Senior moves and downsizing, planned with the family

Short answer

A senior move in the Bay Area is often a long-time family home going to something smaller: a condo, an apartment near the kids, a retirement community. Often the person booking is a son or daughter who lives somewhere else and is coordinating by phone. Spartan Moving plans these moves so that one family member can run them from a distance, and the person moving does not have to lift, pack or sort under pressure.

The longer answer

How we plan it

Free on-site inspection. An estimator visits the home, sees the stairs, the furniture and how much is going, and gives a not-to-exceed price so the family knows the maximum cost up front. We do not do video estimates; they are not accurate enough for a whole house.
One contact person. Tell us who will meet the team. The crew calls that person 30 minutes before arrival, and the quote and confirmation go to whoever is handling the move.
Packing day, then moving day. We can split the work over two days: the team packs on day one and moves on day two, so the house is not turned upside down in a single morning.
Setup at the new home. Beds and tables are reassembled and furniture goes where it was planned, so the first night feels like home.

Full packing, so nobody has to pack

The Golden Package is full packing: our team packs everything using all the supplies, for an added $70 per hour on top of the moving rate, for the whole move. With Golden, the only thing to do in advance is pack valuables and important documents yourself. The Silver Package, an added $35 per hour, covers mattress covers and packing of the bulky fragile pieces such as TVs, mirrors and large frames. You do not have to decide upfront: we can compare the totals at the end and use whichever costs less.

When everything will not fit

Downsizing means some furniture is not coming. If you want us to haul away pieces nobody is keeping, ask David when you book; he confirms whether it can be scheduled and what it costs before anything is hauled. For pieces the family wants to keep but cannot place yet, we offer storage at a flat monthly fee, billed in 30-day periods; see storage. Storage is never discounted; the returning-customer and referral discounts apply to the move only.

Appliances can be disconnected and moved. For washers, dryers and anything with water or gas lines, we ask that someone from the family is present during disconnection, since we are not certified appliance technicians.

Rates

3 movers and a truck are $175 per hour; 4 movers are $235 per hour for a 3-bedroom over 1,800 sq ft or 4 bedrooms and up. The minimum is 3 hours, then 15-minute increments. No deposit for a local move; payment at the end by cash, money order, Visa or Mastercard (3% fee on cards). We do not take checks. A returning customer gets 7% off the final price, and referrals are 5% (friend) or 7% (real estate agent) with the referrer's name or phone number.

Care in an older home

Older Bay Area homes have narrow stairs, hardwood floors and furniture that is decades old. We lay floor protection and runners, our movers do not use dollies inside homes, and every piece of furniture is wrapped in moving blankets at no extra charge. Glass, china and framed art are packed piece by piece in proper boxes. Our crew is our own: the core team has been with Spartan since 2007, and the newest member joined in 2014. If the new community needs a certificate of insurance, we provide it free.

What the family can do before move day

Decide which furniture is going and mark the pieces that are not, so nothing is loaded by mistake.
Collect medications, jewelry, important papers and anything irreplaceable and keep them with you, not on the truck.
Send us the new community's or building's COI details if they need a certificate.
Ask the new building about elevator and move-in hours.
Plan where the bed goes, so it can be reassembled and made up first.