If you’ve decided to move across the country, it can seem like an impossible task to move your possessions. Fortunately, there are many different long distance moving companies out there that can assist you in getting this large task accomplished. Here are eight tips to follow when hiring a long distance mover to ensure you get a good one.

1. Make Sure You Get An In-Home Estimate

The most important tip that we’re going to reveal today is to get an in-home estimate. There are many long distance movers out there, some legitimate and some rogue. You can weed one out from another by merely asking for an in-home price estimate. Legitimate companies won’t give you a quote until they survey your home to determine what’s needed for the move. Rogue companies, on the other hand, will provide over the phone estimates and likely jack up the price on your moving day.

2. Make Certain They Have The Services You Need

Not all long-distance movers offer the same types of services. Some only provide the vehicle for transport that you’ll have to load and unload yourself. Others will provide loading and packaging services. It would help if you thought about the services that you need your moving company to perform. This way, you can ensure that you narrow down your list of potential companies that all offer the valuable services that you need for your move.

3. Get Multiple Quotes

While you can do a little research online to learn about what a move across the country is going to cost you, you shouldn’t stop there. Instead, you should contact at least three different long distance movers to get a price estimate for your move. This will help you to determine what a fair market price is for your move. While it may be tempting to choose the mover with the lowest price, we highly encourage you to consider many other factors when determining the final company that you’ll be hiring.

4. Understand The Insurance

Every moving company must offer some level of insurance for your items that they’re moving to. The minimum insurance that is being provided by interstate moving companies is 60 cents per pound of your items. That’s not a lot of money to cover the items in your move. It depends on the types of things you’re moving to. Most movers will offer a full value protection program that can give you peace of mind if any accident occurs to your items.

5. Get A Viable Timeframe

It’s important to note that long-distance movers tend to take time to get your items to your destination. While you may drive there yourself in two days, the moving company may to three to four days. Realize that they’re restricted to specific driving time limits each day, so it will likely take them longer to get to your destination than it will take you to arrive.

6. Sign A Contract

When you decide on a long-distance moving company to utilize, you’ll want to get a contract. This contract should specify everything from the services that will be performed to the exact price for the move. You don’t want to leave any gray area in the contract as it could lead to faulty expectations.

7. Look At Reviews

One surefire way to spot a bad moving company is finding tons of bad reviews all over the internet about them. That’s one good think about the technologically advanced environment that we live in. Companies that offer bad quality service are easily ousted online. While looking at reviews on places like Angie’s List, Yelp, and Google, you should also check out the company’s rating at the Better Business Bureau.

8. Verify They’re Licensed

You want to hire a professional moving company that you can trust. Therefore, you should ensure that your hiring company is fully licensed with the Department of Transportation. All interstate moving companies must be authorized by USDOT to operate within the country legally. A simple search of their online database can reveal if a potential moving company is properly licensed or not.