How to Prepare Your Client for Moving Day

As an agent, you might at times, help clients anticipate and prepare for moving day. You’ll notice worries abound on both sides of the transaction. Sellers must move their things and prepare the house for its next chapter of ownership. Buyers may have anxiety about square footage, appliances or other features they will lose or gain in the new home. Both worry about hiring a moving company, organizing, and packing, and managing the stress of the week or weekend itself.

As a real estate professional, you will experience many moving days and will witness how things go wrong when clients don’t have enough time or resources to clear out. Here are a few tips to follow when offering advice:

Anticipate

If weather permits, your clients might have a yard sale before the move — the act of assessing household goods, categorizing them as “keep” or “give away,” and carrying them outside is a realistic reminder that the work ahead is far from easy. A master moving calendar is useful for keeping them on task. A few more ideas:

• While the transaction is still underway, urge clients to collect boxes and packing materials, schedule a truck and declutter. Remind them that donations to charity are tax deductible.
• Encourage clients to start in the basement, attic, sheds, barns and other non-living spaces right after the closing date (or even before).
• If they have attached TVs, headboards or shelves to the walls, it’s important to repair damage to walls and floors before vacating the property
• If they will be taking out appliances, be prepared to buff away track marks or remove large quantities of dust.

Organize

Most people dread moving day but look forward to living in a new space. Motivate your clients to organize their possessions carefully so that unpacking can be easy and even enjoyable.

• Recommend wardrobe boxes for clothes and large vacuum-sealed bags for blankets, pillows, and towels.
• Book lovers can stack their literary joys into sturdy plastic totes with handles, cheap and readily available at many stores.
• If possible, use original boxes for electronics.
• Suggest a stop by the wine shop for sectioned boxes ideal for vases, glassware and other fragile items.
• Mark boxes with a marker or color-coded sticker, and seal with packing tape.

Outsource

Moving is hard work and your clients need both emotional support and expert advice. Sometimes, they also need help from a professional (even if they won’t admit it). Encourage your clients to hire help if it’s affordable and accessible. A small investment in professional cleaning will make everyone happier and reduce guilty memories about dirt and grime left behind.

• Recommend a junk-removal service for that overstuffed garage or messy art studio.
• If the clients worry that junk removers will throw away objects of value, they might instead use a transportable dumpster pod.
• Also, recommend a post-move cleaning service — after days of hard labor, no one wants to wipe off baseboards and polish windows.

Moving in or out of a house is one of the most stressful things we do. It resonates on many levels — financial, emotional and physical. Give your clients some inspiring words. Help them remember their original goal; to live in a new place or sell their old house. At the same time, remind them of important tasks like cutting off utility services at the proper time, changing their address, and updating driver’s licenses and passports. Try to stop by on the moving day itself and help move a box or two before waving them off to a new adventure. Don’t forget to give them a small gift — a refrigerator magnet printed with your name and photo might be perfect!