Moving Tip #6: Moving With Pets

Moving blankets aren't necessary for dog moving, unless they like to curl up in them.

Moving is stressful for you, and you can understand what's going on. Imagine how difficult it can be on your pet.

Personally, I found that my dog, who had lived at our previous place for 8+ years, had a really hard time adjusting to the new place. It took months before he seemed to grasp that this new arrangement was permanent and that this was his home. He's fine now, but I wish I had done a better job of transitioning him.

There are plenty of suggestions out there on how to move with pets. Some websites/blogs/experts recommend leaving a room or space intact until its time to head out the door so the pet has a familiar place to hang out while packing and moving is going on. Other suggest taking your pet to a well-known off-site place like a kennel they board at or a friend or relative's house. Whichever path you choose, the key to make the pet feel relaxed and as comfortable as possible while the big transition happens.

If your pet stays in your residence while moving (and packing if a professional is doing it) happens make sure that the movers are aware there is a pet. If your pet is in a particular room with the door closed let the movers know verbally and put a sign up on the door. Its good for the movers to know well in advance if there are any pets present, too, in case a mover has a severe allergy or someone is afraid of animals.

Another important thing to do is make sure that your pet has its tags on. Moving requires that doors be left open, which may mean the pet will escape. You might even consider putting an extra tag with further information on it just for the move. Phone numbers taped to the usual tags could help speed recovery of your pet if they do happen to get out.

Another things to do pre-move to is check out the rules and regulations of your new town and/or state. A new state might require you to send along health certificates before you. Even if you're only moving one town over you'll need to re-register your cat or dog with that town.

If you're doing a move that requires you travel by plane you'll probably want to send your pet the same way. Movers cannot take animals on their trucks and you probably wouldn't want to send them that way anyway. Small enough pets can usually be with you at your seat on the plane but larger pets might have to be on the plane as freight. Check with your specific airline about their rules for transporting animals. Smaller animals like gerbils, birds and fish can be shipped through air express. Talk to your vet or local pet store about how to do that.

There are also companies that will handle your pet's transportation for you. Companies like Pet Move and Air Animal offer these services but check them out thoroughly before you decide to use them.

Any tips any of you have found to help transition a pet from an old home to a new one? What worked for you?

Please don't box your pets! photo courtesy of http://movepets.com/

How an Interstate Move Works - the Paperwork

There is a ton of paperwork involved with interstate moving. Here's a run down of what there is and when you get it.

- Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move
A customer received either when we come out to do an on site estimate or we send it by mail. This booklet gives customers information on everything from estimates to disputes to full value protection. It can also be found online.
- Ready to Move?
This pamphlet is also given to customers either when we come out to do an on site estimate or it is sent by mail. It gives the customer tips on moving and contains a condensed version of some of the information found in Your Rights and Responsibilities When you Move.
- Estimated Cost of Services
This piece of paper is a formal estimate from us or any other moving company. It outlines all charges, including packing if that is being done by the moving company. Intelligent Labor and Moving will either mail this after a customer has accepted the estimate we've sent by e-mail someone will swing by the customer's current residence to have it signed. Estimates are good for 60 days.
- Order for Service
This document is a customers acknowledgment that he or she would like Intelligent Labor and Moving (or any other moving company) to complete his or her move. Estimated costs are outlined again. The customer must also declare the value of the shipment and select a deductible amount. As with the "Estimated Cost of Services" we will either mail it or swing by a customer's house to have the document signed before the move.
- Uniform Household Goods Bill of Lading and Freight Bill
The Bill of Lading also lists the estimated charges and declaration of value. It contains much of the same information as the "Estimated Cost of Services" and the "Order for Service." This document is filled out during the move.
- Household Goods Descriptive Inventory
The movers use this document to list your goods and their condition upon their arrival at the origin address. Every item is given a number and the condition is checked and noted again upon arrival at the destination.
- High Risk/High Value Inventory
This is much the same as the "Household Goods Descriptive Inventory" but for items that fall into specific guidelines. High value items are considered by the government to be currency, coins, jewelry, silverware and silver service sets, crystal, figurines, furs, object of arts, computer software programs, manuscripts, comic books, baseball cards, stamps, and other collectible items or rare documents that have a value in access of $100/pound (language courtesy of Milburn Printing). There are other stipulations listed on this document. It is important for customers to read and understand what high value means. This document will be filled out at the load, if at all.
- Complaint and Inquiry Sheet
We give this sheet to the customer at the beginning of their move. It outlines how to go about making a formal complaint or inquiry against Intelligent Labor and Moving and what happens after one is filed.
-Document Acknowledgment
This is a document created by us that a customer has to initial at the end of the move stating that he or she has received all of the above listed documents.
- On Site Estimate Release
If a customer lives within 50 miles of our warehouse and tells us they do not want an on site estimate for their move we require him or her to sign this document. It release Intelligent Labor and Moving from responsibility regarding the requirement as well as the accuracy of the information provided. This document should be signed at the beginning of the move or earlier.

