By Jason Farley, COO, Leaders Moving & Storage Co.
Apartment moves come with their own set of headaches. What surprises most renters is this: when we get to a building and can’t start, it’s usually something the renter could have caught.
The good news is that most of these delays are avoidable with a few phone calls and a little homework. Here’s what we run into and what you can do about it.
The Apartment Move-Day Delays We See Most Often
The elevator and the parking. These two cause more apartment-move delays than anything else, with a close to an even split between them. Our crew shows up to find the elevator in use or no open space for the truck.
The lease isn’t signed yet. We see this one fairly often. Signing a lease usually includes a walkthrough of the apartment with the leasing office. If that walkthrough turns up problems, the signing gets pushed back. Meanwhile, our crew is parked outside with a full truck and no way in. If the building allows it, sign your lease and finish the walkthrough ahead of move day.
Not knowing the building’s rules. Some buildings only allow moves by appointment. Many of them also have one designated area for loading and unloading. If you haven’t booked a time slot, our crew may arrive to find another moving company already using that space. When that happens, we have to wait until they’re finished.
Access times that don’t line up. Most renters want to move in the same day they sign their lease. That makes sense. The trouble starts when the building’s move-in time doesn’t match the moving schedule. Say you book us for 8 a.m. at your current apartment. The load-up takes about two hours. The new building, though, won’t let you in until 2 p.m. If we don’t find that out until the truck is already packed, the crew has to sit and wait for hours.
A missing certificate of insurance (COI). This can occur, but it’s a less common holdup. It happens about 20 times a year for us, since most complexes don’t require one.
Which Buildings Cause the Most Trouble?
Buildings with elevators, usually four stories or taller, account for most of the problems we see. Townhouses and garden-style apartments rarely cause the same kind of delays. Parking is still worth asking about at any building, though.
Questions to Ask Your Leasing Office
These are the questions I’d recommend every renter ask their leasing office.
Are there specific hours for moving in or out?
Some complexes only allow loading out or delivering during certain hours. Find out ahead of time.
Do I need to schedule the elevator? Which one should the movers use?
Many complexes set aside a freight elevator for movers so the standard elevators stay open for residents. This is especially common in senior communities, where residents may use walkers or wheelchairs.
Scheduling the elevator matters because of how unloading works. Our crew can’t carry one item to the apartment while the elevator waits for them to come back. Everything comes off the elevator onto your floor first. From there, the crew moves it into the apartment. For a short stretch, your belongings sit in the hallway, which can create trip hazards for neighbors. Knowing the building’s rules ahead of time helps our crew keep the hallway clear and stay out of residents’ way.
Will maintenance put up elevator pads?
The complex has pads on site that their maintenance people wrap around the elevator. The movers don’t have those. They’re supplied by the complex, so if the building knows we’re coming, they’ll make sure that’s taken care of by the time the movers get there.
Where should the truck park, and can you cone it off?
A lot of complexes have designated parking where they give movers maybe two spots. Ask if they need to cone off those spots, or cone off the loading area or the curb. The better prepared the complex is for the move, the better everything is going to go.
Keep in mind that a truck takes up more space than you’d think. Your typical car is about six and a half feet wide. A moving truck could be 102 inches wide. If that truck is trying to back into an area, you certainly don’t want to be bumping into somebody’s vehicle or blocking people in.
What About Street Parking?
In some cities, like New York or Chicago, you need a parking permit for a move. The city then sends a road crew to block off an area for the truck. In the cities we serve (Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, and Indianapolis), that’s not the case. Street parking is usually a first-one-gets-it deal.
If your new apartment is in an older residential area with narrow streets, try to establish a relationship with your neighbors right away. They had to go through the same thing when they moved in. Knock on the door, and if they don’t answer, leave a note: “Hey, I’m moving in on this day. Could you please not park in front of the building?” Some of that is just out of your control, but the more people think ahead, the better situation it puts everybody in.
Will a Delay Change What You Pay?
A delay on move day can sometimes affect your final cost. If a crew ends up waiting an hour and a half, that time has to be covered, because our movers are paid for the hours they work.
