Things You Should Know About Moving To Virginia Beach

Making a move to Virginia Beach, or any other Hampton Roads locale, can be overwhelming. It doesn't seem to matter if your are moving across country or across town the details are endless. It pays to be oprganized and have your ducks in a row, so nothing falls through the cracks. Below are suggestions to help make your Virginia Beach move more manageable...

Subscribe to Virginia Beach's local newspaper, The Virginian Pilot, in advance of your move. It usually contains a large real estate section, which can be very helpful in giving you some idea of the type of housing available in the new city, as well as other useful information. Arrange for a house-hunting trip to your new city. When looking for a new home, take along a tape measure and a list of the exact dimensions of each of your major appliances and other large pieces of furniture. Measure the areas provided for them to be sure your appliances and furniture will fit. Establish credit in the new city. Ask your banker for a referral to a correspondent bank and to act as a credit reference.

Preplanning Your Move

Plan your move to Virginia Beach as early as possible. If you are able to move at any time of the year, don't wait until summer, the peak-moving season. Consider also that the first and last few days of the month are extra busy. If you plan to sell your house, get it on the market as soon as possible. If renting, give your landlord timely notice of your moving date. Keep a record of all expenses related to the move, some of which may be tax deductible. Fill out the Personal Household Inventory for each room. This is important for establishing the amount of declared valuation for the shipment and as a permanent inventory for insurance purposes. List, as nearly as possible, the year of purchase and original cost of each item. Attach any invoices or records of purchase to the completed inventory. Prepare a separate high-value inventory if the shipment will contain articles of "extraordinary" value. The following list includes items that might fall into this category:

* Antiques
* Art Collections
* Cameras
* China Collections
* Computer Equipment
* Crystal
* Figurines
* Firearms
* Jewelry
* Manuscripts
* Oriental Rugs
* Silver
* Stones Or Gems
* Tapestries
* TVs Or Stereos

Estimate of Virginia Beach Moving Costs

Unless you have been given a binding estimate where a firm cost is established in advance, the exact cost of a move cannot be determined until after the shipment has been loaded on the van and weighed. The weight on which charges are based is calculated by weighing the van before and after loading. The total cost of the move will include transportation charges, any charges for declared valuation, plus charges for any extra services performed at your request. All of these charges are based on tariff rate schedules.

Owner's Responsibility

It is the owner's responsibility to see that your mechanical, electrical equipment and appliances are properly serviced for shipping prior to the arrival of the moving van. For safe moving, have these items prepared by a licensed or properly trained technician. This service may be performed by a technician of your choice or by qualified personnel of the moving company. If the owner has failed to have an item serviced, the van operator may load and haul it, but will mark the inventory sheet, "Not Serviced-Loaded at Owner's Risk."

Tomorrow read: Six to Eight Weeks Before Your Move to Virginia Beach.

Start your move by searching Virignia Beach homes for sale. Or have new homes for sale emailed to your Inbox as they hit the market with our New Listing Alerts. Visit our blog, AllVirginiaBeachRealEstate.com.