The benefits of portable storage.

The benefits of portable storage solutions are huge. Don’t take my word for it, just ask anyone who has utilized portable storage and they’ll share that the benefits are so significant that they’ll never go back to traditional storage. I’m often asked why someone would use portable storage over traditional storage options, and my answer is simple: Flexibility. In the text that follows I’ll share a few thoughts on the many benefits of today’s portable storage solutions.

Healthy industries evolve over time, and the storage business has made great strides in the last decade. While there is nothing wrong with traditional storage solutions, they simply don’t afford the benefits to the user that today’s portable storage solutions offer. Because the benefits of portable storage are almost too numerous to articulate given the space constraints associated with this medium, the following list discusses two of the most significant reasons for why you should consider portable storage options:

1. On-site Storage Options: Portability…Unlike traditional storage options where you must travel to your storage site for access to your items, with portable storage solutions you can have a container placed at the site of your choosing (home, business, etc.). This allows you easy access when and where you need it.
2. Better Access: We’ve already discussed the access benefits of having an on-site storage unit, but when you no longer have the need for on-site storage, you simply call your portable storage vendor and they’ll come pick it up. They will move it to any location you desire, or to one of their secure storage facilities. You can then have it delivered back to you when you need something, or you can visit the off-site storage location if you choose. Why wouldn’t someone want the flexibility that a portable storage solutions offers?

For more detailed information on the benefits of portable storage please call (310) 618-8120 and speak to a customer service rep for a quote.

Looking for the best home in a competitive market? Here are the tips

Are you looking for a home in a competitive market? Towards the end of 2016, determined homeowners spend their days and nights at a newly established home community in the suburb of McKinney, TX. It was a very interesting scene to see and it brought a new dimension of real estate in many states across the United States. The demand for homes is growing at an alarming rate. The competition among homes in the city and suburbs is very steep.

Now as a prospect homeowner, how do you ensure you get the right and suitable home for your choice and preference?

1. Ensure your name is on the interest list

The housing developers reach the newcomers through their interest list. They normally release information and designs of model homes, new phases, property release and much more. In this regard, it is a significant boost to avail yourself in that informative list. This list brings closer to the real estate agent and technical staff who initiates your journey of owning your own house through familiarization.

2. Establish Friendship

Making real and true friends is paramount in every aspect of life.  Furthermore, it hurts nobody to make friends. The sales agent should be close people in the society for any potential buyer. They possess great and resourceful pieces of information many in a neighborhood may lack.

3. Be informed

Social media plays a key role in ensuring you are well informed. Breaking information about specific communities, neighborhoods or constructors of your interest should always be at your fingertips. Information is the first and mandatory weapon to winning the best offers in the market of real estates.

4. Work with a REALTOR®

They own the inside track on brand new releases and they always ensure you the first to get important news and notifications.

5. Preapproval

Entails the reassurance of loan during the acquisition process. This ensures that you cannot lose your house to someone else after purchase.

6. Crosschecking financial options

This is facilitated by the builder or constructor. Depending on the constructor, incentives from the mortgage partner come in to facilitate and finance the upgrades of your home.

7. Property and Community Familiarization

This makes sure that the property of your target is not snatched from your hands by the time you finance for it. Knowing the community is also important in selecting the sites of your own satisfaction and choice.

8. Sharing with REALTOR® about upgrades and option

This is inevitable in securing financing. An idea about the options and needful upgrades together with involved cost ensures that the buyer is under the approval of the correct amount. Nothing should compromise the property you want so long as the money value is within your financial ability.

The Essential Budgeting List for Buying a Home

Is house hunting in your near future?  If so, you’re probably thinking about the neighborhood you want to live in, the number of bedrooms you need and what sort of home you want. But take a step back. None of this matters if you don’t know how much you can truly afford to spend on a home.

You may have a nice down payment saved up, and an idea of costs, but most agents will tell you that first-time buyers generally miss a few things when budgeting for a home.

Before you make a wish list for your future house, here are some expenses you need to consider:

Mortgage: Most buyers need to take out a mortgage. With rates as low as they are, many are even considering a 15-year term rather than the more traditional 30-year term. Use a mortgage calculator or speak to a lender to find out exactly what your monthly rate will be and what you can afford.

