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Interstate Movers and Packers – Why You Should Use Nelson Westerberg Services

Young family with two kids unpacking boxes

Uprooting and moving to a different state may seem complex, but Nelson Westerberg is here to take things off your mind and move them to your new home. Thanks to our expertise in handling interstate relocation, you can take a load off and leave most of the hassle to us. We have multiple locations across the United States ready to help you pack and move, whether you’re a business owner or a homeowner.

Choosing the Right Interstate Movers and Packers

Choose a reliable interstate moving company to ensure your items get where they need to go. This prep work is vital to ensure your move is hassle-free, plus it’s much easier than moving everything yourself.

Factors to Consider When Selecting a Moving Company

Don’t leave your belongings’ fate to chance. Here’s how to select a moving company to ensure your goods’ journey in one piece.

Comparing Quotes and Services

Money matters, so take your time before settling on a moving company. Shop around your area and get quotes from different companies to ensure you’re getting the best deal. An interstate move may require additional services, like temporary storage. Nelson Westerberg can access hundreds of storage locations to make your life easier. You can also catalog your belongings and choose which items you’ll handle and which ones you’re comfortable with the movers handling. You can prioritize valuables or fragile items like jewelry, electronics, or heirlooms. Remember, you can shave off part of your moving costs by doing the job yourself. 

Verifying Licenses and Insurance

After collecting quotes from your local movers and shaving down your list, check whether you’ve selected a licensed moving company and whether they offer insurance. Fortunately, Nelson Westerberg is licensed by the DOT for interstate moves. You can check whether they’re licensed at the US Dept. of Transportation’s FMCSA website. We also recommend asking the packers about their experience to ensure they know what they’re doing. Moving on to insurance, your moving company should offer released value protection at no extra cost. This weight-based insurance option is required by federal law but is the basic option. However, let’s say you’re moving a grand piano and don’t want to take any chances.  In this case, consider getting full value protection, where the movers will pay to repair or replace any items lost or damaged in the moving process. Remember that this option costs more.

Apart from released value and full value protection, NW offers the following insurances:

  • Hazard insurance
  • Liability insurance
  • Physical damage insurance
  • Assessed value coverage
  • Catastrophic coverage
  • Property damage insurance
  • Replacement value protection
  • Valuation coverage

Checking Reviews and Ratings

Don’t forget to look into your mover’s reputation! Check out their site and read what their customers say about them. If their reviews are all above-board, try to double-check them. You’re likely working with a real estate agent to facilitate the move, so rely on them as a contact person. Ask your agent if they’ve worked with the moving company you’ve chosen and whether they’re reliable and efficient. Once your real estate agent gives the green light, call them. But if they’re an unknown quantity, don’t fret. Reach out to your colleagues, friends, or relatives and quiz them on their experiences.

Our Comprehensive Moving Services

We at Nelson Westerberg offer a full suite of moving services, from crating to moving, disassembly, and reassembly. We also offer specialized moving services for seniors, in case you’ve convinced your parents to move for a change of pace.

Here’s a quick look at the services we offer.

Packing and Unpacking Services

With decades of moving experience, we’re fully equipped to help you move homes, businesses, and everything. Packing and unpacking involve providing packing material to protect your belongings and later unpacking them once everything has been brought over. Depending on your moving company, the unpacking service may also involve disposing of the packing materials and arranging your belongings in your new residence.

Loading and Unloading Services

This is the most physically-intensive part of any move, whether local or interstate. It’s best to hire professionals to prevent injuring yourself. We here at Nelson Westerberg are certified ProMovers courtesy of the American Moving and Storage Association, so you know you’re hiring reputable movers.

Furniture Disassembly and Reassembly

This service is for dismantling your furniture at your old address and reassembling them at your new location. Depending on the mover, this will incur an additional fee. Disassembly and reassembly are essential for items like bed frames, cabinets, and other large pieces of furniture. Customers can accomplish this themselves but will also be responsible for the reassembly.

Special Handling for Valuables and Antiques

Suppose you’re unsure whether you can move your heirloom paintings and furniture across the states. Fortunately, we have experts who can help! We can tell you exactly what you can and can’t move to your new home and the right equipment to keep it safe. All while ensuring it meets Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration standards. You can also avail of these services to transport fragile or bulky items across states.

