Moving articles from SpouseBuzz

I love researching moving and I found some pretty fabulous articles that I thought I should share.

Movers are our friends. How to be nice to the movers with these easy tips.

Top 10 PCS Don't.   Love these very funny!

Operation Empty Freezer we're currently trying to start this in my own home.  I want to have an empty pantry when we move!

Rental Deposit Dilemma  Great read so important for the first time mover!


Plan My Move Great for the person who's having a hard time getting started!   Here's the plan my move website http://apps.militaryonesource.mil/MOS/f?p=PMM:ENTRY:0



Happy moving!

Realtor Rental Inquiry Letter

So I decided since wanted to start creating  a bond between a realtor or two I should send out a introductory letter.  Here was what I sent them.

W. A.  Martin

123 Easy Street  

Tucson, AZ 85712

(***)-123-4567

Dear Sir or Ma’am,

In late May or early June my husband and I will be moving to the Pensacola area. I’m seeking information on when is the best time to start looking at rentals and signing a lease. I noticed that last year the rental homes close to NAS Pensacola went very quickly by the end of June. I would like to ensure that I am able to rent a clean single family home, and my goal is to beat the post graduation and commissioning rush. 

At this point we do not plan on taking a house hunting trip to Pensacola.  The majority of our leg work will be done via the internet, email, and phone calls. We will be looking to rent a home in the zip codes of 32507 and 32506.  We’re looking to sign a 6-12 month lease with a military clause. 

What we are looking for is a single family rental home with a minimum of 1,100+ sq. feet, 3 bedrooms (or 2 bedrooms and an office), and 2 bathrooms. Our price point is $650-$950, but we would like to be around $850.  We have two dogs (2 and 3 yrs old) both of which are crate trained and we would prefer a fenced yard.  We have a letter of recommendation for our dogs from our current property manager.

I would appreciate any information you can give me on the the Pensacola area.

Thank you for your time,

Whitney A. Martin

InsertEmailAddress@gmail.com

I got fabulous replies back. We'll be starting our major house hunting in March. Hoping for great success.

Renting

Renting a home from the other side of the country via a source online is a scary thing. During our most recent move we had an idea of where we wanted to live, but we didn't find a living arrangement on our trip there. I spent hours searching online at local property management websites and craigslist.org . We eventually found a place on craigslist.org and its pretty wonderful.

I've been introduced to a national website www.zillow.com and its a fabulous place to start your research.  One thing I like about Zillow is that the property manager normally have their links at the bottom of page, thus making it easier to get in touch with them. If your move is many months in advance you can start your search 8-6 weeks out by emailing property managers your needs (bedrooms, bathrooms, pets, fenced yard, etc).

Some property managers are less than truthful or don't take care of their property. Things to look for in photos:
-Time Stamp (if the photo is more than 3 months old ask for more recent photos and or a video walk through).
-Broken items (I've seen so many photos with broken cabinets, cracked windows, or mirrors). I truly believe that if a property manager takes care of their property they will not take photos and post the property until its ready.
-Trash in the yard or on property. My current property manager has a someone come do the front lawns every week. I rarely see any trash on the drive or in the lawns.

The Neighborhood:
Take a digital walk in the neighborhood. Using Google maps you can take a digital walk through the neighborhood. Things I looked for are the cars similar or nicer than yours, if not then you'll have the nice car in the neighborhood and could be a target. Find out the rent of other similar home in the area. Check the crime rate many websites this function.

It's important to have phone numbers, fax, and a physical location for the property manager. If it sounds to good to be true it probably is. Beware of scam artists.

Renters Insurance

Soap Box on the Importance of Renters Insurance

If you don't have renters insurance you need it. Please get some today! It doesn't cost very much a year. Ours is cheaper than our the upgrade on our internet a month.

 Benefits of Renters Insurance:

• Protection in case of fire, vandalism, and other disasters.
• What if your toilet explodes while your out on a date and you come home to a pool in your house? Yep, insurance covers that!
• Coverage of personal possessions during shipment (moving) or storage.
• Travel (luggage and other items can be covered in some policies)
• Legal protection if someone is injured on your property and decided to sue. 
• Get started by knowing your possessions and how much you own. http://www.knowyourstuff.org

 Best wishes!  Get your things insured so you know that they covered currently just in case of disasters and for the future when you move. Accidents happen when you move especially when you DITY or with movers they aren't always extremely careful with your things.

Edit 8/12/2012

I have my nice jewelry on "riders". Most insurance only covers $2,500 for jewelry or less. Its really important to have your nice pieces such as engagement rings, diamond earrings, heirloom pieces, and whatever you have covered for their replacement value. 

9 Months out

Currently we're at 9  months out from our tentative move date. It seems like there is alot of time between our move and your probably wondering what could we possibly be doing to organize and stay busy.

• Organized the husbands clothing (lots of stuff donated)!
• Went through our kitchen supplies and got rid of some plastic cups that were not used and found a few with cracks (yikes bacteria growing). 
• Organized our storage unit. 
• Decided that our polka dot bathroom is not making the move with us. It's cute, but it's gonna be put on craigslist before we move. 
• Went through the pantry to have a better idea of what sorts of food we have. No use in not eating all of our dry foods before we leave. How on earth are we gonna eat 3 tubs of Peanut Butter?
• I created a spreadsheet of all the things we own and how much it would cost to replace them. I will add photos of all the furniture, electronics(while on and working with a time stamp) the week prior to our move.
• I had to call our insurance man to increase our renters insurance. 

Jewelry Storage and Organization

When I look at my house I see how much we've out grown it. My messiest areas are the bedroom "Catch all Drawer", Closet, and Master Bathroom.  I decided I was gonna take on one area.

My jewelry was an overwhelming mess in gallon size ziplock bags. Its so tangled I could never find the pieces that I wanted. I own several jewelry boxes but no of them match my current bedroom colors so they were put in boxes in storage or sitting half full in the closet.

I pulled out the jewelry which needed to be inspected, sorted, some of it donated or saved for a future child "Dress up Box". 

Look at this mess! Yuck over whelming. Bangles, earrings, and Pageant Bling OH MY!

I decided that I also wanted to organize my medications, nail polish, hair ties, head bands, and fertility devices and tests.

I regularly check my over the counter and pharmacy medications to see that they have reached their expiration dates. So I took the time to check that it wouldn't go bad before Christmas (when I'll have more time on my hands).

Donations made were lots of jewelry two jewelry boxes that don't make the decor of my home. It feels great to have things more organized and I love that all they have to do when we move is Tape the drawers shut and put them in a box.

Finished Product:

 

Above is the my nail polish, medications, and bandages. 

Hair ties, head bands, bangles, and fertility stuff. 

Jewelry (necklaces, rings, ear rings) in the closet for easy accessibility when putting together outfits.

At some point I want an antique jewelry box, but with so many moves coming up in next few years I don't think its a good investment. This will keep me organized for now. My really nice jewelry is keep in the original boxes from the jewelers.

Edited 07/29/10
Y'all know that if I find something better than what I'm doing or that I think is neat I won't hide it from you! Well I was on pinterest and I found this. I loved it. We don't have very much medicine in our home, but If you need a good storage/organization strategy I think this would be very excellent.



http://raquelenglish.com/ship-shape-organized-medicine-cabinet/

Fabulous! 

If you need other PCS resources

I found two great sources. That I think all MilSpouse need to know about.


Military.com's PCS -DITY-Move

Sarges List "The Ultimate PCS Guide"

Gotta love this stuff, but I'll be borrowing some ideas from these and make there more suitable to my situation.