Moving and storage in Metro Vancouver: when your dates don't line up

In Metro Vancouver, the date you have to be out and the date you can get in rarely match. A sale closes before the purchase, a rental ends on the 31st and the new one starts on the 15th, or a renovation runs late. The answer is storage in between, and planning for it from the start makes the move much easier.

Three common gaps

• Selling before buying. The house sells, the new one isn't ready, and you need a few weeks somewhere smaller.
• Rental dates that don't meet. One tenancy ends before the next begins.
• A renovation or a long-distance move. The new home isn't ready, or you're in temporary housing first.

Plan the move as two halves

1. Move-out day: everything leaves the old home. What you need for the gap goes with you; the rest goes into storage.
2. Move-in day: storage comes to the new home.

We can handle both halves: move you out, store what you don't need during the gap, and bring it to the new home when you're ready. Tell us both dates, even roughly, when you book.

What to keep with you

Pack a separate set of boxes for the gap, and label them clearly so they don't end up in storage:

• documents, passports, medication and anything you'll need for the closing or the new lease
• work equipment and chargers
• clothes for the length of the gap, plus a season ahead if it's long
• children's school things and favourite toys
• a basic kitchen kit if you'll be cooking

Pack for storage, not just for the truck

• Use proper boxes, closed and taped, so they stack.
• Label every box with the room it's going to at the new place.
• Take apart what you can (bed frames, tables) so it stores flat; we put furniture back together at the new place.
• Don't store what you don't need. Anything you're not taking costs money to move twice. We can haul it away in the same booking.

Costs

Local moves are priced by home size, from $599 for a studio or one-bedroom; see our pricing page. Ask about storage when you book and we'll include it in your quote. For moves out of the region, see long-distance moving.

Call 604-348-7640 or get a moving quote.