Month: January 2015

Well planned moves always go better than a last-minute panic. Most moving companies suggest that you begin planning at least two months before your move date. Why? Because a move can be one of the most stressful periods of your life if you haven’t planned properly.

It’s common knowledge that you have options when it comes to moving. Some involve more work than others. Some involve more money than others. This article lays out the options for you to determine how much money you’re willing to trade off for a given amount of work and vice versa.

Do It Yourself Move

Every day, people all over the country elect the DIY option. Rent a truck, fill it up with fuel and try to convince your friends to volunteer their time in exchange for pizza and beer. This is generally the least costly option, but there are plenty of trade-offs.Moving is labor intensive and can be dangerous if you’re inexperienced. There is a reason moving companies pay such high insurance premiums – damages can happen to both property and limb.

Also, driving moving vans can be challenging. Often, this is the most difficult part of the entire process. Most people aren’t used to the blind spots, necessary wide turns and dangerous reversing that comes with large trucks.

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If your house is still cluttered despite your best efforts to get it staged for sale, you may consider renting a self-storage shed. For those who tend to favor DIY projects, rather than a hiring a traditional mover, there’s no shortage of storage facilities to choose from. In fact, there are an estimated 58,000 mini-storage facilities in the United States! Most facilities offer both month-to-month and long term contracts. Below are some things to consider when shopping for the right storage facility.

Insurance

In most cases, your possessions are not covered by the facility’s insurance policy. However, speak to your insurance company about whether your renter’s or homeowner’s insurance policy offers coverage for your possessions while in a self-storage facility. Most facilities do carry insurance to protect the building, but that doesn’t necessarily protect you in the event of a disaster.

Security

In most facilities, the individual units are secured by the tenants own lock. Generally, the facilities will not be liable for theft. Some storage facilities employ security guards. Others may have security cameras or alarms installed. It is not uncommon to see keypads or key card access, especially for those facilities that offer 24 hour access. Decide what level of security you need before making your decision.

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Yes, removal of junk can save a lot of time, energy and money. Junk overload can burden your home as well as your peace of mind.

Save Time

A junk removal professional can free your home from clutter and you will have extra time, which you can spend with family or friends. This saved time can also be invested in your business. Instead of taking up a day or a weekend, you can just schedule the removal and go about your daily tasks. A team of trained and experienced junk haulers can swiftly pick up large objects, collect debris, and sweep up messes. Most jobs take less than a few hours. You have other things on your plate that you need to do, instead of figuring out how to safely and responsibly take care of your unwanted junk.

Trash Disposal is Heavily Regulated

Trash disposal has more regulations than you might realize. Professional hauling services can take care of everything in one fell swoop, so you don’t have to use your time to contact all the recycling centers, junkyards, and dumpster companies. Reputable junk hauling companies know what the county will take and where to take it. They should also know which charities will accept your items based on what they are and the condition they’re in. Save yourself the burden of trying to figure this out on your own.

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Did you buy a new property or one in foreclosure? Are you in the process of buying a home?

If you were told by the buyer’s agent that the seller is going to remove all the junk and trash prior to closing, get it in writing before the property is in your name. Otherwise you will own the junk. Then you may incur costs to remove the junk or further assistance from the buyer’s agent post sale. The seller is not legally obligated to remove what’s left behind.

The proper procedure would be for the junk removal to be put in writing as part of the contract, and for it to be gone before closing. If, during your walk through, the junk is still there, refuse to close. If the sellers agree to be responsible for removing trash and clutter after they vacate the premises, there has to be language that establishes their continuing obligation to do so. Post-closing obligations may not survive closing unless there is language in the purchase and sale agreement indicating they will.

Additionally, if the home has an oil furnace, the sellers should provide an environmental audit indicating the property is clean, the tank is in good working order, not leaking, or has been removed.

Few things upset a buyer more than learning the home he/she just bought is trashed or contaminated. We hope this helps. Contact us if you have questions about how we can help.

After 7 years of incredible growth, we’re proud to announce that we’ve opened a Maryland office to better service our clients in Montgomery County! Why, you might ask? You see, we’ve always serviced Bethesda, Potomac, Rockville, Gaithersburg and the like. However, until now, we just haven’t been all that flexible with our scheduling availability to our neighbors across the Potomac.

Folks from Maryland often weren’t experiencing the same day/next day turn around on services that we take such pride in and that have come to be expected by their neighbors in Virginia. As you might imagine, we get these urgent requests often! It wasn’t always possible for us to fire up a truck and send a team around I-495 and up I-270 from our Chantilly Offices, sludging through the DC area’s infamous traffic in order to pick up a single refrigerator or couch. Now we can!

We’re so excited about this new development that were beaming. This allows us to be the regional junk removal service that we’ve always wanted to be. More importantly, it allows us to service our clients better. In case you didn’t know what we’re about, that’s sort of the whole point!