Insurance: When buying a home, you also need to insure the value of the home against fire, theft and sometimes even flood damage (insurance for which must be purchased separately). Shop around for the best price and see what it’s going to cost you beforehand. Keep in mind that this cost can go up each year, especially if you file a claim.

If you’re putting down less than 20 percent, you may also have to pay for private mortgage insurance (PMI). This can add a substantial amount to your monthly mortgage payment so consult with a lender on what your most affordable options are.

Taxes: Property taxes can add hundreds of dollars to your monthly mortgage payment and can increase depending on school and town budgets. A home is normally taxed on its assessed value—a fraction amount of the home’s appraised value—so make sure you factor it into the equation.

Utilities: If you’re currently renting an apartment or living with your parents, there’s a good chance you don’t pay much (or anything) for utilities. But when you own a home, you have to factor in the costs of water, gas, electricity and oil each month. Ask sellers for their average monthly costs over the last year so you know how much you should be putting aside.

Yard upkeep: Buying a home with a large yard or garden may be your dream, but be realistic about the amount of time you’ll have to invest in keeping it beautiful. If you’re not up to the time commitment, you’ll have to hire someone to mow, weed and take care of those flowers and shrubs. Check with local yard contractors to see what a service like this will cost in the neighborhood you are considering.

Upgrades: You’re most likely going to want to make some changes in your new home. Make a list of all the projects you are considering—such as adding new hardwood floors, drapes or appliances—and leave room in your monthly budget for some of these costs.

You’ll need to consider all of the above before you begin your home search. Look only at what you can truly afford so you don’t end up house poor.

San Francisco’s Top East Bay Moving and Storage Solutions

Thanks to a booming demand, moving and storage options in San Francisco's East Bay area have never been more diverse. Gone are the days of one or two companies running a monopoly, now you have a slew of companies to choose from. In such a competitive industry, only top East Bay moving and storage companies like Metropolitan Van & Storage who are truly dedicated to their clients can flourish in the area. To find the company that you can trust you need to carefully check their credentials.

Even amidst all the competition, our East Bay moving and storage company has managed to consistently stand out. At Metropolitan Van, we have been on the vanguard of this industry niche for over 50 years. We command an impressive fleet that effortlessly gets the job done. Our highly trained staff can handle any project, whether it be commercial or residential moves. When you hire us you are guaranteed the help of an expert who is passionate at getting you into your new home.

This steadfast dedication has won us our fair share of awards. Our superior service has gotten us both BBB accredited and Diamond Certified. We have also been awarded AMSA ProMover for our amazing service. If you ask around the East Bay, you are sure to hear great things about Metropolitan Van & Storage.

Here in the East Bay, we celebrate diversity. Our wide variety of moving options reflect this. Our movers will give you a long list of specialized services that are sure to make your next move a breeze. From custom crating to commercial storage solutions we got you covered.

We realize that sometimes you need to leave your residence before you discover your new home. That’s why we provide exclusive access to multiple warehouses surrounding the East Bay. Businesses and residents in Alameda and Contra Costa counties have consecutively picked our Benicia warehouse for its unbeatable service and prime location. We offer a wide variety of storage variations with impressive levels of security. With storage facilities across the Bay Area, we have the perfect place for you to store your possessions.

With so many options it’s easy to be overwhelmed. That’s why you need to treat yourself with a reputable and reliable moving company. All East Bay movers are not created equally, so go with a company who has a reputation that’s already firmly established.

Come experience the service that has made us East Bay’s favorite moving and storage company! We specialize in making your move easier. So next time you need to relocate, move like a pro!

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6 Reasons Why Planning Your Summer Move in the Winter Saves You Money

My wife thought I was nuts. It was only the end of February, but I was already hauling in piles of used boxes so I could start planning my move. “We’re not moving until the end of June!” she cried, visions in her head of sleeping on the floor between stacks of cardboard boxes, I guess.

I told her I knew what I was doing and disappeared into the basement. And in fact, I did.

There are plenty of understandable reasons not to start planning your move four months ahead of time. But those reasons don’t seem so smart when you suddenly realize you’re moving in three days. 

If you’re looking to move sometime between Memorial Day and Labor Day (along with about 20 million other people) you have even more reason to get a jump-start on things. These are the most practical reasons why.

Researching the Right Things

There is one major reason people end up with crappy movers – or in some cases end up getting scammed by people posing as movers: They didn’t do their homework before hiring them.

