Moving still takes a ton of effort, but in the not-so-distant past, it was actually worse. There was a time when the only way to connect to a moving company was to call their landline, leave a message, and wait for a call back. And if your couch didn’t fit in your new home? All you could do was check it off your inventory list with a pencil and deal with it.
But, a lot of advances in moving technology have made things much faster and easier. Virtual reality, digital apps, and artificial intelligence are improving the ways we find new homes and move into them. Here are 7 ways technology has forever transformed the moving industry — and might be able to help with your own move.
1. Technology for Home Tours
Virtual reality (VR) has totally altered the home-buying process. With 360 and 3D professional photography, you can see a home in its entirety before ever setting foot on the property. And house hunters love this. Virtual tours help them decide whether to visit a property in person, reducing time spent viewing unsuitable homes by about 40%. Properties with virtual tours also sell 31% faster, according to HomeJab.
360 Photography
Virtual tour software platforms like Matterport allow realtors to scan an indoor space and create a navigable 3D model, which is an excellent tool if you’re a buyer. You can click a link and take a virtual tour of a home from anywhere in the world so you can easily decide if the layout works for you.
Drone Photography and Videography
With drone photography and videos, you can clearly see a home and its yard from any screen in the world. You can check out the alleys, roads, and neighbors’ lawns, and see what the surrounding area looks like.This gives a buyer much more context into the neighborhood when deciding whether to make an offer.
AR and VR Technology
Augmented reality (AR) and VR use similar technology in different ways. Where VR uses headsets to give the impression you’re somewhere else, AR adds to what you can already see! As you look at a real-world environment through a smartphone or computer screen, AR can add visuals such as furniture or paint colors.
This technology means realtors can facilitate highly realistic virtual walkthroughs of spaces for out-of-town buyers. Homes can also be staged using AR to reduce actual staging costs and logistics. In addition, design apps can use VR and AR technology to help you virtually “move in” and decorate your space, so you have a plan before your actual move.
2. Digital Apps to Learn About a Neighborhood
Before you decide where to move, you can easily research the safety, walkability, and friendliness of an area from the comfort of your couch. It doesn’t take long to dig up key information, whether you want to know about the best neighborhoods in Tampa or where to move in Las Vegas.
Neighborhood accessibility
With basic apps like Google Maps, Apple Maps, and Waze, you can get real-time data on the roads, restaurants, and shops in your new neighborhood. You can use them to map traffic flow on the routes you’ll need to travel most, so you can plan school and work commutes. Learn the best roads to take and the time of day to travel them to reduce traffic-related headaches.
Crime statistics
Learn about the safety of your new neighborhood with apps and websites like Citizen and City Protect. City Protect offers police reports, public record requests, and more, and some of its features are free. Family Watchdog provides publicly available information about sex offenders in an area, with detailed reports for a fee.
Neighborhood vibe apps
Believe it or not, there’s more to a neighborhood than traffic and crime stats. Neighborhood Scout is a subscription-based app that provides insights on an area’s demographics, housing, school performance, and other characteristics using 600 data elements.
AreaVibes calculates a neighborhood’s livability score based on 7 factors, including crime rate, amenities, cost of living, education, employment, housing, and user ratings. This score is compared against a national average to give a big picture of your potential new neighborhood. There’s also a search function so you can access the most relevant information.
3. Customer Feedback Tools for Professional Movers
It’s easy to find reviews of professional moving services on platforms such as Google, Facebook, and Yelp. You can quickly learn which companies have a track record for making moving day easy and which ones consistently fall short of expectations.
“Smartphones have made visualizing a room way easier. No more guessing or relying on your memory. Apps like Planner 5D and Homestyler allow you to scan a space with your smartphone and save its dimensions.”
This has impacted moving companies tremendously. Customers used to choose movers through personal referrals from their friends and relatives. Now, recommendations are available at scale. You can skim reviews of a dozen moving services that handle relocations and choose the one that best suits your needs.
Note: Anyone can leave a review on social media, but it’s worth noting that HireAHelper verifies all reviews before they’re published. This means the feedback you’re reading comes from paying customers.
