Moving Overseas or Interstate? Tips On How Relocations Agents Will Make Your Move Easier

Relocations agents are the friends you need when you are moving internationally or interstate. They are your eyes and ears on the ground before you leave your current home and they are your guides and confidantes when you arrive.

Relocating your family is more than just having your removalists pack, ship and unpack your home. Experienced international and interstate removalists provide a broad range of settlement services such as: finding temporary accommodation on arrival, new housing, schooling for children, helping you with visa procurement, valet unpacking services and banking, health and insurance needs.

A relocation agent has to understand your needs and at the same time manage your expectations. Your greatest worry is often the fear of the unknown - how will I cope with everyday life and keep my family happy.

Finding a new home often gives you the greatest worry and concern. To get an appreciation of you as a family, your expectations and needs for your new home, you will complete an in-depth questionnaire. This helps your consultant to begin your settling in process before you leave.

The criteria for finding a new home are often very similar for everyone - close to schools, close to transport for work, close to amenities such as shopping malls and sporting facilities. Is this always possible? Experienced relocation consultants have a keen understanding and are able to deal directly with the real estate market. Having the right agent can speed up this process considerably. Not only do they have knowledge of the areas that are suitable for you, but they understand the real estate market and have close ties with real estate agents. They will provide you information as early as possible on the quantity, quality and availability of rental accommodation and give you an idea whether your expectations can be met easily. At the same time they can direct you to the right websites so that you can start to understand what to expect and to set a realistic budget.

Just because you have money doesn't mean that you are going to find a house. You should look for removalist companies whose agents can provide you with information on the current local rental market, including specific cities and suburbs. Your relocation agent should be able to give you a breakdown of the cost of one bedroom, two bedroom and three bedroom houses and apartments, including whether they are furnished and unfurnished.

Having an understanding of the rental occupancy rates right down to the budget levels in your new location is also extremely important. If the general availability of rental properties to meet your expectations is less than 2%, be prepared to wait some time for the right home or better still be prepared to compromise. Also be aware that the higher your budget, the available homes reduces dramatically, sometimes less than 0.5%.

In looking for a new home often people overlook the influence of the time of the year. For example, in Australia, most people want to arrive in January ready for the start of the school or working year. However, January is holiday time and for the first few weeks the real estate market basically shuts down and you will rarely get a home to view from late December to mid-January. There are similar situations in every country. How then can you make the right choice of home? How can you do this alone from a distance?

A consultant's job is not to find your new home. A consultant will present to you various homes that are within your requirements from what is available in the market. Therefore getting your requirements right certainly helps. However, don't despair, an experienced relocations agent is flexible and can quickly change. They understand that when you are actually in your new location and your knowledge increases, so too will your thoughts and ideas. The consultant's role is to work out your real priorities and then establish compromises if necessary. They will help you decide on what is important, how important it is and then keep going until they find the right property for you. Maybe an extra stop or two on the train will get you the perfect home?

If you are relocating to a new state or country prepare early. Trust your relocations agent and have as many phone conversations as necessary before you leave. The more they know you, the more they can help you. One of the best ways is to have a "look see" visit. Allow a reasonable amount of time for this as most times 4 to 5 days is just not enough time to look around. If possible both a husband and wife should visit as both may have different ideas behind the type of home that will be suitable - and remember your thoughts will change once you see what is available. Your family needs to be happy and comfortable or your relocation will have a difficult time and possibly not succeed. A relocations agent can setup appointments that flow into each other to maximise your time while you are looking. At the same time, you do not have the pressure of driving blind, worrying about traffic and directions. Your time is better spent weighing up the pros and cons of what you have seen.

If you find the right home think seriously about securing it immediately, even though you may not move for 2-3 months. Spending the extra on rent early may easily outweigh temporary accommodation for a month or two when you arrive.

Engaging a relocation agent will save you time, money, stress and above all give you the best chance of finding a new home that is as close to your needs as possible.

Sally Mallin is a senior member of experienced relocation agents in Sydney Australia with Crown Relocations - worldwide interstate and international removalists. Crown has relocation agents throughout Australia and offer a comprehensive family and corporate relocation programme that assists people to settle into their new location quickly and easily.

Interstate Moves Made Easy

An interstate move may involve a shorter transport distance than an international move. However, the process and research to find a professional company for interstate removals is still just as important. From furniture removals to entire home content relocations, an interstate removals company needs to be able to meet all of the needs and requirements of each client. As clients move towards an interstate move, they need to first consider what they need in a moving company and how large their planned relocation will be.