What does “homework” mean?

• Find and read real reviews on your local moving company
• Look up a moving company’s Better Business Bureau rating
• Research if a mover is a legally registered transporter of household goods

Particularly if you are moving in the summer (seriously, literally millions and millions of people move between June and August), you want to give yourself time not only to find the right movers – i.e., movers who will treat you right – but you don’t want to miss out on hiring the movers that would have been perfect for you because somebody beat you to it. If you think hiring movers could be expensive, you should see how much hiring bad movers could end up costing you …

You might love our:

Moving Cost Calculator

If the quote from your movers felt expensive …
Make sure it lines up with the costs reported by other Americans.

And true, you may not know several months in advance exactly what day you’ll be moving. But don’t wait until a week before you’ve written “Moving!” on your calendar to start doing your homework. Get on it!

Your Sales-Rep Walk-Through

As the summer approaches, moving company sales representatives are just as busy as movers. Sometimes they’re even busier. But having a grasp of what you need ahead of time will prevent from your two-hour move turning into a six-hour one.

Conventional wisdom says you should get at least three in-home estimates if you want an estimate you can be fairly confident in. If you wanted to be absolutely thorough by price and quality, you not only need to find three solid moving companies, you need to find times that work for their three sales reps and for you. The closer you are to move day, the busier you will be. The closer it is to summer the busier theywill be.

The good thing is, you don’t have to know when you’re moving to get your estimate.

You do, however, have to know what you will be moving. Of course, you can make some changes down the road if need be. Just be sure to communicate these changes ahead of time, not on move day!

Protip: Your sales rep might notice things you wouldn’t even think about, like the fact that the big office desk you assembled in the spare room isn’t going to fit out the door, or that your massive fish tank will probably need to be crated.

Having the luxury of time to get these unexpected extras taken care of may prove to be a lifesaver.

Creating a Rapport With Your Mover

If you want to be efficient, you don’t want a bunch of perplexed strangers showing up on moving day.

While you won’t have much to worry about if you hire movers through HireAHelper (after 70,000 5-star reviews, we can say things like that), getting to know each other before the actual move day creates a good vibe for both parties. More than this, having time to ask questions and bring up concerns helps your movers prepare for the job ahead. 

By the same token, you can expect your movers to be as busy as you are in the lead-up to your move. Say hello, let them know what you need, let them know you appreciate it, and then step back and let them do their thing. 

Likely a Better Rate

We can’t absolutely guarantee that you’ll end up paying more if you hire your movers in the middle of May rather than the middle of March, but we are dead-certain you won’t save yourself any money by waiting until the last minute to book your movers. Unless of course the only movers left available are sketchy guys with a string of bad reviews. 

If you’re a couple months ahead of the game you’ll likely also get a much better deal on your rental truck. And your chances of nailing down the right size truck for your move also goes way up. (If you do find yourself having trouble scoring a rental truck check the tips we offer in this post.)

Get Help Loading Your U-Haul Truck

See prices for movers by the hour – instantly.

Read real customer reviews.

Easily book your help online.

When do you need help?Where do you need help?

Avoiding Last-Minute Expenses

As move day approaches you’ll be going absolutely nuts tackling a thousand last-minute tasks, from canceling utilities to meeting with your landlord/realtor, to cleaning your apartment well enough to get your deposit back to getting all that non-perishable food to the soup kitchen. It will be in these final frenzied hours and days that you’ll be glad you got a three-month head start.

Packing Costs and Timing

Even if you book your movers (and your rental truck) early, if you have a decent amount of stuff and you’re moving a fair distance, you’re going to have to shell out a good chunk of change for

• Tape
• Boxes 
• Packing paper
• Bubble wrap
• and more

That’s simply the nature of the beast.

Protip: But while there may be nothing you can do about how far you have to move, you just might feel extra motivated to lighten your load by getting rid of all the stuff you know you don’t really need. (You might also feel a sudden urge to save some bucks by packing up the entire house yourself. Both are easier when you have a bigger window to work in.)

We do guarantee, by the way, that once you start packing, you’ll realize that you have about three times as much stuff as you thought and it’s going to take you quadruple the time.

Yep, if you’re like me, you’ll likely be so tired that you’ll have no problem sleeping on the floor between those stacks of cardboard boxes. But just to be safe, pack your bed last.