Benefits of Buying a Home and Moving in the Fall

Fall is in full swing and the holiday season is already here! This time of year, most people are focused on holiday preparations or just staying inside where it’s warm. Because of other things vying for your attention, the fall season can be an ideal time to buy a house! As a moving company serving Washington County and surrounding areas, we want to provide some benefits of buying a house and moving in the fall.

Get A Better Deal

Most houses go on the market in the spring, and many sellers list their homes high to start, hoping to get the best price. If it doesn’t sell right away, they will usually begin dropping the price throughout the later spring and summer months. It’s more difficult to catch buyers after Labor Day, so if the house still hasn’t sold, many sellers begin to get desperate around October and November. At this point, the house may be offered under market value.

Less Competition

Most families want to move in the summer while the kids are out of school and be in a new home before the new school year starts in fall. So, if they didn’t find a home over the summer, they will generally stop shopping at this point. That means less competition for current houses on the market and more opportunities for buyers. Most open houses in the fall will have fewer buyers attending. This can be a great opportunity to make an offer.

Motivated Sellers

As the end of the year approaches, home sellers may also have tax reasons for getting their house sold. They may want to take advantage of a gain or loss during the current tax year. With the impending timeline of December 31, some homeowners may be ready to close the deal. This can mean lower prices or incentives to close before the end of the year.

Holiday Season

As mentioned earlier, we are now officially in the holiday season. Most people are focused on holiday events and activities, so looking at houses for sale is put off until next year. This again means less competition in the market for buyers. Likewise, sellers are ready to get their house sold so they can enjoy the holiday season and not need to worry about disruptions that come with their house being listed.

See Home's Flaws

Although homes don’t look as appealing this time of year due to dead grass and fallen leaves, it can be a good time to truly see the home for what it is and discover flaws that may otherwise be covered up by beautiful landscaping. The best time for a property inspection is during the rain or snow when you can see if there are leaks or issues that need to be fixed. It’s better to know the home’s flaws before you buy rather than be surprised several months after you close.

Buying a home during the fall can be a good decision. Once you get that new house, you can count on us for professional moving. Since fewer people are moving this time of year, we usually have more flexibility to work with your schedule – just another advantage of moving in the fall!

To learn more about our moving company that serves Washington County and the surrounding Twin Cities area, give us a call at 763-559-5934 or contact us for a Free Estimate.

Moving Prep: Tips, Tricks & Must-Haves for Moving Day

Moving soon? Whether it’s a big or small move, residential moving can be a daunting, overwhelming task. But one strategy to ensure a smooth move is to hire a residential moving company. Local homeowners have been entrusting 1st Choice Movers for years with all of their residential moving needs in Ramsey County. 1st Choice is here to help. As your local movers, we would like to provide a few tips, tricks and supplies to make sure you’ve got what you need for a fantastic move. The following is a set of tips that can help:

1. When it comes to residential moving, keep a printed list, folder or digital file to help ensure proper organization for moving day. Stow away important paperwork, business cards and notes. Staying organized keeps all that you need in one place, ridding you of worry and the potential for panic.
2. Create and follow a budget. In addition to the cost of hiring a residential moving company, make sure to budget for other smaller elements of your move. Some of these may include boxes, bubble wrap, storage services, gas, pet or child care—really any costs that may arise related to your move.
3. Keep some extra empty boxes around. You may have forgotten to clean out under the bathroom sink or the small closet right beside it. Times like these, extra boxes and packing tape are invaluable.
4. A couple of days before your move, consider heading over to the new dwelling to do any prep work. Clean, put some food and drink in the house—get any advance work out of the way to ease the burden of the big day itself.
5. You might need to do some quick cleaning on moving day, so having a multi-purpose cleaner around is helpful as well.
6. Even if you were done packing before your residential moving team arrived, you still might want to have a permanent marker or two on hand. You might notice that you forgot to label a box or another item and having a marker ready for this task can make it a bit less frustrating and time-consuming.
7. Don't forget to leave a spare roll of toilet paper in your bathroom, and be sure to have a roll or two of paper towels too. Spills and accidents happen, so it makes those situations a lot less stressful if the paper towels are easy to find.
8. Not only are trash bags good to have one lying around so people have somewhere to throw their trash but they are also good to carry items in, including softer items you might have to pack at the last minute, like bedding or towels.

Are you ready to start preparing for your move? To hire our residential moving team in Ramsey County, call us at 1st Choice Movers at 763-559-5934 or you can contact us and get a Free Estimate.

Ask the Experts: Residential Moving Tips and Tricks

When planning a big move, it can help to come up with a few tricks to help along the way. At 1^st Choice Movers, we provide residential moving for St Paul and the surrounding areas and we know a thing or two about planning a successful move. So we would like to provide some expert advice! Here are a few great tips and tricks to help make your move as smooth as possible.

• Vacuum seal any out-of-season clothing or any clothing you don’t plan on wearing anytime soon. Not only will they take up less space, they will be a breeze to unpack and go directly into storage at the new home.
• Keep clothes on their hangers for much faster packing and unpacking. When you choose 1^st Choice Movers, we provide the free use of wardrobe boxes! Each 4’x3’ box comes with a metal rod so you can simply take your clothing directly out of your closet on their hangers and hang them up in the boxes. We can provide as many boxes as you need!
• Number your boxes. Make a list of what’s in each box by number. This can help you make sure you aren’t forgetting anything.
• Use color-coding! Pick a color code for each room in the new home and label that room’s boxes accordingly with brightly colored tape. With 1^st Choice Movers, we can even provide these color coding systems and labels for you!
• Hire professional movers especially if you have a lot of fragile valuables. Also, remember to book your residential moving company weeks in advance. Moving on the last day of the month? This is an especially busy residential moving time; so be sure you book well in advance.
• For same-city moves, hiring a sitter for children and pets can help alleviate some of the stress. 
• If you have some items that you want to get rid of, schedule for a charity organization to come pick up your items at least one week before your residential moving company arrives. Or, if you prefer to sell, start selling online at least six weeks before moving.
• Make your last and final grocery trip two weeks prior to moving in order to cut down on what you need to throw away when it comes to moving time. And, don’t forget to defrost your refrigerator at least one day before moving and wipe up any liquid.

We hope that some of these tips and tricks will help you on your upcoming move. And, we hope you will choose 1^st Choice Movers for all of your residential moving needs. If you need more information about residential moving in St Paul, give us a call at 763-559-5934 or contact us to get a Free Estimate.