Moving Thread

[wadesworld]

My wife and I weren't necessarily looking to move (we thought we'd keep an eye on the market but target next spring to get serious about it), but the right house for us came on the market and we ended up having our offer accepted. Just a local move. A couple of questions I'm curious about.

1) Has anyone ever paid for people to pack their house? What was the price (feel free to DM), and how well did they do/how quickly did they work? Since we weren't really thinking we'd be moving, things are just moving extremely fast. And with this being the first time we're selling a property, there's a lot to do!
2) Have people closed on the house they were buying and selling on the same day? We're thinking it might be helpful to close on the new house on our closing day and try to close on selling our current home a couple weeks to a month later, being able to move some stuff over ourselves on a bit more of our own timeline.

Thanks for any recommendations/advice you have!

[MuggsyB]

I've never done it, but I assume it's a hourly rate.  I would also think you could get bilked on that particular service.  I know movers are quite expensive, especially for long distances.  I had to sell my piano because moving it across the country was astronomical.

[The Sultan]

1. Only when an employer was paying and on for big pictures and over sized stuff. Otherwise it's expensive.  As for physically moving my stuff, I will never not hire movers again. Too old for that nonsense.

2. We have closed on the same day. It can be hectic. We prefer having a week or two between. But will your bank let you? If something falls through on the new place and you have two mortgages to take care of... 

One time we closed on both and then leased the old place from the buyers for a week. That was helpful.

[GB Warrior]

Never on #1. From others experience, pretty easy to get taken for a ride if you don't put in the work to have things organized. If all you need is muscle, that's different.

On #2 we have preferred to have 2 weeks to a month. We had a newborn on our last move and that overlap was a godsend. Of course, as Sultan said, different economic times...

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Depends on the situation of the buyers of your home too.  They have to time moving in and may not be able to extend too long.

[MU82]

We sold our Charlotte house last year and then moved to Seattle. As part of the sale negotiation, the sellers let us stay in the house for about 6 weeks after closing - didn't even pay them rent.

Earlier in our lives, we sold houses (one in Minneapolis, one in Chicago) in which we stayed in the house for an extra month or two but did pay rent to the buyers.

It's a good way to close the sale first so that you have $$$ available for closing the buy. It also lets you time exactly when you move into the new place so you can do what you're talking about - move things in, do some painting/repairs, etc.

As for your first question, my employer did pay for packing service on a couple of our moves. I remember it being outrageous. When we had to pay for our own moves, we didn't even consider it.

[muwarrior69]

I've never done it, but I assume it's a hourly rate.  I would also think you could get bilked on that particular service.  I know movers are quite expensive, especially for long distances.  I had to sell my piano because moving it across the country was astronomical.

Who bought your piano? I could not find a buyer for my Baldwin Grand when we moved. I finally donated it to my community choir I belong to. We had it appraised at 15k, so I got a nice tax deduction and know it is being well taken care of and appreciated.

[MuggsyB]

Who bought your piano? I could not find a buyer for my Baldwin Grand when we moved. I finally donated it to my community choir I belong to. We had it appraised at 15k, so I got a nice tax deduction and know it is being well taken care of and appreciated.

I had a 2007 Yamaha GC1 (Baby Grand). When I moved from Madison to Santa Clara, the lowest price I could find to move it was about half of its value. I happened to have a neighbor on my floor who was interested in buying it, as I advertised the piano in my condo complex among other places.  Anyhow, I thought I would probably have to give it away but luckily she wanted it for her daughter.  She is taking good care of it which pleases me greatly.   

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

2 years ago I was helping clean out my great aunts house.  It had a 1914 Sterling piano, (made in Derby, CT) that was in decent shape considering its age.  It did need a major tune up that apparently would cost $7k-8k plus moving costs and would have been worth $15-18k+ afterwards.  It was the flat box style and weighted a ton and 3 of us couldn't even push roll it.  My uncle eventually sledgehammered it because it had to go and  unmovable. 

[MU82]

We had to give our old piano away when we moved out of our Chicago house. And we were grateful we got someone to take it!

[WarriorFan]

I have moved 21 times internationally and domestically.  Moving companies price based on whether they need the work.  Don't use these internet pricing companies, they just mark up local quotes by 30%.  Call 4-5 companies, get them to survey your stuff and quote.  I've found the range for a full household move can be $10k- $45k.  Always ask for a permanent crew... no temps.  Pay for the insurance.  The packers know if the load is insured or not.  Call local companies especially, but check their reviews and ask pointed questions. 

[MuggsyB]

2 years ago I was helping clean out my great aunts house.  It had a 1914 Sterling piano, (made in Derby, CT) that was in decent shape considering its age.  It did need a major tune up that apparently would cost $7k-8k plus moving costs and would have been worth $15-18k+ afterwards.  It was the flat box style and weighted a ton and 3 of us couldn't even push roll it.  My uncle eventually sledgehammered it because it had to go and  unmovable. 

