A Day in the Life of a Mainline Agent's Clients

Something we forget to plan enough about, in my opinion, is the actual move of a client to their new home --either he day of closing or afterwards. According to a recent post by the Pennsylvania Assoc. of Realtors, while some people opt to rely on friends and family, 80% of homebuyers in a recent move.org survey reported hiring a professional moving company. While most can agree it made their move easier, with 95% of respondents receiving their belongings on time, 61% said something was lost in the move and 55% felt scammed by their moving company.

I have seen this with my clients. An older client had to call over 5 companies to get even one quote, lost some important files such as a car title, in the move, and ended up paying more than he had budgeted. The article from PAR reported that 70% of respondents reported paying more to a moving company than their original estimate, with 25% paying $50-100 more, 31% paying $100-300 more, 32% paying $500-$1,000 more and 13% paying $1,000 or more over estimate.

Just finding the right supplies was a challenge, too. Boxes were flimsy at the local office supply store so my client had to drive to a rental company office far away to get the good ones. Of course, some items had to be moved without boxes and in my client's car, such as valuable art or breakables, and that was fairly exhausting for him.

It seems the unpacking is often ignored in the planning, leaving the poor clients with a mess to arrange after a trying period of searching for the right house, going through all the process of inspections, etc. and then moving. Arranging ahead of time for help with the unpacking should go on the list!

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