Moving boxes strategy

We put in for another home, but they would not wait for us to move in 60 days. I offered to pay 50% rent for 60 days before we would occupy the home, but they wanted full rent immediately to hold the home. We rent our home, and we will wait for the right tenants. Might not be the case in hot housing markets. BTW, to apply for this house we needed to provide bank statements, tax returns, pay stubs, three bureau credit report, copies of our IDS, etc. I did all this- but was well aware it could be a great identity theft scam.
When a house is vacant you basically don't want to wait for someone. I always insist on the full rent, there's no holding the house with a deposit. Basically I just sign the lease and get the full amount up front, that way you have a legally binding lease and there's no breaking it. That weeds out the people who claim they have the money but don't really have the money. Otherwise if you take a deposit and they don't have the rest of it when it's time to move in, you're somewhat screwed. And yes, I do demand those items other items too but usually I start off with just the application first and then depending on the application, demand the rest of that stuff. Usually when you ask for all that up front, it might scare some people away. I'm surprised most people do supply it. I think I had a guy once in my office who wanted to see my ID. That was severe over reaction, I pointed out my license on the wall in the office with the name on my business card.
 
When a house is vacant you basically don't want to wait for someone. I always insist on the full rent, there's no holding the house with a deposit. Basically I just sign the lease and get the full amount up front, that way you have a legally binding lease and there's no breaking it. That weeds out the people who claim they have the money but don't really have the money. Otherwise if you take a deposit and they don't have the rest of it when it's time to move in, you're somewhat screwed. And yes, I do demand those items other items too but usually I start off with just the application first and then depending on the application, demand the rest of that stuff. Usually when you ask for all that up front, it might scare some people away. I'm surprised most people do supply it. I think I had a guy once in my office who wanted to see my ID. That was severe over reaction, I pointed out my license on the wall in the office with the name on my business card.
Thanks, I was very willing to pay first, last, and security at the execution of the lease. I was also offering to pay half the monthly rental prior to moving (MAR and APR).
 
Man do I hate moving. Good luck to you and hopefully this is the last one before you pick a retirement spot.
+ 1.

No way I could move very often.

I started going through things a year before I moved. Should have stepped up my game to a be higher level 3 months before the move.

Some people list free boxes on Craigslist after they move and unpack. I gave away a lot of boxes that way.
 
I wouldn't move to Cali for no amount ..
I had to work in Alexandria, Louisiana a few times. Super nice area and would love to see what it would be like to live in Alexandria. No such luck.

Like many others, not thrilled will the laws, regulations, etc in California. But it is a awesome place, especially for someone like me who gets super motivated to do projects when the weather is nice.
 
I had to work in Alexandria, Louisiana a few times. Super nice area and would love to see what it would be like to live in Alexandria. No such luck.

Like many others, not thrilled will the laws, regulations, etc in California. But it is a awesome place, especially for someone like me who gets super motivated to do projects when the weather is nice.
Beautiful place . I've visited twice . Too many crazy politicians and laws/ regulations .
 
Whatever you do don’t stop in Portland for the night. You will wake up with your truck and trailer stolen. It’s a common theme on the news here.
 
Good luck with the move. Many years ago we did a corporate restacking in a high rise in downtown Calgary. One guy was appointed as the coordinator. One type of the item he distributed were a bunch tape guns. The interesting thing was the guy came around and told everyone “ one strip of tape along the bottom seam. Not two, not three, ...one”. It worked fine. :)
 
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After the flood of 2016 , we had to gut the house . We bought a truckload of plastic bins with lids and 4 plastic laundry baskets . Well maybe not a truckload but at least 16 or so . After it was all said and done we stored them in the attic . My sister moved recently and we loaned them to her . One of her friends moved a week later and she used them . They are all back in the attic now waiting on the next move by somebody .
 
Good luck with the move. Many years ago we did a corporate restacking in a high rise in downtown Calgary. One guy was appointed as the coordinator. One type of the item he distributed were a bunch tape guns. The interesting thing was the guy came around and told everyone “ one strip of tape along the bottom seam. Not two, not three, ...one”. It worked fine. :)
I am all for three on the bottom. One along the long seam, and one each along the short seam(s). Total of three pieces of tape on the bottom. And I use the good 3M heavy duty shipping tape.
 
After the flood of 2016 , we had to gut the house . We bought a truckload of plastic bins with lids and 4 plastic laundry baskets . Well maybe not a truckload but at least 16 or so . After it was all said and done we stored them in the attic . My sister moved recently and we loaned them to her . One of her friends moved a week later and she used them . They are all back in the attic now waiting on the next move by somebody .
Plastic bins are awesome for local moves. For a cross country move with a full truck, plastic bins don't stack well and they also are not efficient in space, as the don't stack tight horizontally.
 