That's really sad. 

[Skatastrophy]

When I move I take the opportunity to buy a bunch of clear Rubbermaid bins. I pack up those bins for the move, they're obviously nicer than boxes and stack really well.

But the cool part, and the reason I buy clear ones, is that now my garage/storage is organized af. I slide a piece of paper against the inside of the bin with the contents written out on the paper, so I know what's in the bins without having to check them.

I've moved enough that we don't have a lot of stuff. I let the movers pack up the big things and protect them. But I spend my time moving just throwing things away that would be easy to buy again if we ever need it. I think the purge is most impactful on a successful move op.

The rubbermaid bin exception is plateware and books. Small boxes for the heavy things, always.

[dgies9156]

2) Have people closed on the house they were buying and selling on the same day? We're thinking it might be helpful to close on the new house on our closing day and try to close on selling our current home a couple weeks to a month later, being able to move some stuff over ourselves on a bit more of our own timeline.

We closed on our old home in Vero Beach and our new one within hours of each other. Maybe I'm overly efficient, but I wanted the cash from the first sale to bring the mortgage on the new house down dramatically (it was later paid off when we sold our home in Chicago).

In 2022, we sold two homes and bought one. We also planned and executed on my daughter's wedding.

The close on our old home in Vero Beach was at 8:30 a.m., and the close on the new one in Vero Beach was at noon. Neither was complex from our side -- the attorneys dealt with everything and we signed the papers in advance. At noon, when the cash showed up in the attorney's trust fund, we closed.

For both homes, we packed ourselves. I got sloppy on one box and broke some china that had sentimental value. But the cost of packing was, in our view, outrageous.

We found the best approach is to start long before moving day. We started cleaning and organizing more than a year before moving day. I used our garage as a staging area for packed boxes. My wife and I also went through the house and gave away or tossed tons of crap. We had lived in our North Suburban Chicago home for 28 years and I always said the time would be right when my wife agreed to go through her childhood "momentos." In 2021 and 2022, some of the stuff both of us tossed included checks written on my college account from the 1970s, letters we wrote back and forth while we were in college (my daughter badly wanted to get her hands on those), beat up dolls and broken toys from our children. Moving those from Illinois to Florida would have added both junk to handle (and pay to move) and requried a place for them. We also disposed on a boatload of college textbooks!

Perhaps the most unusual thing I dealt with was a box of my Dad's airline receipts and ticket jackets dating to the 1960s. My Dad (an MU engineer) traveled all over the U.S. and had thousands of them, which I ended up owning. I was going to throw them out but before I did, I made inquiries on Facebook and had people begging me not to dispose of them. The bulk of them ended up in Delta's Museum of Flight in Atlanta, though a significant group also ended up in historical societies for American and United Airlines. The morale: make sure you understand what you're throwing away before you do.

Also, household goods in decent shape (including yard tools and equipment, furniture, kitchen cookware, tools, silverwear, clothes etc.) may have a home at St. Vincent DePaul. They and Habitat for Humanity did well by us!

[The Sultan]

wades, I doubt you have been married long enough to acquire too much stuff, but a common theme here is that you should use this opportunity to purge. We have twice rented dumpsters just prior to moving. Emptying out the house of all the crap we acquried but no longer needed or wanted felt awesome.

[dgies9156]

wades, I doubt you have been married long enough to acquire too much stuff, but a common theme here is that you should use this opportunity to purge. We have twice rented dumpsters just prior to moving. Emptying out the house of all the crap we acquried but no longer needed or wanted felt awesome.

Absolutely. I second Brother Sultan 1,000 percent!

[drewm88]

For our last move, we closed on the purchase several weeks before the sale. We arranged with our mortgage bank that we'd be recasting the mortgage after closing on the sale, and negotiated that they'd waive any fees for doing so. Saved us a chunk of money.

Similarly, if you're still in the mortgage market, talk to as many as you can stand. I've shared this here before but I talked to probably 15 lenders. Rates varied wildly. Lowest was from some internet bank I wasn't keen on working with, but I got a local bank to match their rate, shaving either 1/8 or 1/4 off what they had quoted me.

[The Lens]

If you're moving local in MKE, we've always used Hernia Movers. Always a great experience.

[Jay Bee]

Purging —

Facebook marketplace is insane. If you have stuff to get rid of, people will take it. What remains either go with a junk pickup company, or check what your local jurisdiction might accept. I can drop off some crazy stuff for free in Hennepin county, MN

[Jockey]

Purging —

Facebook marketplace is insane. If you have stuff to get rid of, people will take it. What remains either go with a junk pickup company, or check what your local jurisdiction might accept. I can drop off some crazy stuff for free in Hennepin county, MN

The curb is insane. We seldom need to dispose of things we no longer want/use. Just put it out on the curb unless you need money from selling it. Often the stuff will be gone within minutes - rarely lasts even a day. easier than loading it and taking to Goodwill and I'd rather recycle objects to someone else that go through the trouble to put it up for sale just to make a few bucks.

