Moving Tips and FAQs

1. Hire only licensed and reputable moving companies.
2. Arrange the move 2-4 weeks in advance.
3. Try to have a day off before a moving date to finish some of your errands and have enough rest.
4. Change your billing and mailing address.
5. Discontinue utilities at your current place and take care of connecting ones at the new one.
6. Pack most valuable and essential things (medicine, passports, jewelry etc.) by yourself and keep them with you.
7. Reserve parking spots for your movers at all places where you’ll require them to stop.
8. Get some snacks and water for the moving date.
9. Check your mail box right before leaving the current home.
10. Try to have your residency as organized as possible; so, your movers will have enough room to start packing and moving right away after a bill of lading is signed.
11. Say ‘Bye’ to your neighbors.

1. Make sure your cell phone is turned on; so, you wouldn’t miss a call from your movers.

2. Wake up and have breakfast before the movers show up. It will help you to be in good mood and full of energy.

3. Try not to plan work related phone calls for this date as your movers may ask you questions related to the move.

4. When movers show up show do a walk-through with a foreman and give him clear instruction if you don’t want them to touch or move something, or if you have any other specific requests.

5. If you decide that you may need any additional services from your movers, a dump run, for instance, call the office right away.

6. Do a walk-through with the foreman after loading is completed.

7. Do a walk-through with the foreman in the new residency and give him some instructions.

8. After unloading is finished once again do a walk-through and check the truck with your movers to make sure that everything has been unloaded and arranged according to your requests. Inspect your goods and property.

1. Unpack the essentials first.

2. Check the status of security deposit check.

3. Change the address with IRS.

4. Explore a new neighborhood.

5. Send a feedback to the moving company you hired.

First of all, the majority of all local moves are performed without prior in-home (on-site) estimates. Such moves are normally charged hourly. However, many moving companies apply different charges on top of their hourly rates. Make sure to ask the companies what kind of fees they and charges they apply to a final bill besides an hourly rate. Yet understand that it is almost impossible to get a 100% accurate quote because of the nature of the moving process.

Nevertheless, reputable and professional companies will work hard to earn your business by being honest with you. So, once you have made the list of moving companies you would collect quotes from (we recommend to choose 3 companies to compare between each other) for the upcoming local move, please, follow this one major tip to get as much accurate quote as possible – provide the moving companies the detailed information about your upcoming move. The list of the things you will need to provide:

1) The number of rooms and square footage of the home, or the size of the office, or storage. It will be also helpful if you mentioned how many people live in the home or how many employees work in the office.

2) The list of items to be moved. Please note that items such as side tables, mirrors, floor lamps, and camping tents stored in a closet are also considered ‘items.’ If you trust the movers you are hiring and/or have no time to work on the full list got to step #4.

3) Provide an estimated number of boxes. Regular small boxes are 1.5 cu ft.; regular medium boxes are 3.0 cu ft; regular large boxes are 4.5 cu ft.

4) Specify the heaviest and bulkiest items in your residency. Sometimes the bulkiest item is not the heaviest one – a fireproof small gun safe may weight 500 pounds while being the size of a small storage cube, for instance.

5) Let the companies know if you want them to pack your boxes or not. Packing, as a rule, very tedious and time-consuming thus it costs money while vacating your time. One of the most difficult things in moving business is to provide a cost estimate for packing boxes. Be ready for follow-up questions if you want movers to pack your stuff.

6) Let the movers know if they would need to use any stairs and/or elevators at any locations.

7) Notify them about the walking distance between your home and parking zone at the pickup and delivery locations.

8) Check with your building management if they have any specific rules conducting moving at their premises and inform your moving company. For example, in many high-rise buildings in San Francisco, they don’t allow to leave any items outside their elevators which means that moving crews have to take a few items and move them down to a truck. It’d be more efficient to have that elevator filled in with more stuff but the management wouldn’t allow doing so.

9) Will you require movers to take anything to a dumpster? Professional moving companies wouldn’t risk their reputation and license to leave unneeded items just in someone’s neighborhood but rather would go to a dumpster where they are charged by the weight and nature of the dumped items. It costs extra to get rid of any appliances, mattresses, box springs, and flammable items, for example.

10) Provide addresses or at least all zip codes where you will need your movers to stop.