Storage Solutions for Short and Long-term Needs

We offer short- and long-term storage across the United States if you can’t finish cleaning your basement or attic before the big day. You can choose between warehouses or storage units depending on the size of your belongings and your needs. Warehouses are typically used by businesses to ease logistics issues. Some storage units also have amenities like electricity and climate control. These units are typically in higher demand and are more expensive.

The Moving Process from Start to Finish

When you call a moving company to make your interstate move easier, here’s how it works.

1. Initial Consultation and Free Quote

After contacting us, your movers need to know your current and new addresses. Afterward, they’ll schedule an onsite inspection and inventory to generate your quote. You can also utilize NW’s innovative in-home video survey system at your own leisure. Simply take a quick video of all your rooms to create the quote. Ensure your items are up front and visible, and our software will do the rest. Once you submit your video quote, we’ll give you a moving estimate.

2. Customized Moving Plan

To better facilitate the move, provide your movers with a floor plan of your current and new addresses. Include details like the number of staircases in your addresses. With these details, your moving company can create a customized moving plan, like which vehicles can fit in your street and the equipment they’ll need to provide. Despite the distance, an interstate move typically won’t cost more, but hiring an interstate moving company with experience crossing state lines is best.

3. Packing and Preparing for the Move

Home or business owners can provide packing materials like boxes and packing tape, typically covered by the moving company and included in the quote. You should also refer to your packing list or item inventory to ensure you haven’t left anything behind. This vital document will also be referenced after the move is complete. Ease your burden by getting rid of unused or unwanted items. Moving fewer items means less work and lower moving costs.

4. Moving Day Assistance

On the big day, your movers will arrive on time to help move your belongings across state lines. It’s possible to need storage solutions, especially if you have extra belongings that can’t be moved in one day. However, you can pay for expedited service to ensure your items arrive by a specified date, for an additional fee. Remember to oversee the moving process to ensure everything goes well.

5. Post-Move Support

Once everything’s made it over to your new address, you’re not finished! You can’t live in a house surrounded by packing boxes; your moving company can assist. You can call your moving company to help finish the job, like unpacking everything else, moving your furniture around, or even disposing of used packing materials. Conserve your energy and let your movers do the post-move heavy lifting!

Pricing and Payment Options

Once you’ve chosen our services, you can pay through cash or credit cards for added convenience.  You can lower the cost of your move by taking advantage of our discount offers and scheduling your move in advance. 

Factors Affecting Moving Costs

Depending on your circumstances and moving needs, your quoted cost may increase. Various additional services can affect the cost of your interstate move, like white glove services and stair carriers. For example, a full-service move includes packing your items, transporting them to your new home, unpacking them, and reassembling them in their rooms. It’ll also cost more accordingly. You’ll also need to consider the timing of your move and whether the total weight of your items exceeds our initial estimation. If so, expect a higher moving cost. 

Discounts and Special Offers

Nelson Westerberg can help you save on moving costs if you time your move right. We offer discounts depending on when you move. For example, summer is the high season because renters and homeowners with kids have more free time, so we’ll typically be fully booked. Try booking between October and May instead! Other than the season, we recommend scheduling your move weeks in advance. Giving yourself this leeway helps us remain flexible and work with you for scheduling, plus you’re more likely to get a discount this way. You can also receive a discount if you can wait to receive your items, especially for long-distance interstate or cross-country moves. We recommend contacting our salesperson to ensure your quote is competitive and for a greater opportunity to get discounts.

Guaranteeing Fair and Transparent Pricing

Some movers will initially give their customers an incomplete and low quote before suddenly adding the cost of accessorial services. Here at Nelson Westerberg, we do things differently. Our moving experts at NW will learn these details upfront to give you an accurate quote. Accessorial services and moving specialty items like cars or extra heavy furniture will typically raise the price of your quote. We’ll also need details like the distance of your move and the total weight of your belongings. The more information we have, the more accurate and complete your quote will be!

 

Tips for a Stress-Free Interstate Move

There’s a lot to stress over when leading up to an interstate move; Questions like “What’s my budget?” and “When can I get a new driver’s license?” may come to mind. Lucky for you, there’s no need to look up “tips for planning an interstate move” when you’re working with us.

Here are some essential interstate moving tips to make the process fast and easy.

#1 Planning and Organizing Early

Don’t let moving day creep up on you; plan so you can make all the necessary arrangements before bidding your old place goodbye. You should have a floor plan of your new home, so you’ll know exactly how much space you have for necessary items like kitchen appliances. This should give you an idea of which appliances you can keep. After consulting your floor plan, sit down and make a rough timeline or schedule for your move. Start with a moving day and work backward so you don’t overwhelm yourself. Contact Nelson Westerberg for an idea of the logistics and help with planning.