I put a Mac G4 PC and monitor out not long ago and within 5 minutes a guy stopped and picked it up. He even offered to pay me (which I declined).

[Jay Bee]

 ^^ yeah, sometimes I'm weirded out by it. Had an old step-opener garbage can. Probably bought it 7 years ago for $30. No space for it now, so put it on a local FB page for free.  Lady was thrilled to pick it up. Tossed it in the driveway and she came by to grab it. So easy.

If I'm charging only like $10 or so, I just have people leave cash at the door or Venmo... and leave the goods on the porch or in the driveway. I don't need to meet these lunatics in person.

[Scoop Snoop]

^^ yeah, sometimes I'm weirded out by it. Had an old step-opener garbage can. Probably bought it 7 years ago for $30. No space for it now, so put it on a local FB page for free.  Lady was thrilled to pick it up. Tossed it in the driveway and she came by to grab it. So easy.

If I'm charging only like $10 or so, I just have people leave cash at the door or Venmo... and leave the goods on the porch or in the driveway. I don't need to meet these lunatics in person.

Which is probably why you enjoy being on scoop.

[Jay Bee]

Which is probably why you enjoy being on scoop.

I have met a lot of Scoopers in person and hope to meet more! (Still lunatics, but different from the FB marketplace weirdos)

[MU82]

After we moved my 90-year-old FIL into assisted living in 2015, my wife had to sell his townhouse - which had decades worth of stuff in it. Among his belongings:

++ 9 TVs, including what had to be one of the first gigantic projection TVs ever made, 3 tiny-screen TVs, and a TV/VCR unit designed to fit between the seats of a full-sized van (even though my FIL didn't own a van). The 2 decent TVs were claimed by relatives; my wife and I put the other 7 by the curb with "FREE" signs on them. All 7 were taken by passers-by.

++ 7 record players. My son took what appeared to be the best one - which had a built-in 8-track player. We put the 6 others on the curb and 5 were snapped up. We ended up throwing away one that looked like it had been through several wars. My FIL also had probably 5,000 albums - 4,950+ of which he never played. Some collector took 'em of our hands; I hope he made at least a little money.

++ At least 100 flashlights, most cheap plastic ones my FIL had gotten as freebies over the years. We threw out almost all of them.

++ Hundreds of batteries, most past their expiration dates and many corroded.

++ More than $1,000 worth of coins that my FIL had collected in various desk-top jars, including $700+ in quarters alone. We took that to his bank and deposited it in his account.

++ Two orbital waxers that a UPS driver claimed from the curb, along with a huge bucket of car-care products. One waxer was still new in the box; the other had been used maybe once. Why did my FIL need 2 orbital waxers? Because if he hadn't gotten the second, he would have only had one!

++ A dozen or so heaters, fans and air purifiers of all shapes and sizes. These were popular items among the free stuff we left on the curb.

++ An old elliptical trainer and an even older step-climber, neither of which worked. They sat for awhile on the curb but were eventually claimed. People will take just about anything if it's free.

++ Dozens and dozens of framed pieces of "art" -- if pictures of fake flowers, ducks and Dennis Rodman can be called "art." All the sports-themed stuff went to my wife's cousin for his man-cave. The rest went on the freebie pile or in the trash.

++ Probably 300 pounds of various tools, many of which hadn't been used for 20+ years, and most of which were claimed by family friends.

++ Bags and bags filled with clothes, many of which were still in their original wrappers. My FIL wore a total of 2 pairs of pants and 3 shirts, so he didn't need 200+ outfits. That clothing - along with usable linens and kitchen dishes and utensils - were donated to his church.

++ Five boxes of self-help books, most of which were based on various conspiracy theories. ("Diet Coke: The Silent Assassin!")

++ Carpet-cleaning equipment and at least 4 bucket/mop combos. My FIL used to be in the floor-cleaning business. Friends took some of the stuff, the worst junk got pitched.

++ Lots of large furniture (sofas, beds, lamps, tables, chairs). The buyers of his place took some of it, we sold some online, the rest went to the curb.

We donated lots of the stuff that didn't get claimed to Goodwill, but they wouldn't take some of it. We rented two huge dumpsters from Waste Management and filled them.

The experience reinforced our hope to not leave a household of crapola for our adult children to have to deal with after we die.

Before moving from Charlotte to Seattle, we sold or gave away all of our furniture and tons of other stuff too. Sold the big items on Facebook Marketplace or to the couple that bought our house, also donated a lot. Our move was lean and clean!

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Purging —

Facebook marketplace is insane. If you have stuff to get rid of, people will take it. What remains either go with a junk pickup company, or check what your local jurisdiction might accept. I can drop off some crazy stuff for free in Hennepin county, MN

I second.  After having to clean my mom's house out last year.  FB Marketplace was my friend as people were picking stuff up before the house was even on the market.  My brother an I had much less to move.