Rents Continue to Increase in the Boston Area

"Boston is a desirable place to live," says Eric Belsky, managing director of Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies in a Boston Globe article today.

Of course, we Bostonians (and greater Bostonians) know this, but we also know that can translate into some pretty high rents. Much as other Globe articles have recently mentioned (and we've blogged about here and here), the rising rents are due in part to the current state of the housing market. People just aren't buying right now, so they continue to rent and prices continue to rise in response to the demand.

Its an interesting article and worth a read whether your looking to rent or buy in the near future. And of course, if you do find that great apartment in or around Boston and need help moving, give us a call!

Piano Moving Seminar

The other day we held a piano moving seminar for our guys at the warehouse. One of our movers has spent many years moving pianos at a previous job so we had him show our other movers how to do everything properly. A lot of our guys have piano moving experience already, but it never hurts to have an expert go over the finer points for clarification.

There's a lot more that goes into a moving a piano than with most other goods. First, they're often very expensive. They also have a lot of delicate parts and they're heavy. There's even special equipment, skid boards, that we use just for pianos (though they do sometimes get used for other heavy weight items).

Check out all the pictures from the seminar. I think everyone learned a lot!

Legs have been removed.

A baby grand properly wrapped and strapped to a skid.

Practicing moving the pianos on dollies.

Laying the piano onto a skid.

Piano Technicians Guild

image courtesy of www.ptg.org

We are now a proud member of the Piano Technicians Guild. They are a nationwide organization that serves as a source of piano service expertise. If you need a piano tuned, a piano teacher or a piano restored, among other things, they are the group to check out. PTG is really one stop shopping for all things piano related. There are chapters all over the country, including the Boston chapter we joined, so you can check out the local websites as well.

We're really proud to be a part of PTG and we look forward to working with them.

UPDATE: Moving Tip #8: Appliances

Happy New Year!

Here's an update by our owner on our previous post about moving appliances.

image courtesy of homerefrigeratorrepair.com

The conventional wisdom is that refrigerators should not be plugged in after being moved for at least 2 hours to let chemicals to settle in the lines. If the refrigerator had to be layed down or was hoisted, it should be left upright for at least 24 hours for the oil in the compressor to settle.

We cannot hook up any of your appliances that have connections to water or gas. We recommend if you do it yourself to pay particular attention for the hours following the hookup. Water can do a lot of damage to a home, and making sure your plumbing is well sorted is of paramount importance. Wait to plug your washer in until you can be home and keep an eye out for leaks or other issues until you're sure everything is fine.

Usually dishwashers are hard-wired into the house with a switch, so an electrician will be needed to unhook your dishwasher in addition to a plumber. If you would like a recommendation on a local plumber or electrician, let us know, we might have some suggestions.