How much of the move do you want to hand over?
Before you ask anyone for a price, decide what you want a mover to do. A Youngstown move can be handed over almost entirely, or split so that you do some parts and hire help for others. Each choice leads to a different kind of quote, and comparing quotes is easier when every company is pricing the same thing.
Four common arrangements:
- Full service. A crew packs, loads, drives, unloads and, if you ask, unpacks.
- Crew and truck, you pack. You box everything; the company brings the truck and the people to carry it.
- Loading help only. You rent a truck or container yourself, and a crew loads it at one end, unloads it at the other, or both.
- Packing only. A crew packs ahead of time, and you or another company handle the carrying.
Write down which one you want before the first call, and say it plainly on each call.
What NOAA's engineering weather data lists for Youngstown
NOAA's engineering weather data lists a station named Youngstown. Its figures for that station, at an elevation of 1,184 feet: a 1% summer design temperature of 85°F, with a mean coincident wet-bulb temperature of 71°F, and a 99% winter design temperature of 4°F.
Households in Census QuickFacts
For 2020-2024, Census QuickFacts puts the number of households in Youngstown at 24,982, with 2.21 persons per household.
Questions each kind of help raises
If a crew is packing for you, ask what materials are included, whether they pack the kitchen and closets the same day or ahead, and how they mark what goes where. Ask what they will not pack, such as open liquids, cleaning products or anything flammable, so you can plan for those.
If you are packing yourself, ask whether the company will move boxes you taped, or wants its own cartons for fragile items. Ask whether a crew member will look over your boxes before loading and what happens to one that looks weak.
If you are renting the truck, ask the loading crew how it secures a load, whether it brings straps, pads and a hand truck, and whether it will arrange furniture so heavy pieces ride low and forward. Ask what happens if the rental truck turns out smaller than the load.
If the help is split between companies, write down who is doing what, and give each one the same address details, the same date and the same list of large pieces.
A price you can compare
Ask each company to see what is moving, in person or on a video call, and to put its price in writing. Then read each one for how it is figured:
- A set price. Ask that it name what it covers: which rooms, which large pieces, packing or no packing. Ask what happens if more turns up on the day.
- An hourly rate. Ask that it say how many people are coming, when the clock starts and stops, whether drive time counts, and whether there is a minimum charge.
Ask for any fees for stairs, a long carry from the door to the truck or a piano to be on the written quote, not added later. Ask for the deposit and the cancellation or date-change terms in writing too.
Booking the date
When you choose a company, ask for a confirmation listing the date, the arrival window, the crew size, the price terms and the name of the crew lead. Ask what number to call on the morning of the move, and what the company does if a crew runs late. If you are moving out of a rental or into one, ask the landlord or manager about allowed move hours and where a truck can stop, and pass the answers along to the mover.
Furniture and appliances that come apart
Make a list of anything that may need to be taken apart: bed frames, a dining table with removable legs, a sectional sofa, shelving fixed to a wall. Ask each company whether its crew takes these apart and puts them back together, and whether that is in the price. Keep screws and small hardware in labeled bags taped to the piece they came from.
For the washer, dryer and refrigerator, ask the mover what it will disconnect, what it leaves to you, and how it wants each appliance prepared. For a gas appliance, ask who should disconnect and reconnect it.
The things you carry yourself
You may prefer to keep some items in your own car rather than on the truck. Think through what you would not want to wait for: identity papers, the lease or closing documents, medicines, eyeglasses, keys, phone chargers, a change of clothes, pet food and leashes, and anything that could not be replaced. Box these separately and keep the box in sight.
The license question and coverage
Put the same question to every company you consider: "What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?" Note the reply, the date and the name of the person who answered.
Ask each one for proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation, and ask what its basic protection pays if an item is damaged or lost. Then call your homeowners or renters insurer and ask what your own policy covers while your things are in a mover's hands.
The evening before
- Charge your phone, and set out the box you are driving yourself.
- Empty and defrost the refrigerator if the mover asked you to.
- Take down mirrors, pictures and curtain rods along the paths to the door.
- Put the confirmation, the quote and the license answer in one folder.
- Set aside cleaning supplies for the empty rooms.