What Ohio law counts as household goods
Before the boxes and the truck, there is a definition. Ohio's motor carrier law defines household goods as personal effects and property used or to be used in a dwelling, excluding property moving from a factory or store.
A Lima move can also start with a list of your own: what is going, what is staying, and what needs special handling. Writing it early can shape every later step, from the estimate to the last box carried through the new door.
Ohio's certificate rule
Ohio law says no for-hire motor carrier may transport household goods in intrastate commerce without first holding a current and valid certificate for the transportation of household goods issued by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
The question for each mover
Ask every company you contact the same thing: "Does this move call for a PUCO household goods certificate, and if so, what is your certificate number?" Write the answer at the top of a page with the company's full name, its address, its phone number and the person you spoke with. If you would like to look a number up, ask the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio how.
In the same conversation, ask for proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation. Then call your homeowners or renters insurer and ask what your own policy covers while your things are on a truck or in storage.
An inventory, room by room
Take the list one room at a time, and keep it on paper or in a phone note:
- Furniture: each large piece, with its height, width and depth, and whether it comes apart.
- Appliances: anything going with you, and whether it needs to be disconnected, drained or defrosted first.
- Fragile and valuable items: mirrors, glass, artwork, instruments, heirlooms.
- Storage spaces: the basement, attic, garage, shed and the back of each closet, where things hide.
- What stays: items you will sell, donate or leave behind, marked clearly so nobody packs them.
Photograph the larger pieces from two sides. The pictures give you a record of their condition before anyone lifts them.
An estimate that matches the list
Hand your inventory to each company and ask it to see the home in person or by video before it prices anything. Ask for the estimate in writing, and check that it states:
- the date and the arrival window;
- how the price is figured, and what that figure includes;
- how many workers and trucks are planned;
- packing, crating, disassembly and reassembly as separate lines;
- what happens to the price if the inventory grows or the date changes;
- the deposit, and what happens to it if you cancel.
If a company names conditions that would raise its price, have them written onto the estimate itself. Set the estimates side by side only once each one prices the same list.
Water and sewer service at your new Lima address
To put Lima water and sewer service in your name, the city says you must be the deeded owner of record per the Allen County Auditor, a company representative with the owner's permission, or a recent buyer with a deed stamped by the Recorder's office, and you need a completed Water Service Agreement and a picture I.D.
If you have questions about which of those applies to you, or how far ahead to start, ask the city's utilities office. Then set dates to stop and start your other services, such as electric, gas and internet, and file a change of address for your mail.
Lima's drinking water
Lima's public water system uses surface water drawn from intakes on the Ottawa and Auglaize Rivers. The city says river water fills five up-ground reservoirs (Lost Creek, Metzger and Ferguson from the Ottawa; Bresler and Williams from the Auglaize), and the treatment plant softens the water, adjusts the pH, filters it through sand and carbon and disinfects it with chlorine.
Packing with the far end in mind
Start with rooms you use least: a guest room, holiday decorations, books you are not reading this month. Put heavy things in small cartons and light, bulky things in large ones. Tape every seam, top and bottom. Mark each box on two sides with the room it goes to and a short note about what is inside, and number it so the count can be checked at delivery.
Fill one tote for your own car: medicines, documents, keys, chargers, a change of clothes, snacks and anything you could not replace. A mover may have items it will not load, so ask each one for that list, and plan how those items will travel.
Loading day
- Be home when the crew arrives, and walk the crew lead through the rooms with your inventory in hand.
- Point out the fragile pieces, the items staying behind and the tote going in your car.
- Keep children and pets away from the path between the door and the truck.
- Before the truck leaves, open every closet, cabinet and drawer, and look in the basement and garage once more.
- Read the paperwork before you sign it, and keep your copy with the estimate and the certificate answer.
- At the new home, stand by the door with your numbered list and tick each carton as it passes. Look each piece of furniture over as it enters, and note any damage or absent number on the delivery paperwork before your signature goes on it.