Having literally just moved here are some lessons (forgotten and re-) learned.
* Pack a full set of fully charged tools, any drill bits, drills, hand tools, saws, anything feasibly needed and set it aside for easy location. I'm hunting everywhere for this or that tool and operations stalling while looking for a drill bit.
* Pack and set aside a box with any and all extension cords, computer and phone cords, batteries, cables, TV remotes, etc. that you use regularly. Again, hunting for this later is maddening. Label all cords that are otherwise obscure as to what it goes with.
* Take the time to use a marker and clearly write on 2-3 sides of every box, which room it goes to. That 30 seconds per box will save hours of labor shuffling unmarked boxes around the new house.
* Motor oil should be put in boxes for added protection, and boxes labeled.
* Get there in advance or have an advance party go set up any shelving units or anything needed to hang on walls, install anything necessary, etc. This would have saved me a great deal of time.
* Same with any painting, improvements, renovations, decorations. Try to do this BEFORE everything is moved in. Far easier.
 
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Having literally just moved here are some lessons (forgotten and re-) learned.
* Pack a full set of fully charged tools, any drill bits, drills, hand tools, saws, anything feasibly needed and set it aside for easy location. I'm hunting everywhere for this or that tool and operations stalling while looking for a drill bit.
* Pack and set aside a box with any and all extension cords, computer and phone cords, batteries, cables, TV remotes, etc. that you use regularly. Again, hunting for this later is maddening. Label all cords that are otherwise obscure as to what it goes with.
* Take the time to use a marker and clearly write on 2-3 sides of every box, which room it goes to. That 30 seconds per box will save hours of labor shuffling unmarked boxes around the new house.
* Motor oil should be put in boxes for added protection, and boxes labeled.
* Get there in advance or have an advance party go set up any shelving units or anything needed to hang on walls, install anything necessary, etc. This would have saved me a great deal of time.
* Same with any painting, improvements, renovations, decorations. Try to do this BEFORE everything is moved in. Far easier.
CiC,

Great suggestions, thanks.... one concern, we are moving yet have not been able to secure a residence, so likely everything will go into storage.... and moved twice :(
 
CiC,

Great suggestions, thanks.... one concern, we are moving yet have not been able to secure a residence, so likely everything will go into storage.... and moved twice :(


Are you going to stay in a temporary location somewhere?
 
Thanks, I was very willing to pay first, last, and security at the execution of the lease. I was also offering to pay half the monthly rental prior to moving (MAR and APR).
I have never really taken half the monthly rental amount, it's always the full rental amount. Don't really care when you move in, it's yours on the start date and we'd like the full rent. In your case, you probably need to scout the place out about 2-3 weeks before you actually move in. I've done rentals where people actually pay the full month in advance of their old lease date just to lock in the rental as they didn't want to lose it. It's basically first come, first serve. You might also want to use a real estate broker. I end up charging a full month fee but sometimes the owner kicks in half so the tenant only pays half. In NYC, I'm told they can ask for 15% of the annual rent. I've done a few rentals where it's all electronic, paypal funds and electronically signed leases and video tours. You can facetime/skype/zoom to see the place. Need to be very careful though, the best scams are the ones where you are not physically there to see the place.
 
Are you going to stay in a temporary location somewhere?
PT,

I was hoping I could park in front of your home for a while (Cousin Eddie)....

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We will figure something out, we always do.
 
PT,

I was hoping I could park in front of your home for a while (Cousin Eddie)....

View attachment 91754View attachment 91753We will figure something out, we always do.


The sad reality is that you will see hundreds of scenes just like that.

One serious piece of advice, stay away from South Tacoma and anything in the Hosmer district. You won’t have to worry about your vehicle and trailer. They will be gone. Crime is rampant. Unfortunately a lot of extended stay establishments are located there.

The security of your trailer and contents is a key point here.
 
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The sad reality is that you will see hundreds of scenes just like that.

One serious piece of advice, stay away from South Tacoma and anything in the Hosmer district. You won’t have to worry about your vehicle and trailer. They will be gone. Crime is rampant. Unfortunately a lot of extended stay establishments are located there.

The security of your trailer and contents is a key point here.
PT,

Thanks- I appreciate the information.
 
Sharing a few pics of the pre-move.

The strategy of using only new, extra-heavy-duty boxes, tape properly, and using small boxes almost exclusively is working well. My back and body are not nearly as strong as they once were. Medium and large boxes tire me out much more than moving small boxes.
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Starting to load the boxes. Really glad I went with the extra strength small boxes. The load well into a Penske 26' truck. And the smaller size makes moving the boxes onto the truck less stress on my back. Can't help but stress how important box strategy is on a cross country move.

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A few asked- we ended up renting a condo in Steilacoom, WA. $1300 ABOVE our targeted budget (15,600 annually above our projected budget). The condo is in an unmanned gated community and has a FOUR car garage. Actually, a three-car garage and a workshop bay in a separate building. Never heard of a condo with a three-car garage plus small drive-in workshop- but it works for me.

Devastating to pay $1300 above our targeted monthly rent goal. Rentals appear hard to get, premium unleaded is near $5 in Washington. The condo is only 6.6 miles from my work. Hoping the fuel savings will offset some of the pricey monthly rental cost. We were looking at rentals one hour away in good traffic, who knows what the commute is in rush hour/ bad traffic. I bit the bullet and am paying the juice on this condo. At least my Wife may be happy. We have not seen the place, but we are already paying the monthly rent.
 
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