Five Tips on Choosing the Best Maryland Moving Estimate
When moving in Maryland you will never have to worry about finding a moving company. There are a lot of moving companies and services in Maryland, most of which offer great professional services. However, not all moving companies are the same and if you are not careful about picking the right mover, you could end up regretting your choice.
It would be insane to pick the first movers you run across whether you found them through an ad in the paper or because they were the first search result which came up in Google. Picking a company by simply looking at their website and making your decision based on how good the website is a better way to make the decision, but it is far from foolproof and potentially deceptive. Websites are great equalizers; a company can appear bigger and better than it actually is if they hire a talented web developer.
So actually, the best way to ensure that you’ve hired the right moving company is still to do it old school: get referrals, talk to friends who have recently moved, or who might have relatives who actually work at a moving company. Last and most important, get an estimate from each of the movers you are considering.
Moving can be incredibly complicated, and the more complicated it is, the more careful you should be about looking at your estimate. Here are five tips for choosing the right Maryland moving estimate:
- First of all, don’t use an online estimating tool as your definitive estimate most often, online moving estimates only recon for hauling. There are sites with more detailed breakdowns, but they are a poor substitute for an ocular inspection by an experienced professional. Online estimates are not without merit though, and can at the very least give you a ballpark figure to work with.
- Second, you should look with suspicion on an estimate which is far lower than the norm. Some movers have become notorious for giving a very low quotation just to get the job, then doubling or even tripling the cost on moving day itself, knowing full well that the customer simply doesn’t have the time to get a new mover.
- Third, look for a not-to-exceed clause on the estimate. Professional Maryland movers will base the estimate on a lot of factors. Even before you actually move, they will be able to give an educated guess as to how much your move will cost, and they will have the confidence to back it up with a “not-to-exceed” clause.
- Fourth, make sure the estimate factors in as many variables as possible. A good estimate will recon for man hours, mileage, weight, and even packing costs. The more simplistic an estimate is, the more likely the chance of getting hit with all sorts of hidden costs on moving day.
- Lastly, check to see how your packing was estimated; did the mover give you costs based on your number of items? Or on the amount of packing materials to be used. A per item estimate is usually preferable. No matter how experienced a mover is, it is more difficult to recon based on material usage, as a lot of items will have unconventional shapes and sizes.
Hiring the right Maryland mover can be the best thing you have ever done for yourself. Following our simple advice should make the process that much easier.
