Month: April 2018

Before you start an international move, ask these three questions.

Are you planning for an upcoming international move? Moving to another country adds an extra wrinkle to the move. So, before you plan to move internationally, ask and answer the following questions to avoid any hiccups during the process.

Do I Own Anything That’s Illegal in My New Country?

If you want to bring certain plants, animals, weapons or foods to your new home country, you’ll have to decide if it’s legal to do so. Many countries have laws that make it illegal to own or be in possession of things that are legal in the United States. Even if something is legal to own, be sure you fully understand how to get the item through customs. You’ll need to be sure you complete the necessary paperwork properly so the item doesn’t get held up by government officials.

Decide If You Really Want to Take Something with You

International moves are expensive, especially those that span across oceans. Every item you decide to pack takes up space and weight that adds to the overall cost of the move. Figure out if moving the item is worth this cost. You’ll also need to consider the cost of replacement. It might be cheaper to sell or give an item away in your former country then buy a new version of it in your new country.

How Will My Belongings Travel?

One way to decide if something is worth taking with you is to understand how it will travel. If you move across the world, there’s a good chance your belongings will take a long time to reach you in your new country. Even if the financial cost of moving a particular item is worth it, you may be without the item for several weeks as it travels thousands of miles and gets through customs. Before packing it up, make sure you’re okay with being without it for a long time.

If you need assistance in planning your international move, contact our team at Nilson Van and Storage. Our professional moving company understands what it takes to get your belongings to your new country as seamlessly as possible.

Moving is hard, but moving a business is even harder. Learn how getting professional help with your office relocation can make a difference.

Do you have office relocation on your mind? When moving offices, things can get difficult and stressful…FAST. This is often the result of the added responsibility of running a business during the move. And if business operations stop for the duration of the move, there’s the added stress of making the move go as quickly as possible to return to business as usual. Many business owners are better off hiring a professional moving company for office relocation. Here are a few reasons why:

#1: Avoiding Breakage

Professional movers get paid to move. This sounds obvious and it is, but it emphasizes the point that professional movers know what they’re doing. This doesn’t mean it’s impossible for something to break during a move, but the chances are smaller when a professional packs and moves it themselves. There’s also the advantage that if you purchase extra insurance, should something break during the move, you may be able to have it repaired or replaced under the moving insurance.

#2: Allow You to Focus on Your Business

The biggest reason why an office move should use professional movers is to allow employees and owners focus on their business and not the move. A business owner or employee can help with the move, but that will usually result in money lost. This is because a professional mover can handle a moving task at a lower cost than a non-moving professional, such as a construction worker, accountant or doctor. And even on the off chance that a non-moving professional is good at moving, the time they divert to handling a move usually means lost income for the business that exceeds any cost savings.

#3: Anticipate Potential Problems

You don’t know what you don’t know. One of the biggest advantages of hiring a professional moving company is that they understand the potential problems that may arise during the move. They can plan for it and either avoid it altogether or take steps to reduce its impact on the move.

If you need a professional moving company to handle your office relocation, don’t hesitate to reach out to our expert team at Nilson Van and Storage.

If you want a residential move to go smoothly, consider the following planning tips.

A residential move can be quite a stressful experience. At the very least, it’s a lot of hard work. To make your next residential move go as smoothly as possible, you‘ll need to plan. The following is a list of two important tips when going through the planning stage of a residential move.

Tip #1: Calculate Your Budget

Calculating your budget refers to not just money, but also time. During a move, time and money are almost the same for many people. Maybe you can save $400 by packing boxes yourself instead of hiring a packer. But if that means missing two days from work and you earn $200 per day, you didn’t save any money.

So, one way or another, you’ll need to calculate how much time and money you have for the move. If you have plenty of money and not much time, you should consider hiring a company that can handle as much of the move as possible. If you have plenty of time and little money, you’ll want to take care of as much of the move as you can yourself. If you have plenty of time and money, consider yourself extremely lucky. If you don’t have time or money, you’ll have to figure out how a move will even be possible. You might have to consider selling or donating many of your belongings instead of moving them.

Tip #2: Pack Boxes and Gather Supplies Early

If you know well in advance that you’ll be moving, you may be able to save some money by collecting moving supplies before the move. You can save a few boxes and packing materials here and there from online orders and friends. You can also collect newspapers and magazines to use as packing materials.

Finally, you might want to start packing boxes little by little when you no longer need certain items. For instance, let’s say you’re going to move in the winter. When the summer season ends, you can pack your summer wardrobe into boxes instead of hanging them back up in your closet. Then when it’s time to move, you have several boxes ready for loading onto a transport vehicle.

Most people don’t have the luxury of having plenty of time or money for a residential move. However, moving companies like Nilson Van and Storage can assist with the move to make it go as smoothly as possible. Reach out to us today to learn how we can help.

Figuring out how much a military move will cost depends on many variables.

Calculating the cost of a military move can depend on many things. However, one of the first things to consider is who is actually paying for the move.

Personally Procured Move

The personally procured move (PPM) allows service members to handle the move on their own, then to seek reimbursement later. Should the service member receive full reimbursement, then the cost of the move (from the service member’s point of view) will be $0. However, service members don’t always receive full reimbursement for moving costs, and even if they do, they usually have to pay for the costs upfront. Depending on the moving company’s payment policies and the service member’s available cash and credit, paying a large fee up front may not be realistic.

The upfront cost of a PPM will depend on the typical variables of any move, such as the number of items that need moving and the distance of the move. Additional services can also add to the cost of the move.

Other Factors to Consider

If using a private moving company to help with the move, the total cost can depend on the services purchased. For example, if you have professional movers and packers to pack and carry your belongings, as well as unload and unpack them, that will add significant costs to the move. If you pack them yourself and help load the truck, you may be able to significantly reduce the cost of the move.

Other costs to consider include extra insurance, renting equipment and purchasing packing materials. You might think $3 for a box is nothing to worry about, but when you need 50 boxes, that’s $150 just for cardboard that you won’t need after the move is complete.

The Bottom Line

Figuring out the total price of a military move depends on the same type of variables as a civilian move. Even with reimbursement, service members must still consider cost because they will likely pay for the move themselves up front, then receive reimbursement later. If you want to learn more about military moves, contact our team of experts at Nilson Van and Storage today.