#2 Purging Unnecessary Items

Now comes the hard part: letting go (of your old things.) You can make it easier on your movers and wallet by disposing of unused and unwanted items before moving day. Consider the size of your new home or apartment; start sorting your items 6 months or more before moving day. As you sort through your belongings while packing them up, take the time to review which possessions you need. Begin decluttering with those items you’ve forgotten about or hardly ever use. Dust off those boxes in the attic and open them up. Unused or ill-fitting clothes and toys should be donated, and broken-down furniture should be recycled. For everything else, separate it into categories, like “Keep, Throw away, or Donate.” This should make moving easier.

#3 Creating a Moving Inventory

After you’ve cut away whatever you can, it’s time to organize the rest. Create a comprehensive inventory of your items, from furniture to electronics to silverware. This itemized list will make it easier to track your belongings and should be double-checked after the move to ensure all your belongings made it to the new home properly. It’s important to actively participate in making and checking this inventory because it will also be used as a reference document if some of your furniture goes missing. The total weight in your moving inventory will also help us give you a suitable quote and cost for packing, moving, loading, and unloading everything. Inventories can be categorized by item type or location. For example, items from the master bedroom or home office should be packed and moved together.

#4 Reaching Out to Utilities and Services in Your New State

Since you’re moving between states, your old utility provider’s coverage probably won’t extend to your new home. Remember to notify your current utility providers when you’ll stop availing of their services. It’s the same story with your new utility providers; give them a definite start date for when you’ll move in. Telling them beforehand will ensure you have gas, water, internet, and electricity after arriving in your new place. After setting these up, you can move on to less essential things like cable.

#5 Preparing an Essentials Box for the First Days

This step will ensure you can fulfill your basic needs right after moving. Create a box with food, water, a few sets of clothes, and toiletries. Add other essentials like garbage bags and scissors or a box cutter to help you crack open any moving boxes you packed yourself. Include prescription medicines if you take any and some entertainment items like books and consoles to tide you over until you’re finished moving in. 

Frequently Asked Questions about Interstate Moving and Packing

If you’re still lost on moving to another state, here’s some extra information that should help.

Best Time to Schedule an Interstate Move

It’s generally best to schedule your move 12 weeks before moving day. It’s also better to move in the middle of a month because home leases typically expire at the beginning of the month, so moving companies are busier then. Consider the season as well. Moving during winter is the cheapest because lower demand makes moving rates more reasonable. 

Pre-Move Survey and Its Importance

This vital survey can be done in person or through a video call and helps your moving company provide a more accurate quote. Nelson Westerberg’s advanced in-home video survey can help you create an accurate quote effortlessly. Our software will create your moving item list as you film. It’ll give your mover a better idea of what they need to move and save you from dealing with surprises like additional moving fees. 

Insurance Options and Coverage

There are 2 general types of insurance: released value and full replacement value. You can get up to $0.6/lb with the released value. of your item. With full value protection, the moving company will cover the repair or replacement fee for any lost or damaged item. There are also different options, like catastrophic coverage, which protects you against weather hazards like floods or tornadoes.

Items Movers Won’t Move

Unfortunately, we can’t move everything in your home. Here are some items you’ll have to give away or move yourself.

  • Firearms – Movers won’t handle your firearms for legal and safety reasons. That’s because gun laws vary between states.
  • Liquor and Alcohol – Same as firearms, different states have different liquor laws, so it’s best to finish off those bottles before moving.
  • Some Foods – Movers won’t handle perishable consumables like yogurt and cheese but can handle canned goods and dry foods like rice or pasta.

Addressing Common Concerns and Issues

Communication issues or items needing to be recovered in transit may go wrong. Don’t worry, because you can contact us to clear things up. Some common problems involve damaged or lost items; this is where your inventory and Bill of Lading come in handy since they contain the terms of your agreement with the movers. Check your Bill of Lading for the contact details of your origin agent or destination agent, and they can give you our contact details.

Get a Free Quote Today

We put the customer (and their furniture) first at Nelson Westerberg. You can rest easy and leave it to us to plan your move. Simply click on Request a Quote, and we’ll get you up and running for that big move. So what are you waiting for? Just give us a ring!