11) Let the moving companies know if you have any restrictions for any kind of trucks in your current place or the place where you are moving to. We are sorry to say, but it’s your legal responsibility to take care of this. Believe us, most reputable companies will try hard to arrange your move even if you live in the jungles. Once we arrived in Tiburon to deliver someone’s goods and our team was asked by the local Police authorities to leave until our client would get a permit from the town… We had to come back the next day. We felt sorry for the client but we had to charge for the extra time.

12) Provide the targeted moving date. Traffic may be different on different days. The bottom line is that moving companies need to get as many details as possible from you in order to arrange your move in the right way and provide you an estimate. No matter which company you will choose, you need to trust those movers.

Here at Got2Move honesty is our core value! We provide a so-called ‘all-inclusive’ hourly rate for the vast majority of local moves. Our simple and straightforward pricing policy has helped us to earn the reputation of one of the most honest and professional movers of the Bay Area – you will not be ‘surprised’ with any hidden fees if you choose us.

For big moving projects we encourage our customers to arrange a free on-site estimate with us at least 3-4 weeks before the move.

Here at Got2Move we strongly believe that each and every customer in need of a long-distance move (100 miles and more) should get a ‘flat rate’ price quote because long-distance moves are expensive. We want to make sure that people feel happy to pay a fair price for such service but not to be ripped off at the delivery initially been put on a hook by ambiguous weight or cubic feet quotes.

If you don’t ask your movers to perform any extra services on a moving date rather than what was agreed upon the time of making the reservation your flat rate must remain the same! Don’t you want to know your price before the move starts… So, once you have made the list of moving companies you would collect quotes from (we recommend to choose 3 companies to compare between each other) for the upcoming long-distance move, please, follow this one major tip to get as much accurate quote as possible – provide the moving companies the detailed information about your upcoming move. The list of the things you will need to provide:

1) The number of rooms and square footage of the home, or the size of the office, or storage. It will be also helpful if you mentioned how many people live in the home or how many employees work in the office.

2) The list of items to be moved. Please note that items such as side tables, mirrors, floor lamps, and camping tents stored in a closet are also considered ‘items.’ If you trust the movers you are hiring and/or have no time to work on the full list got to step #4.

3) Provide an estimated number of boxes. Regular small boxes are 1.5 cu ft.; regular medium boxes are 3.0 cu ft; regular large boxes are 4.5 cu ft.

4) Specify the heaviest and bulkiest items in your residency. Sometimes the bulkiest item is not the heaviest one – a fireproof small gun safe may weight 500 pounds while being the size of a small storage cube, for instance.

5) Let the companies know if you want them to pack your boxes or not. Packing, as a rule, very tedious and takes time thus costs money while vacating your time. One of the most difficult things in moving business is to provide a cost estimate for packing boxes. Be ready for follow-up questions if you want movers to pack your stuff.

6) Let the movers know if they would need to use any stairs and/or elevators at any locations.

7) Notify them about the walking distance between your home and parking zone at the pickup and delivery locations.

8) Check with your building management if they have any specific rules conducting moving at their premises and inform your moving company. For example, in many high-rise buildings in San Francisco, they don’t allow to leave any items outside their elevators which means that moving crews have to take a few items and move them down to a truck. It’d be more efficient to have that elevator filled in with more stuff but the management wouldn’t allow doing so.

9) Will you require movers to take anything to a dumpster? Professional moving companies wouldn’t risk their reputation and license to leave unneeded items just in someone’s neighborhood but rather would go to a dumpster where they are charged by the weight and nature of the dumped items. It costs extra to get rid of any appliances, mattresses, box springs, and flammable items, for example.

10) Provide addresses or at least all zip codes where you will need your movers to stop.

11) Let the moving companies know if you have any restrictions for any kind of trucks in your current place or the place where you are moving to. We are sorry to say, but it’s your legal responsibility to take care of this. Believe us, most reputable companies will try hard to arrange your move even if you live in the jungles. Once we arrived in Tiburon to deliver someone’s goods and our team was asked by the local Police authorities to leave until our client would get a permit from the town… We had to come back the next day. We felt sorry for the client but we had to charge for the extra time.

12) Provide the targeted moving date. Traffic may be different on different days.

13) Are you flexible with either pickup or delivery dates? If you are, we might be able to reduce your price to spread out booked jobs more evenly throughout a week.

1. If you decide to pack yourself pick a room in your house or apartment with a flat surface (a table or counter top) to be your center of packing operations. Kitchen or dinning areas should work best.

2. Start packing at least 2-3 weeks in advance unless you have only a few items.

3. These packing supplies would work in 90% cases to accomplish a ‘packing mission’: small boxes (1.5 cu ft), medium boxes (3.0 cu ft), tape, box cutter, small bubble-wrap.

