Moving is a hard process. There are so many things you need to think about and so many things to take care of. Deciding where to move, finding an apartment or house, hiring a reliable Los Angeles moving company, packing everything up, and then unpacking and unwinding at your new home. All of these things can take their toll on your mind and on your wallet as well. That is why you need to be as ready as possible to tackle any obstacles in your upcoming move. One of the obstacles that may present is comparing moving quotes of a couple of moving companies. What are the moving quotes and how to compare them? Well, this article will be about that! So, without any further ado, let’s dive in!
What are moving quotes and how do you compare them?
When you start looking for moving companies, the first thing they are going to do is offer you some moving quotes Los Angeles. This is the first step of making a deal with a moving company. A moving quote is the approximate price of your move. However, this price or estimate can change due to various reasons. These reasons include the weight of your move, any additional services you may need, the type of your moving quote, and so on. We will now go in-depth about all of these aspects of a move and talk about the correct way of handling them. But first, let’s see how to find a company and get a moving quote. Let’s get to it!
Finding reliable moving companies
When you decide that you want to move, you need to find the moving company that fits your needs best. There are several ways to do this and we will talk about them now. One of the ways, and the most common one, is to ask your friends and family if they know any reliable moving companies. If they don’t, worry not! There are still ways you can do this. Another way is to check around the neighborhood and see if anyone had moved recently. However, this is not a very reliable way of handling this and this can lead to hiring a company that does not fit your move.
Furthermore, the best way to look for moving companies is to go online. The internet has a solution to all of your problems if you know where to look. The websites that are great for this are BBB and Yelp. These websites offer reviews from real people and they are most often reliable. In addition to these reviews, BBB offers another safeguard when it comes to the reliability of the companies. If the company has a BBB Seal of Approval, you can be sure that they are trustworthy. Only the most reliable companies get the seal, and you should compare only moving quotes from these companies.
The weight of your items
This is the main thing around which a moving quote revolves. If you have a lot of stuff and everything is heavy, the price is going to go up. However, if it is the opposite, the price will go down. But, you need to know that every moving company has a low limit. If you are doing a local move and do not have a lot of stuff and the weight of your items does not exceed their minimum, you will still have to pay that minimum. Just to put things into perspective, if you are moving just one room, you will probably have to pay more because of the hassle the movers have to go through without much payoff if the estimate was valued on weight alone. So, something like a safeguard.
Types of estimates
As we have previously mentioned there are a couple of types of moving estimates or quotes. Three to be exact. The first one is a binding moving quote, then we have the non-binding moving quote, and lastly, we have the binding not-to-exceed-estimate. Let’s go in depth about all three of these and how do they impact your move!
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Binding quote
A binding quote is when you call the moving company and you tell them what type of move you want and they give you a fixed price. They will, of course, come as soon as possible to do the actual weighing process and thus fully determine the price. They will give you a fixed price and include all of the additional services you may have requested. After that, they will give you a contract and you will not have to pay anything prior to the move, but only after they deliver your items to your new home.
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Non-binding quote
A non-binding quote is different in that the price of the move can change during the move. If your residential movers decide that something you need is much harder than they expected or harder than you described, they will increase the price. They will also do the actual weighing on moving day and therefore increase or decrease the price of your move. This is good if you are moving locally and do not have a lot of items because you may get a lower price.
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Binding not-to-exceed-estimate
This is the best kind of moving quote and only the most reliable companies do it. They will give you an estimate over the phone and when the actual weighing comes, the price cannot go up if the overall weight of the move is higher than expected. However, the price WILL go down if the weight is lower than estimated.
Compare moving quotes like a pro!
When you know all these things, it will be easy as a breeze to compare all of these moving quotes. Just call all of the companies and ask them about any additional services you may need. Write all of that down and compare the prices and you are good to go! With all that said, good luck with your move!