Now that you’ve come down to it, you have a decision to make: Should you take care of the moving yourself, or should you hire professional movers? But you’d better hurry because that move is looming. There are pros and cons to each, and that’s often what makes the decision so difficult. To help you out, we’ve laid out below the pros and cons of hiring movers in Garner.
Pros and Cons of Moving Yourself – Overview
The basic pros and cons of moving yourself are as follows:
PROS
- Control over every aspect of the move
- less cost
- Ability to proceed according to your timeline
CONS
- Much more work
- The hefty cost of rental trucks
- Usually takes longer
Pros and Cons of Hiring Movers – Overview
And here are the basic pros and cons of hiring movers:
PROS
- “Less work than moving yourself
- They do the heavy lifting
- They insure your belongings”
CONS
- “You work on their timeline
- Less control over how the move goes
- More costly than moving yourself”
Benefits of Hiring Movers
Now, let’s get into the many benefits of hiring movers . . .
SAFETY
Using professional movers ensures the safety of your belongings and the personnel. First, movers have the skill, experience, moving supplies, and equipment to get the job done right, both efficiently and safely.
“Good movers not only know how to safely pack, load, secure, transport, and unload household items, but also take care to actually do so. They work with diligence and consideration, so the risk of damage to your belongings is greatly reduced – the pros are highly unlikely to drop an electronic device, bump a delicate furniture piece into a corner, or stack a box of breakables under a heavier carton.”
In addition, they carry insurance against any damage the happens to your belongings or home. It’s rare, but accidents do happen sometimes. When you use pro movers, they have insurance coverage so that you don’t have to pay for repairs or replacement out of your own pocket.
TIME SAVINGS
Most people, when they move, are strapped for time. They already have so many other things to take care of like packing, closing, and turning on and off utilities.
“Time is likely to be your second biggest concern when moving house – there are too many things to do, tasks to complete, and preparations to make and each of them takes too much time. And you still need to go to work, take care of your family, etc. – you may simply not have enough time for it all.
Hiring professional movers will solve that problem – the experts will take care of your move, so you can take care of everything else. And they will do the job in record time.”
LABOR SAVINGS
Obviously, hiring movers will save a lot of hard work. You won’t have to carry heavy boxes and even heavier furniture and appliances to and from the moving van/truck. You also won’t have to drive a rental truck back and forth between your old home and the new one. Even for young healthy people, all that heavy labor is often too much.
LESS HASSLE AND STRESS
“’Moving chaos’ has become a set phrase for a reason – the hassle of the relocation process is truly tremendous. There is just too much going on at once. Professional movers bring order and efficiency to the relocation chaos and streamline the moving process, making it smooth and hassle-free.”
Similarly, using professional movers reduces the considerable stress typically involved in the whole thing. You won’t have to worry about packing and getting everything done on time, and you won’t have to stress about the prospective of enlisting family and friends to help. Basically, you’ll have a lot more peace of mind.
POSSIBLE COST SAVINGS
“As hard to believe as it may be, paying for professional moving services may actually save you money – the cost of hiring a professional mover may be higher than the cost of performing a self-move. . . but the risk of damaged items, property damage, and personal injuries will be much lower, so you won’t have to spend money on repairing or replacing broken things or getting medical care.
“If you move yourself and accidentally break your plasma TV, ruin your brand new hardwood floor, or break your leg, you will lose much more money than you would have paid for professional moving services. And if you need to take unpaid time off work to complete your move, your losses will be even bigger.”
Major Drawback of Hiring Movers
As we mentioned, there are some cons to hiring movers, such as working on their timeline, loss of complete control, and the extra expense. Of these drawbacks, the expense is probably the largest, most concerning one for most people (although it may be less costly than you think).
Here’s a rundown of the charges you’ll be facing with movers . . .
- Basic charges – “Most reputable companies base the cost on the weight of your cargo. Local moves are often charged per hour.”
- Insurance – Movers’ basic insurance won’t the full cost of replacing damaged or lost items. It’s better, then, to have full-value coverage, which costs more.
- Gratuity – The standard practice is to tip your movers, meaning a tip for each individual on the crew.
- Miscellaneous costs – You may also face other charges such as the extra cost for a smaller truck (which means more trips) if the company can’t get their big truck into the neighborhood and to your house.
The Verdict . . .
So after weighing the pros and cons of using professional movers, the pros appear to weigh heavier in the balance. But you still have to do your due diligence and vet moving companies, getting references, checking out reviews, and so on. You can, however, simplify the process by talking to your Garner agent. If you’re ready to move and are thinking about hiring movers, contact us today at (919) 300-5355.