Moving to a new home, especially relocating to a new state, can be an exciting new stage in your life. But it’s never completely enjoyable and is often filled with more than a little trepidation and anxiety. But with some preparation, planning, and thought-out execution that takes into account the three stages of packing, moving, and finding a new home, all the challenges become manageable. Here, then, is our step by step guide to help you relocate to Franklin.
Gather Packing Materials Well in Advance
The first tip in our guide to help you relocate to Franklin is to start gathering – even hoarding – packing materials long before the move is scheduled. Whenever you go the grocery store ask about boxes and be sure to check the liquor store for boxes too. You can ask family and friends to save newspapers and bubble wrap (which they’d just throw away) for you as well.
Set Up a Packing Timeline
To avoid a frenzied rush right before moving, establish (and stick to) a packing timeline. A plan of attack like this will allow you plenty of time to accomplish all the many packing tasks, and you’ll know the order of packing and where to put packed items.
Clean as You Pack
No guide to help you relocate to Franklin would be complete without this tip: to save cleaning effort and avoid cleaning expenses later on, be sure to clean as you pack. Once you get a room packed up, go ahead and clean it. This way, both packing and cleaning will be completed at almost the same time – which will be especially important if you need to rent your home as soon as you can after you vacate.
Jettison the Junk
If you don’t use it, toss it or sell it at a garage sale. Jettisoning the junk will help you save a lot of packing effort and a good amount of moving expenses. The rule of thumb is that if you haven’t used an item in the last six months, then it needs to go.
Sell First, Then Buy
Financial and relocating experts agree that you should sell your current home before buying your new one. For, according to these experts, most lenders now won’t extend a short-term bridge loan if you try to buy before selling your current home. Also, carrying two mortgages, if you buy before you sell, is a financial burden most people simply can’t carry. Even if you have to rent an apartment for a while after relocating, selling first is still usually the wiser course.
Choose Your Mover Carefully
This final step in our guide to help you relocate to Franklin often gets overlooked, but it’s important nevertheless. Here’s why: an interstate move typically costs in excess of $5,000, and complaints about moving companies are high and on the rise. These complaints include your final bill being much higher than the initial estimate, delays in pick up and delivery, and unsavory employees. So you need to choose carefully.
Price, then, is not the primary consideration. You need to look carefully at the mover’s reputation. Yes, you do need to get estimates, but don’t go with lowest one by default. Check the company’s BBB rating, peruse online reviews, and talk to former customers in your area. Confidence in mover will make relocating far less painful.