This blog is meant to be a Breezy reminder moving is hard, but it doesn’t have to be a nightmare. These stories are sometimes strange, sometimes heartfelt, and hopefully funny. We have made an exerted effort to keep private things private, and hopefully you will learn ways to help make your move Easy, Breezy!
We booked a seemingly routine move across town in late summer 2017. We were excited to get the referral, and were focused on making the “Smith’s” (one of three fake names today) move as easy as possible. We had plenty of advanced notice, had our supplies ready, our team set. This was going to be a Breeze!
As a rule, we don’t turn down business. We find a way to help our referral partners, and our moving customers, get the move accomplished as painlessly as possible. So, with that in mind, I took a phone call from a high school friend turned realtor, asking for some help. His clients closing had been pushed back a few days, and the moving company that they had contracted was booked up. My friend needed help. I agreed on the phone to put together a team that would get the job done for him. His client, let’s call them the “Robinson’s”, would be taken care of.
As I hung up the phone, another call told me the “Smith’s” closing had changed too. I have never claimed to be a great detective, so it never occurred to me that these two events were related.
Both moves were scheduled for the same day and time. It was Friday at 9am as I recall. We show up at the “Smith’s” to start the job. Loading went off without a hitch, but we did hear that there was a possibility that they noon closing would be pushed back due some complications with the person buying the “Smith’s” home. Let’s call this buyer “Mr. Causes Tons Of Problems For Everyone Even If It Isn’t Really His Fault” or perhaps “Mr. Problems” for short. No cause for concern at this point though, these things happen from time to time.
Over at the “Robinson’s” things were not going so smoothly. They had gotten the news that there could be problems with the closing for the person buying their home, due to the issue with “Mr. Problems”, and they didn’t want us to start their move until they were assured that closing was going to happen. I didn’t blame them for this stance, who wants to pay someone to pack and then unpack your house for no reason? So my guys waited.
When I walked into the “Robinson’s” current and “Smith’s” future home the entire situation hit me. We were moving two of the families in a three family chain of sales and closings that included four homes, multiple title offices, a home of realtors (my name for a group of realtors similar to a parade of elephants or a tower of giraffes), and a pickle of a situation for everyone involved. “Mr. Problems” was having trouble closing on the “Smith’s” home, who in turn were having trouble closing on the “Robinson’s” home, who were then delayed in finalizing the newly constructed home they were buying in a nearby town. How are we going to make this Easy Breezy?
As it turns out, “Mr. Problems”, was being stubborn about giving a few additional documents to the mortgage company. His reticence (which may have been justifiable, but certainly a problem for everyone else) was pushing everything deep into the afternoon.
We had gotten the “Smith’s” home loaded, but the house they were moving into, the “Robinson’s” current home, was not even close to being ready. Finally, at 4:30, after an already long day, we started the process of getting the 3500 square foot home that now belonged to the “Smith’s” vacated of the “Robinson’s” items.
At 9pm, on Friday, we realized that this was not going to be a one day move. The problem was, where were the “Smith’s” going to put their things? We brokered a deal that allowed us to move all of the items that still belonged to the “Robinson’s” into the garage and one section of the basement, so that the “Smith’s” could have full use of their new home. We spent the next 2 hours hurriedly moving the “Robinson’s” things to the agreed upon areas, and the “Smith’s” things into the house.
With most of the interesting details over with, I will tell you that it took us the entire day Saturday, and part of the day Sunday to finish moving all the “Robinson’s” things into their new home. It is amazing what living 10 years in a 3500 square foot will accumulate. I had to call in all the reinforcements I knew with moving experience, and I was on site helping every second. It was a long hard weekend, but in the end, it was an experience that I can tell a story about.
I would like to give you some trick as to how to avoid such a mess, but ultimately, buying and selling homes is a tricky business. The best thing you can do, is be prepared for your closing, for your move, and hire a mover that will pull out all the stops to make sure that your items are safely transported from place to place. The patience, and grace, shown by both the of our customers and their realtors, helped make a difficult situation smoother. Though that move was not Easy Breezy on any level, it could have been much worse. I was proud of my team that day, and it gave me the confidence that we can tackle any problems. No matter how big they may be. Also, no move is “routine” they all come with their challenges and their advantages. It is up to us to make every job Easy Breezy for the people moving.
Blog by Ryan Welch
CEO Breezy Moving
ryan@breezymoving.com
Send your moving stories to me, I could use the ideas!