Apartment Community Managers - Tips on Using San Diego Movers and San Diego Moving Companies

Moving is a traumatic experience - no one likes to move.

In most situations residents contract directly with movers and may even ask the community staff for a San Diego Mover referral. However, there are many situations where apartment communities contract directly with San Diego moving companies to move their residents. The situations for needing to contract a moving company typically involve water or other damage to a unit, a leasing incentive for a new resident or retaining a current resident moving to a different unit, model moves, unit renovations, condo conversions, or evictions.

There are 3 different levels of service you can offer. In order of level of service they are 1) move only, 2) pack and move, and 3) pack, move and unpack. By far the most common level of service is a "move only". This means that the resident must be ready when the San Diego movers arrive and the community is paying only to move the resident's possessions.

The next level of service is "pack and move". This means the movers are packing the resident's possessions, and moving them to the destination. Each successive level of service increases the cost of the move. So, how long does a move take and how much should it cost? With each move there are 3 variables that affect how long a move takes, and thus the cost of each move. They are access, preparedness and what is being moved.

For example the same amount of possessions going from a first floor unit to a first floor unit in the same community will go much faster (and cost much less) then the same move from a 3rd floor unit to another 3rd floor unit 25 miles away. The more prepared a resident is, the quicker the move takes place. Being prepared means having all electronics unplugged, possessions completely packed and organized, etc.

Lastly, a move with expensive, fragile antiques, collections and breakables takes longer then a move with everyday, standard furniture and possessions. Regardless of which level of service is offered, the San Diego moving company should always prep and pad wrap all furniture, offer free use of wardrobe boxes, bubble wrap any fragile possessions and disassemble and reassemble beds, and other furniture as required.

Any San Diego moving companies you use should be checked out thoroughly. Household goods moving is a regulated industry, regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission (P.U.C.). The laws that regulate moving have an odd name, the Max Rate Tariff 4. You can check to see that a moving company has a valid license (a CAL T permit) on the P.U.C.'s website at http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/tmis/. At this site you can also confirm that the company has current worker's compensation, general liability and cargo insurance. It would be advised to also check the company's rating with the BBB and preferably use a member of the SDCAA.

Worker's compensation insurance protects the community should any of the mover's workers get injured. Liability insurance protects the actual community from property damage, and cargo insurance protects the household goods of the resident from damage and loss.

Before the move starts, the resident is required to sign a contract called the Agreement for Moving Services. On this contract the resident selects a level of liability for the mover in case of loss or damage to their possessions. The most common level of liability coverage selected is the free, basic coverage. This limits the liability of the mover to 60 cents per pound per article. Thus if a TV that weighs 80 pounds is lost or damaged the maximum liability of the mover is $48.00. Higher levels of coverage can be selected by the resident, but it adds significant additional cost to the move and is rarely if ever paid for by the community.

Local moves (less then 100 miles between origin and destination) are charged by the hour. Thus you want to use a moving company that understands that your time is money and has crews, equipment and knowledge to move efficiently.

Generally, moves without packing fall in the $400 to $1,000 range, but as indicated above, there can be variables that put the final cost outside of that range. Each move is unique so it is best to consult with a moving company that you know and trust before undertaking a move.