Don’t Hire a Moving Company Until These Critical Questions Are Answered First

Summer is almost here, and with it, many Americans will be pulling up stakes and moving to a new home.

According to Atlas Van Lines, the total number of interstate and inter-province moves reached 77,705 in 2015, up from 76,979 in 2014. North Carolina, Idaho and North Carolina were the most popular "inbound" state destinations; by contrast, Hawaii, New York and Illinois lost the most residents in "outbound" moves.

If summer, 2016 brings a home move for you, you may be in the market for a moving company, too. If so, don't sign anything until you get some critical information from the moving company first.

Getting the following questions answered should do the trick:

Does your moving company provide references? - Any credible moving company should provide references from customers, and the better ones should provide them without your even asking. Take an extra step and ask friends and neighbors if they can recommend a good moving company, too, says Ross Sapir, chief executive officer and founder of Roadway Moving in New York City. "Ask friends, coworkers, and local real estate agents for their advice on the best moving companies that they've had personal experience in the past," Sapir says.

Does your moving company have the correct license and insurance? - Don't hesitate to ask the company for all of the proper documentation proving that they are certified and insured in case anything goes wrong, states Sapir. "Once you've checked out their background and credentials, make sure to ask them anything not featured on their website," he adds.

Does your moving company guarantee its moving date? - Lain Ehmann, a writer and business consultant based in Scottsdale, Ariz., says her family and she didn't get a guaranteed moving date when they moved from Boston to Arizona in 2014, and the omission proved costly. "We waited and waited, and finally, finally, a month latter, our move arrived," she says. "And it turned out it was 50 boxes short." To avoid Ehmann's scenario, make sure to ask your mover for guaranteed delivery dates. Also, ask if the same crew is packing, driving, and unpacking, or if your possessions will be passed along to other crews.

Can I track my move in real time? - Ian Wright, founder and CEO of MoverDB.com, a comparison site for international moving companies, advises moving customers to make sure they know where their mover is at all times (a scenario that would have really helped Ehmann.) "When moving across town or across the world, many moving companies now offer services where you can track your move in real time so you know exactly where your goods are," Wright says.

What is included in the moving quote and what is added on? - One common rookie mistake among first-time movers is they don't understand how estimates and quotes can change, says T.J. Peterson, social media coordinator at Oz Moving & Storage, in New York City. "Ask if the moving company prices a job by time or by a fixed rate," Peterson says. "These are the two primary type of moving quotes, and customers should know which they are getting."

Moving to a new home is pain in the neck in the first place. Don't compound the issue by failing to get "need to know" information from your company. If you don't get that information, move on until you find a moving company that will get your questions, clearly and thoroughly.