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Make it a smooth move
By Anna Sowa / The Bulletin
Published: July 22. 2009 4:00AM PSTAt the beginning of this month, Bryan Murphy moved 28 Central Oregonians out of the state, one of the biggest weeks for out-of-state moves Prestige Allied Moving & Storage has seen in years.
“We’ll be moving 63 families out of Bend this month,” Murphy said, echoing what other local moving companies agree is a trend throughout the region: Displaced workers and their families are moving elsewhere for work.
If you are pulling up your roots this year — whether it’s across town or across the country — shopping for a moving company can be easier if you ask the right questions.
First, you have to decide if you are going to drive a moving truck yourself or have a professional moving company do it for you. This is where you’ll have to weigh the costs with your personal preferences. Driving gives you control of when your belongings arrive, but trucks’ gas mileage is low, so your gasoline expenses will be high. According to U-Haul.com, renting a truck to drive cross-country costs $1,500 to $2,000, depending on size, and that doesn’t include the fuel. Towing a car with you costs an extra $200 to $400 just for the hook-up rental.
Sometimes, those with small apartments or fewer belongings might find it’s cheaper to ship all their belongings rather than truck them over a distance.
Hiring a moving company can be easier, especially if you want the company to pack everything up for you. Each company has different perks and special deals depending on what you need, and most will come to your house to give you a free estimate.
The Oregon Department of Transportation regulates the moving industry in the state, certifying movers that are trained to “follow industry standards for loading, moving and unloading property” and making sure that companies “charge approved, reasonable rates.”
Certified movers must register annually with ODOT, showing proof of general liability and property damage insurance. You can visit the ODOT Web site for helpful moving tips and to find a list of registered moving companies (www.oregon.gov/ODOT/MCT/Moving.shtml).
Many companies you’ll see in the phone book are agents for larger, international moving companies. You want your belongings to be as safe as possible and arrive in a timely manner, so when you come across too-good-to-be-true deals, ask what you get for your money.
Overall questions that you may want answered include:
• Is the company certified through ODOT? Have any violations been reported?
• Do they have a record with the Better Business Bureau?
• Do they offer a free estimate?
• If moving a great distance, will they ever move your belongings onto a different truck?
• Are they a full-service moving company, loading and unloading your belongings? Some will also pack up your whole house for an additional cost.
• Will the belongings arrive in a reasonable amount of time? Some may only be able to give you a six-day window of when your items might arrive.
• Are customer references available?
Murphy encourages his customers to call 10 to 15 references he has available, saying word-of-mouth advice is valuable to consumers.
Rates
If Oregonians are moving locally, less than 30 miles away, Doug Pierovich, with ODOT’s Motor Carrier Transportation Division, recommends residents obtain estimates from every moving company they call. Because local moves are usually charged by an hourly rate, consumers should also ask when the clock starts.
“Some movers quote an hourly rate that begins at the point of origin and ends at the destination,” Pierovich said, “and others will quote you a lesser hourly rate, but their hours begin when they leave their terminal, so they are charging for their travel time.”
For longer moves, Prestige’s Murphy says he could truck the average, three-bedroom home to the west side of Oregon for $1,800 to $2,400. That same home moving to the East Coast would cost $7,000 to $8,000.
If you want Prestige to pack up all your items into boxes and then move them, it’s an extra charge per box. For someone moving a three-bedroom home to the Bay Area with the full-packing service, it would cost $11,000, Murphy said.
“If you are traveling beyond state lines, make sure that you get guaranteed pricing,” Murphy said. That means get the quote in writing.
Binding guarantees of actual charges are illegal for moves within Oregon, according to ODOT, which regulates the fees companies can charge. However, written estimates are required for any Oregonian moving more than 30 miles away — considered “not local” — Pierovich said.
Once items are delivered, the moving company’s final bill must be within 10 percent of that written estimate, Pierovich said. If the bill comes to more than 10 percent above the written estimate, the moving company essentially has to appeal to the customer and the state to recover the rest.
In that way, the state seeks to protect consumers from moving companies that over-charge at the delivery time. If residents are traveling out of state and they have disagreements with a moving company, they should consult the Federal Motor Safety Carrier Administration (www.fmcsa.dot.gov.).
At Bend Storage & Transfer Inc., the agent for United Van Lines, co-owner Nancy Lynch said the cost to move the average three-bedroom house to California would be $2,800 to $3,500, and moving to the East Coast would cost around $5,000.
At City Moving & Storage in Bend, an Atlas agent, owner Angela Dyas said moving a three-bedroom home from Bend to Newport would cost $2,500 to $3,000 and she could move that home to Sacramento for $3,500.
To get across the country, you’ll pay $8,000 to $10,000 for a three-bedroom home, she said.
Dyas says consumers should ask about any discounts or special deals when they call around.
“When a customer moves out of state, there are all kinds of perks we can offer,” she said, “like free packing materials, free services, all kinds of stuff.”
She added that while she still sees many people leaving Bend for California, the South is becoming a popular destination.
“We’re seeing a lot of people now moving to Texas,” she said. So pack for heat.
Anna Sowa can be reached at 541-383-0304 or at asowa@bendbulletin.com.
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