The first step in planning a move before the initial contact with a moving company is to inventory all of the goods that will be moved from a household or a business to their new location. This inventory also helps determine a potential value to insure during the interstate moving process. Some individuals and businesses may choose to self-pack and only have the goods transported. Other choices can include packing before interstate removals and unpacking at the arrival in a new home or business. Companies planning to relocate also need to consider if they will need items like bookcases or filing cabinets reassembled and restocked.

When interviewing a potential moving company, businesses and individuals need to consider the level of furniture removals that they will need. Are they moving bulky items or items like mirrors or pianos that require special packing? A professional moving company will be able to quote a realistic price that includes all elements of the move from packing to special dollies for transport. Insurance rates for inventory values of the transported goods are another service that many interstate removals companies also provide. With their accurate assessment of property values, insurance from a professional moving company can offer individuals or companies peace of mind during a move. Knowing that valuable items can be replaced or repaired if they are damaged in transit offers customers a feeling of confidence.

Going with a low estimate from a moving company for interstate removals may be more costly in the end. A professional company specializing in interstate moves will include the cost of all packing and unpacking, the actual transportation and any additional services available. Because they have their experienced perspective on the relocation process, they know about unexpected events that can take place. Interstate moves conducted through a professional firm with a solid reputation can help lower the stress level of businesses and individuals before, during and after relocation.

Kent is the largest privately-owned removals and storage company, incorporating relocation, mobility and consulting services in Australia. Established in 1946 by the Kent family, the business has been providing clients with professional, reliable and expert service for almost 60 years. Visit http://www.KentMoving.com to know more about interstate removals.

Moving Overseas or Interstate? Consider These 5 Budget Tips

Planning an interstate or international move can seem like a daunting task. It does require research and it will take time. Preparing yourself well ahead of time is the most important factor. The reality is that moving home is not just about packing and shipping your belongings. For an overseas move, you may have a new culture, one with language barriers. How do you find a new home or new schools for your children? What facilities does your family need to make life comfortable? Many of these issues apply equally to moving interstate.

By choosing the right removalists either international or interstate removalists you can take advantage of a broad range of services that will ease the worry and stress of your relocation. These services should include experienced relocation consultants that have an in-depth knowledge of your new location and can advise on homes, schools, amenities, things to do and places to go in the early stages of your move. Not only do they have the breadth of knowledge that you probably don't, but they have the contacts to help you find the right home, school or location for your family to live in. At the same time, they have the experience of helping many other people that you can take advantage of.

A good relocation consultant does not necessarily have to have been an expatriate, but they do need to have a level of maturity and life experience. Relocating can be frustrating and tiresome without professional help. Remember, most times you are building a new life for the entire family. All of their needs are paramount and to keep everyone as happy as possible will certainly make the move easier.

The range of information that you need know is extensive if you are to cover all your bases and not have any surprises. One of the first areas that you should develop is a budget if you are to have a lifestyle similar to what you currently enjoy? Here are just a few examples that you might consider:

In finding a home you will need to have a good understanding of the costs in your future location. Combine this with how far you want to travel to work or for the children to go to school and you can determine the location that is both suitable and you can afford. There will always be a good chance that you may have to compromise. It might be difficult for your family to have a smaller home to meet your location and budget constraints. At the same time, you will have to deal with house availability at the time of your move - not all timing is perfect.
Schooling can be very expensive if you want to ensure that your children continue with an education curriculum similar to what they have. Will their education be recognised back home and do they have to sit specific exam conditions or achieve specific grade levels to go onto higher education?
Health costs are another key component that you need to understand. Often if moving internationally, you will need to have a comprehensive health insurance cover before a Visa is issued. However, the options available to you can be confusing unless you have assistance to make the right choices for your family.
If you are a sporting family, what is the cost of joining clubs, ongoing fees and purchasing equipment if needed? This applies particularly to higher priced facilities such as golf clubs, tennis clubs and gyms. Even dance studios can add up with the price of costumes and participation in eisteddfods.
Do you intend to bring your electronic items with you or would it be best to purchase new items with warranties in your new location? Depending on where you are going to live purchasing new items might be considerably more expensive and so you might buy before you leave.

The key message is that having professional help at the very start can set the foundation for a successful relocation. Be aware of all the facts about what is possible and what is not and how your budget can be maximised. This will make your move much easier. International removalists that have offices throughout the world understand the issues that you will need to deal with. They have people on the ground that often have been through an individual or corporate relocation themselves and are sympathetic to the enormity of the task that you are undertaking. Even if you are moving interstate there will always be key areas that a professional interstate removalist company can help you with.

Craig Page has over 25 years experience with Crown Relocations. As specialist removalists and an interstate removals company, Crown helps customers that need an interstate removalist, local removalists or international removalists.