4. Online Moving Quotes — No Walk-Through Needed
Many moving companies have streamlined the call-and-get-a-quote process that your grandparents used to use, so it’s easier to know how much your move will cost.
Your inner introvert will be happy to hear you can get moving quotes entirely online. Innovative booking tools allow you to enter the basic details of your move and get free, instant moving quotes.
Many movers also offer live FaceTime or Zoom chats to get a better picture of your needs and the size of your home. This ensures you don’t get any expensive surprises after they’ve unloaded the last box from their moving truck.
And, if you have doubts or concerns about your quote from us at HireAHelper, we can help walk you through the process and cost breakdown with just a single phone call.
5. Virtual Checklists to Keep Your Move on Track
When you create a virtual moving checklist, you can ditch your paper to-do list. Use a note-taking app like Google Keep, Apple Notes, or Evernote on your smartphone, so your checklist is always in your pocket. You can also use a shareable spreadsheet to track pending items, from ordering home insurance to filing your change of address form.
For packing, consider using an inventory app such as Sortly, which lets you list and track every item you own. This is invaluable when making an inventory list before a move because it keeps all your belongings organized and easy to locate during packing, transport, and unpacking.
Not only does all this moving technology mean no more hard copy to-do lists that inevitably get lost, but it also means there are fewer chances for crucial tasks to slip through the cracks. Plus, with cloud sharing, everyone in your household has easy access to the list with instant updates.
6. GPS Trackers to Find Your Moving Truck
GPS technology has been around for a long time. It’s easier than ever for movers to buy trackers to avoid losing furniture, boxes, valuables, and even their moving trucks.
If you’re booking your own moving truck, a GPS can help ensure thieves don’t disappear with your expensive rental. You can also use more localized Bluetooth technology to tag boxes that contain valuables in case they get misplaced within range.
Not to mention, companies now provide more realistic updates for long-distance moves. Can you believe people moving to a new city used to wait around for weeks, wondering when their stuff would arrive? Yikes.
7. Artificial Intelligence as Your Personal Assistant
AI chatbots can do more than write a creative excuse for why you’re late or draft your Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. Tools such as ChatGPT aren’t exclusively a moving technology, but can be a great sidekick that helps your move come together more easily.
Many moving companies already use automated chat features on their websites to improve customer experience, providing instant responses to queries at any time of day. You can leverage AI technology to streamline your move, too:
Create personalized moving plans and checklists
Organizing a move involves many tasks, and each move is unique. AI is great for organizing complex information. Jot down all the things you need to do (use our moving checklist as a starting point) and add tasks unique to your situation.
“Your inner introvert will be happy to hear you can get moving quotes entirely [online, and many] movers also offer live FaceTime or Zoom chats to get a better picture of your needs and the size of your home.”
Then, use AI to sort the information and create a personalized moving playbook to get everything done. It’s a great way to manage admin tasks, including address changes. You can even use AI to make a schedule based on your move date.
Get smart room-by-room packing guidance
Ready to start packing? AI can help! Use it to generate a list of moving supplies tailored to your belongings. It can also make quick calculations, such as the number of boxes needed to fit all your books. You can also ask ChatGPT or other platforms which rooms or items to pack first and how to group things based on what you own.
Enjoy real-time decision-making support
AI can help you weigh options and make informed decisions. Ask your tool to compare commute times between different neighborhoods. What’s the right size storage unit to rent for your belongings? How does your budget change if you hire a full-service mover instead of renting a U-Haul? Generative AI excels at gathering and condensing information to give you more clarity.
Bonus: Design Apps for Styling Without Stress
There’s one more moving technology that can simplify your relocation. Many new homeowners spend hours planning the furniture layout and decor for their space.
Smartphones have made visualizing a room way easier. No more guessing or relying on your memory. Apps like Planner 5D and Homestyler allow you to scan a space with your smartphone and save its dimensions. This gives you a virtual mockup of your new space.
These apps can save the time and back strain that comes with arranging and rearranging furniture. Even better, you can access room designs while you’re furniture shopping!
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