Shorter delays depend on the timing. At Leaders, for a wait of 30 minutes to an hour, we can sometimes send the crew to lunch and have them come back when the building is ready. That works well around midday but not at 9 a.m. We’ll do what we can to keep a delay from affecting your cost. In some cases, there’s no way around it.
Your exact price quote covers moving the items on your inventory from your current home to your new one. If the scope of the job changes, the price can change with it. That works in both directions: if you end up needing less from us, your price can go down. Anything outside what we agreed to together could affect the final cost.
Can a Delay Stop an Apartment Move Altogether?
A delay that cancels a move is rare, but it does happen.
The bigger issue is that delays have a ripple effect most renters don’t see. A crew might be doing two or three apartment moves a day. If the first move has a two- or three-hour delay, the customer scheduled behind you is going to be delayed as well. It’s a snowball that just gets bigger and bigger. Our goal is that you’re the most important customer we have at that moment. We also have to be mindful that we’ve made a commitment to another customer.
What Renters Underestimate on Moving Day
- Tight hallways and doorways in older buildings. Moving into an older complex or house can be a lot like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. Hallways and doorways are narrower. Ceilings in stairways are lower. That three-piece sectional may have fit great in your old place, but the new living room could be two-thirds of the space.
- Beds. Ask a mover, and they’ll probably tell you the worst thing to move is a bed. Most people don’t believe that, but it’s true. A lot of beds don’t have box springs anymore, but about half still do. You can bend a mattress and muscle it through a tight spot. A box spring doesn’t bend. In older buildings especially, a queen-size box spring often won’t fit. You can order a split box spring, but that’s an added cost you may not have planned for.
- Square footage. If you’re moving from a 1,500-square-foot apartment to an 800-square-foot apartment, you probably won’t fit everything you had. If you try, you’re going to be miserable because you won’t be able to move around!
- Appliances. Some apartments supply the washer and dryer, and some don’t. If you’re bringing your own, you’ll likely need to change out the cord on your dryer, especially when going from an older apartment to a newer one, since the electrical connection at the wall can be different. Dryer vents vary too. Some are six feet up the wall, while others are right behind the dryer. These are the post-move details people don’t think about until they’re already in the new place having to deal with them.
- Other deliveries. It’s not uncommon for people to buy new furniture when they move. If a new sofa is being delivered while the movers are there, connect the dots and work with both companies to manage the timing. Otherwise, everyone’s trying to get in the door at once. That delivery driver has a job to do too, plus another stop to make after yours.
The Best Day and Time for an Apartment Move
Across the moving industry, Saturday is the busiest day of the week. Friday is a close second, and Monday comes in third.
If you can schedule your move for Tuesday through Thursday, it’s usually less stressful for everybody. Parking at the complex is a lot clearer because residents are at work. There’s just not as much activity going on. On a weekend, you’re dealing with residents plus their visitors.
Time of day matters too. From 8 to 9 in the morning, there’s always going to be hustle and bustle, both at the building and on the roads getting there. After 9 o’clock, things start winding down a little.
Sometimes you can’t do what you can’t do, and a lot of people need to move on the weekend. We’ll make it work either way. My advice is Tuesday through Thursday if you can.
How Far Ahead Should You Book?
Moving is a seasonal business. If you’re moving between mid-May and mid-September, do everything you can to give your moving company at least two weeks’ notice, if not three. Those months get really busy.
Outside of that window, we can often get you in within a day or so, depending on availability. We’re pretty fortunate. We have a big staff and a lot of trucks, and we’ve been around a long time, so we have more flexibility than some. Still, it all comes down to preparedness. You know you’re moving, and you know you’re hiring a mover. So why wait? Go ahead and get it scheduled. It’s one less thing you have to worry about.
With moving, and with life in general, the more prepared you are, the smoother things go for everybody. A delay is a pain for the movers, but it’s an even bigger pain for you as the customer. A few questions to your leasing office and a quick heads-up to your neighbors can save you hours on move day.
If you have an apartment move coming up in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, or Indianapolis, request a free quote or call your local Leaders team. One of our move coordinators will walk through your inventory, your building’s requirements, and your timeline with you so you get an exact price you can plan around.
Jason Farley has been with Leaders Moving & Storage since 1997, working his way from the moving crew to Chief Operating Officer. He oversees the company’s operations, fleet, safety, and financial management from Columbus.
