me. I got the first one on my 70th birthday.

We moved back to Florida when I was 80 and my wife 79.
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so good you are somewhere warm...winter here in Southern Illinois is scary cold
 

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