Phew, that's a lot of paper. All of it needs to be signed by the customer. In most cases the customer also gets to keep a copy for his or her records. If you have questions about any of it let us know.

Can We Give You a Ride?

photo courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MBTA_Bus_Route_1.JPG

Short answer: No.

Long answer: Our insurance does not allow us to have passengers. The only people allowed to ride in our truck are people who work for Intelligent Labor and Moving. This is because taking passengers would make us fall under the "bus" category, which is a whole different kind of insurance and we aren't covered for that. We could get in a lot of trouble taking a customer in the truck with us. In fact, customer can't be in any part of our trucks, even a rental. So, if you don't have a car and need to get from your current location to your new one we can't help you with that part. Its best to plan ahead and either take public transportation or call a cab.

How an Interstate Move Works - the Estimate

If you're looking to have us give you an estimate for an interstate move - during the summer we stick to New England and NYC, the rest of the year we will go up and down the Eastern Seaboard - give us a call or shoot us an e-mail to let us know.

Once you've contacted us we'll want to give you an estimate for your move. If you live within 50 miles of our warehouse we are federally required to do an on site estimate. We would do this for interstate move anyway because it gives us a better sense of what's going on, but it is also the law. If you'd rather not have us come to your home or you just don't have time you can say you don't want an on site estimate. In that case, we'll either have you answer our questionnaire through e-mail or we'll go over the details of your move over the phone. We will also have you sign a piece of paper that states you were offered an on site estimate but did not want one. That covers us in case of a federal audit. Either way, we will provide you with a booklet called "Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move" and a pamphlet called "Ready to Move?" as required by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

image courtesy of http://www.cpatrucking.com/tag/fmcsa

If you do not live within 50 miles of our warehouse we'll get the details of your move through the e-mail questionnaire or over the phone. For instance, if you are moving from Portland, Maine to Cambridge, Massachusetts we would not travel up to Maine to do an on site.

Once we have taken and/or received the details of your move we will work up an estimate. We take into account all the same things we do with a local move - travel time, labor time, stretch wrap, etc. - but also interstate specific things like gas, tolls, hotels (if necessary), etc. Once we've done all the math we send you an e-mail estimate with the flat rate that we're offering you. If you are comfortable with the flat rate we've sent you then we book you (assuming the days you wanted are still available).

This is technically an informal booking according to the federal government. To make it formal in the eyes of the law we send you some paperwork to sign and return to us. The first is an Estimated Cost of Services, which details the estimate we've already sent you by e-mail. The other is an Order for Service. The Order for Service and all the other many documents associated with an interstate move will be detailed in another post. Stay tuned!

Last minute moves

Photo courtesy of http://ledmuseum.candlepower.us/eleventh/clock5.htm

There have been many times we've been able to help a customer out with a lasts minute move. Its easier to do in the winter than the summer simply due to demand, but we have definitely managed some tight time lines in the summer, too. However, there are some things that need to said about last minute moves.

First, 4:50 pm is not the best time to contact the office for a move the next day. That's cutting it a bit too close, frankly. We can try, but it won't often work out. It just doesn't give us enough time to get all the information from you, look at the calendar, give you an estimate and find guys to do the job for you. The further able we are able to plan ahead, even if its just a half a day, will make things go much more smoothly.

Second, last minute moves mean we are not able to get parking permits for your move. We will take that into account when creating your estimate, but most town and cities in the area that issue moving van permits require at least 48 hours notice to issue them.

