New York/New Jersey Real Estate

Plan to start moving from your old house early to avoid delays.

Making the move to New York City has its own set of potential complications outside of all the typical issues associated with any move. But as with most things, with a little thought and adequate scheduling, you can empower yourself to anticipate and confront problems as they arise.

Problem: Traffic is often prevalent on bridges to all boroughs of New York City.

Solution: Keep a radio on to monitor traffic reports. Bridges like the George Washington have multiple levels—you can usually save 20 minutes or more of your time by listening to the traffic reports to find out about the travel times on each level before you head over the bridge. Single-level bridge routes may leave you few alternatives for reducing traffic time, but once you get over the bridge you can use an alternate set of directions (Google Maps offers this at one click) or a GPS device to bypass traffic using a different route.

Problem: You can get your buddies there to move on time, but you’ve also hired professional movers and have reserved a moving truck and they’re unpredictable.

Solution: Start early. If you’re planning to start packing the truck at 10 a.m., request a truck for 7 a.m. To prevent late professional movers, make sure you check their references prior to hiring them. You can also avoid deadline problems by moving out prior to settlement day—that way you won’t have the pressure of the home’s new owners. If you have to do some final cleaning or you happen to damage a wall while you move, you’ll still have time to come back and do damage control.

Check back tomorrow for additional solutions in part II on this topic. Please leave additional comments and selections below.

Photo Credit: Peter Griffin, publicdomainpictures.net.