New Hampshire to Florida mover
 

We'll be moving from Moultonborough to Tampa. We do not wish to pack or move ourselves and are not interested in the option of a Pod. We would like a recommendation for a mover that can come to our home, pack all of our items, and deliver them to Florida.

Has anyone had any experience (good or bad) with movers in the state. I would prefer a company that doesn't sub the move out to another company.

Thanks for your recommendations.

My sister in law used Ray the mover in Manchester. Loved them

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We used United for this, though we did most of the packing ourselves, they did pack some things.

Overall the rates were competitive, and they handled the couple of things that got damaged in the move really well.

We used Mayflower when we moved from Florida to Arizona in 1995 and they were great. Only a few scratches on some furniture - and they sent a repair guy right away who fixed everything.

BUT when we moved from Texas to NH five years ago, they were awful: broken items, uncaring movers (literally threw a tricycle off the truck and broke it!), and "reimbursement" was based on what they could find on the internet (but wouldn't include shipping).

Lesson learned - the success of the move depends greatly on the driver and crew n both ends of the move.

Our son and his fiancee have moved twice using Pods. Recently they just moved from Madison, WI to Long Beach, CA. They have a free month of storage which has worked out great because their new place will not be ready until the end of the month. Before that they moved from Ft. Lauderdale, FL. to Madison. There have not been any problems. The one caveat though is that they load everything themselves into the Pods and unload everything themselves. They are young so packing and unpacking isn't difficult for them.

Paul Arpin (800-495-1737)
 

We found Arpin Van Lines (formerly Paul Arpin Movers) to be excellent. After a horrible experience with Corrigan Movers, our experience with Arpin Van Lines was a huge relief. Good luck.

Ray the Mover.
All goes by weight and not by volume.

Never go by lowest price from some obscure mover.

Our experience with Arpin Van Lines (Michigan to Maine) was terrible. Packing didn't go well, and there was a lot of damage to our belongings on delivery. We've also moved once with North American Van Lines (Michigan to Alaska) and twice with United Van Lines (Alaska to Michigan, Maine to NH). We had no issues with either of those companies.

Ask for the names of the specific individuals who will be supervising and assisting with the packing and loading. A good mover will gladly provide this information. Find out how long they've been with the company. Ask for references. If the company hedges, hang up and move on.

Once you've selected a mover, don't hesitate to call an immediate "stop work" if the process isn't going well. Call in business's the manager for a wee word.

JMHO

We had a nightmarish experience with Huff Movers..

Mac

A few hints.

Having done this a few times. The moving and the driving of movers extra automobile.

What is the square footage of leaving home and what is square footage of new home? Compare the two. Even compare the square footage of each room.

Florida homes don't have basements as a general rule. So if you are moving "stuff" from the basement - you now have to store stuff in garage. Most garages in Florida are on the smaller side to begin with.

Take only real personal items and as little furniture as possible. Get new furniture for the new house. Items that will fit in to each room properly.
Sell or give away anything that is not a prized possession. Time to destroy all of the boxes of papers dating back to the 1960's. Not needed.

I have viewed homes down South where the garage is full of boxes and "stuff" - and there is no room to park cars in the garage. The last thing you want is to park any car outside home in Florida and not in garage.

Most (not all) moving companies make at least one transfer of your items. If you have any expensive furniture make sure all is padded properly AND check what insurance that you and the moving company has including deductibles. If you have expansive electronic items - double box it before the movers come.

Many have good positive experiences in moving - also there are horror stories. Anything from damages goods, to missing goods, to "unloading" fees at destination. I have yet to personally find any mover that actually shows up at destination at stated date.

Take inventory of what is moving and take pictures. I have seen some who purchase inexpensive numbered stickers. Each item gets a number. Makes it easier when all is unloaded in Florida. Items can go "missing". Either dropped off at wrong house or for other reasons.

As stated above, I recommend Ray the Mover out of Manchester.

Best of luck.

Listen to The Professor...
 

The Professor is absolutely right.

It's Reality.

Furniture at yard sales in Florida sell for nothing, yet the owners paid dearly to move them. I bought my first "Lazy Boy" chair for $5—shortly afterwards, a neighbor offered me two leather Lazy Boys for free! :eek2:

There is no market for "used furniture". (And yours is "used").

Even auction houses turn away antique-furniture formerly valued in the thousand$. In Ossipee, I've seen them going out the door for $10 and $15! :eek:

Using a local Carroll County mover to transport their furniture, my Dad moved in the opposite direction, including a collection of perhaps a hundred pounds of crystal. Not one piece arrived intact! The mover folded. :fire:

While such income tax deductions are still available, donate the furniture to St. Vincent dePaul or Salvation Army. The latter has a definite knack for pricing furniture fairly and firmly; still, that furniture does not "fly out the door".

I agree that it is not worth it to move the things you have in New Hampshire to Florida. When we sold out place on the lake, we donated as much of our furniture to organizations that were in dire need of furniture. That included a few half way houses, the local fire station and two churches that knew of people in need.

I bought once here in Florida. Some was new, but the estate sales in Florida are 10 cents on the dollar.

R2B

We moved from NH to Tampa 7 years ago... and then back to NH 2 years ago.
Both times we used ABF. They are a self load, but I think they offer load/unload services. They were by far the cheapest option to move

I used a1 auto transport when I moved up the coast from Florida. I didn't use the full service moving with packing and everything like you mentioned, but I needed to ship a car too and they were able to do that as well. I know they offer packing and loading so you may see what they cost. They were fairly affordable and one of the few that seemed to be able to move all our furniture and a car.

Latest trend!
 

Definitely downsize! Expensive to move bulk but cheap to get rid of and replace! Furniture in Florida consignment stores are in top notch shape and CHEAP!
As for moving companies, I can't think of one. I heard a lot of horror stories so I just get rid of everything and start from scratch! It's fun!

R J Crowley Moving and Storage in Plymouth NH ..... www.dragonflymoving.com

We shipped a house load from Massachusetts to our house in Burbank, CA a couple years ago. We used Scott Relocation, agent for Mayflower. The move was fantastic. We had a glass top pedestal table which was expertly packed. Someone came out several days before the move and made a crate for the glass. No way would this be damaged. In California they called our son to let him know when they would arrive and they arrived when they said. No damage to anything. Everything was numbered and recorded. Mayflower was great and we will not hesitate to use them in the future.

_____________________________________

I an a retired workaholic and continuing aquaholic

If you're going to donate, try Habitat for Humanity. I can't speak for every location but they will come to your house, load up any old furniture into their truck and sell it at their "ReStore"...and I believe the donation is tax deductable.

My friend and his wife did a cross country move a few years ago and he told me it was an interesting exercise walking around the house trying to decide if things were worth 85 cents per pound. Most stuff isn't unless it has sentimental value.

I have been trying to get rid of all my parents antiques from their house in California. Good luck trying to sell an antique spinning wheel on the west coast.