Third, just because you have contacted us last minute (either by e-mail or phone or voice mail) does not mean you are in the calendar. The act of contacting us does not book you a job. This problem is not exclusive to last minute jobs, but it bears mentioning (and happened to us recently). We are very careful to tell customers that they are not booked until they have seen an estimate and told us they want to book so simply telling us you want to move does nothing more than tell us you want to move. We want to help everyone who would like to move with us but that doesn't mean we can. We cannot treat every request as a booked job otherwise we wouldn't be able to stay in business. A customer must say they want to book with us after receiving their estimate to be considered in the calendar. We are first come, first served so sometimes even when you have received an estimate and respond that you'd like to book we cannot accommodate your move because someone else who has received an estimate booked before you did.

None of this is to say you shouldn't contact us if you need help with a move very quickly, but know that the later you leave things the harder it is for us to assist you. We'd love to hear from you whenever your move is. Even if the exact day you want isn't open we can often suggest other days surrounding it if you have scheduling flexibility.

Davis Sq. Blog

A recent customer told us about a Davis Sq. live journal so I had to check it out. I'm not up on live journals, so I can't say if this is what all of them are like, but this one in particular lets users post whatever is on their mind in relation to Davis Sq. I saw posts about people giving stuff away for free, community goings-on, incidents of interest, questions about Cadbury Eggs on sale at Rite Aid, etc. Its seems like a combination of free-cycle, craigslist and Wicked Local.

If you live in the Davis Sq. area or are planning on moving there is definitely worth a look.

Leaving Yelp

So, we've made the decision to stop advertising on Yelp. What does that mean for you? Not too much, really. Obviously you'll still be able to view all of our reviews (including the filtered ones) and post your own. We have nothing to do with that part.

What will be different is the offers and announcements. We won't be able to post any news about the company or offer any deals or discounts through Yelp anymore. That doesn't mean we won't continue to do these things, though. This very blog is a good place to check for all ILAM related news and updates (and moving tips, realtor references, etc) and the company website is always a great place to find information about us. We'll probably continue to post monthly deals on our Twitter account (@ILandM). We may even post short lived deals on there, so check it often!

We encourage people to keep posting reviews on Yelp and other review sites (Citysearch, BBB, CitySquares, etc). We love customer feedback any way we can get it!

Realtors we've worked with

Being in the business we're in we interact with a lot of realtors. Here's a list of some realtors we've worked with a lot over the years that we've had nothing but positive experiences with (in case you're looking for a realtor....)

Gail Roberts, Coldwell Banker Cambridge
Thalia Tringo, Thalia Tringo Real Estate
Ed Feijo, Coldwell Banker Cambridge
Lori Orchanian, Coldwell Banker Belmont
John Angier, Coldwell Banker Cambridge
Brad Hartz, Hammond Residential Real Estate Wellesley/Weston

What if My Furniture Doesn't Fit?

photos courtesy of www.apartmenttherapy.com (Remember that episode of Friends? Pivot!)

Sometimes, no matter how carefully you plan, things just don't fit. A couch won't fit through a doorway or a box spring can't fit up the stairs.

There are a few options when this occurs and its good to have a contingency plan just in case. The first option is to just cut your losses and get rid of the piece that won't fit. This rarely happens, but some customers do decide to either leave it on the curb, have us bring it to Goodwill or have us dispose of it for them (at an extra cost).

Another option is to keep trying. We've removed feet from couches (if they are meant to removed in the first place) and folded mattresses to get them up the stairs, among other things. If we think damage might occur either to the residence or the piece of furniture we make sure to let the customer know the risks involved. If you choose to go ahead then we make you sign a release stating that we told you there might be problems and you decided to go ahead anyway. This releases us from any future responsibility on the matter.

A third option is to hoist. Hoisting involves bringing the furniture up through a window or over a balcony. It costs extra and requires at least three workers for safety reasons. Its not always possible to hoist, though. Sometimes the windows can't be removed or the balcony isn't sturdy enough. I'll go over the particulars of hoisting in its own in the future.

The best way to avoid this problem is to really check out your future residence. Check out the stairs for tight turns and low ceilings and measure the doorways widths. Of course, even with great preparations some things may still not fit, but at least you'll have a good idea of this before the move. This information also allows us to give you a more accurate estimate. And, if you had any trouble getting something in when you moved into your current place its important to let us know that as well.