4. Use only brand new boxes of good quality. Avoid using regular Home Depot boxes and used boxes in general as they will be flimsy. Get heavy duty boxes from a Home Depot or Lowes; usually you can find boxes of good quality at the locations of Extra Space Storage, U-Haul, New Haven and Got2Move. Using brand new sturdy boxes will also save movers’ time as they will be able to use dollies to move a few boxes at a time.

5. Pack your books, or other heavy items, in small and medium boxes. Otherwise large boxes will fall apart under the pressure of too much weight, thus damaging your goods.

6. When possible, limit cartons to 50 pounds.

7. Pack heavier items at the bottom of boxes and avoid packing heavy items with breakable items.

8. Start packing fragile items first (dishes, picture frames, souvenirs etc) because such packing takes much more time than packing clothing. May be in a couple of days you’ll decide to ask Got2Move to pack your boxes. It’s better to have a better picture what you may accomplish prior a moving date earlier than later.

9. Fill in hollow spaces in boxes with towels and packing paper. Use a lot of paper and bubble-wrap packing fragile items. You may use dish-packs for glasses. Dish-packs are expensive (about $12 a piece including cells and dividers) but will insure proper safety for your favorite wine glasses.

10. Make sure that nothing sticks out of any box as the boxes should be stackable. Stackable nicely sealed boxes equals faster moving and saving room in a moving truck.

11. Label your boxes with a thick marker. In addition you may use colored stickers if you have a lot of boxes. Clearly label all boxes that contain delicate items “Fragile,” This End Up” or any other suitable notation.

Packing is a time consuming process. If you decide to do it yourself then start packing a few weeks before the actual date. In many cases Got2Move is asked last minute to include a box packing service into the order which is fine; however, if you initially requested a moving service without a full-pack service and then change your mind, please, let us know asap as we might need to increase the number of a crew members and/or split up your relocation project into two days. We will be flexible and cooperative regardless when you ask us about packing help but the earlier is better.

It’s just simple as the title: please, reserve parking for your movers at any location where you want them to stop otherwise you will pay extra for one of these at least:

It’s just simple as the title: please, reserve parking for your movers at any location where you want them to stop otherwise you will pay extra for one of these at least

1) time movers would have spent to find a legal parking

2) potentially additional long carry distance

3) ticket fine

You will also save your energy not arguing with your neighbors and controlling the traffic around your place.

Municipal authorities are very strict in California and ticket moving trucks quickly and undisputedly. If you can’t sometime to find parking in SF or LA how come your movers in a much bigger vehicle find a parking zone if you haven’t taken care of this. So, please, take care of parking spaces in advance and save your time, money and energy.

Call your local Police authorities to get assistance with getting a parking permit if there is no other legal parking options at any of your stops.

Some property management companies may require you to have your movers to provide the Certificate of Insurance. We are pleased to help with this; however, we would need at least a 48-hour notice in order to assist with such request. Ask your HOA or property management to provide specific requirements. As a rule, the following information is needed to get the COI

– The name of the property management company

– The address of the building where you are moving to/from

– The list of all additional insured

Unlike many moving companies Got2Move DOES NOT charge for COI.

1. You want to get a "Not To Exceed" (maximum possible price) for your local move.

2. You have complicated terrain conditions (a narrow driveway, steep hills, a narrow one-way street, etc.)

3. If the distance between pickup and delivery locations is more than 110 miles. 

Got2Move provides free on-site and video estimates. We recommend arranging an on-site or video estimate a few weeks before your move. 

In many cases, people prefer to email us very detailed information vs arranging an on-site estimate. Usually, we'll need to know:

- the full list of items to be moved i.e. an inventory list;

- the number of flights of stairs at each end;

- parking conditions;

- walking distance between your doors and parking.

A double-drive time or double driving time is the time to get from your origin (starting point – where you are moving from) to your destination (ending point – where you are moving to) logged, and then doubled.

Double-drive time should be applied to California local moves if the driving distance between pickup and delivery locations is in the range of 5 to 100 miles.)

This regulation was mandated by CPUC until July 1, 2018, and now is regulated by the Bureau of Household Goods and Services (BHGS.)

The logic behind this regulation is that moving companies should be reimbursed for driving back to the office after the completion of the move. So the amount of time it takes to get from your origin to your destination, which you can actually track, is doubled.