How Does a Virtual Survey Work for a Long Distance Move?

When you use a long distance moving company, a pre-move survey helps build your custom moving quote. Because most customers today have access to smartphones and tablets, these surveys are often done virtually. By showing a moving company the items and furniture that you’re moving, they can understand the weight and size of the move. This helps them give you a much more accurate idea of what you’ll pay on moving day.

In brief, a pre-move survey helps us plan as effectively as possible. At National Van Lines we’ve been moving homes long distances for nearly a century, so we know that it’s vital to take stock of the items in your home, and virtual surveys let you do just that by using your smartphone or tablet. Here’s how it all works, why it matters for an accurate quote, and how to make the most of your own virtual survey.

What Is a Pre-Move Survey Before a Long Distance Move?

A pre-move survey is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a detailed review of everything in your house that you plan to move, and it takes place before the moving truck arrives. At National Van Lines, one of our MovePro coordinators will use this survey to build a detailed inventory of your shipment. The survey helps document the following.

• The different kinds of rooms in your house.
• The various belongings you plan to move.
• The total weight of your items and furniture.

Because this survey is virtual, you’ll just need your smartphone or tablet to take your MovePro coordinator on a tour of your home. While you do so, the MovePro coordinator will build your moving inventory in real time—they’ll also take note of what you’re not taking with you.

The goal here is to get a complete, accurate picture of what your move involves. The more your coordinator can see, the closer your estimate will be to the final cost of your move.

What Does National Van Lines Look at During a Virtual Survey?

When you complete a virtual survey, your move coordinator will create a cube sheet. This is a standardized inventory that assigns average weights to every item in your home, and that total weight is what your quote is based on. During the survey, your MovePro will review the main details that affect your estimate.

• Furniture in every room, including items in storage areas, garages and workshops.
• Box counts for packed and unpacked areas, with estimates for what remains.
• Items that need special handling such as antiques, artwork, large mirrors or fragile equipment.
• Packing needs, including whether you’ll handle the packing or use National Van Lines packing services.
• Truck access at your current address, including street width, driveway length, and any access limitations.

These factors will give your MovePro better data to work with so they can deliver the best estimate possible.

When you do the walkthrough survey, take your time and be thorough. When you capture all the details early-on, you can get the most accurate final cost before moving day.

National Van Lines shipment data shows how much weight can vary by home size.

• A three-bedroom home typically falls in the 5,000–9,000 pound range.
• A four-bedroom home runs 9,000–13,000 pounds.
• A large home or one with a full workshop, multiple outbuildings or extensive storage can exceed 13,000 pounds.

What Happens After the Virtual Moving Survey?

Your quote is based on the estimated weight of your shipment. The cube sheet your MovePro or moving coordinator builds during the virtual survey is what produces that weight estimate. A complete survey means a more accurate estimate. If you want to understand exactly how that estimate becomes a final quote, read our guide on how to understand long distance moving quotes.

As the years pass, you may steadily accumulate possessions – sporting equipment, collectibles, more furniture and so on. And in fact, you may not notice the volume of items in your home until you’re getting ready to move. That’s why you should not hesitate to call your moving company with any updates on the extra items you’ve decided to bring with you. Your MovePro or moving coordinator can update your quote and help ensure you get the most accurate price possible before the big day.

“The initial survey gives us a strong starting point, but it’s not set in stone. As you get closer to your move and things get clearer (what you’re packing, what’s staying), we can update the estimate to reflect that.”

— Aaron Bacon, Director of Sales Development, National Van Lines

How to Prepare for Your Virtual Survey

A little preparation before your virtual survey will make a real difference in the accuracy of your estimate. Here’s what to do before your appointment.

1. Decide who is packing what before the call. This is the most common source of confusion in estimates. If National Van Lines will be packing your kitchen but you’ll be handling your home office, keep this in mind before the survey starts, and be consistent throughout. Changing the answer mid-walkthrough will affect the labor estimate.
2. Walk every space yourself first. Include areas like storage rooms, closets, attics, garages, sheds and workshops. Every space that contains items you plan to move must be on the walkthrough.
3. Flag items that need special handling. Large mirrors, antiques, custom furniture, artwork, ship models, gun safes and similar items need to be identified during the survey so that the right packing materials and crew can be planned.
4. Know what will not be moved. If items are staying behind, being donated or going to storage separately, tell your coordinator as each room comes up. A very specific inventory of what will actually be moved with you is much more useful than a complete inventory of everything you own.
5. Test your camera and connection in advance. Make sure your smartphone camera is enabled for video calls, and that you have a reliable Wi-Fi signal throughout your home, including any outbuildings. Losing connection in a workshop or garage is common, and can mean finishing that area with still photos instead.

Why National Van Lines Uses Virtual Moving Surveys

National Van Lines has been moving families across the country since 1929. The virtual survey is a newer tool, but the standard behind it is not. Every pre-move survey, whether in-home or virtual, gives the crew an accurate picture of the job before the truck ever arrives.

Because National Van Lines is employee-owned, the people conducting your survey have a direct stake in the outcome of your move. Your coordinator stays with you throughout the entire process, and that continuity will prove its value if something changes after the survey and before moving day itself.

The virtual format also means that your coordinator can look beyond the obvious. Access checks, room-by-room box counts, and questions about who handles packing are part of every walkthrough because they affect how the move is planned, priced and executed.

As you can imagine, we’ve received many questions over the years about virtual moving surveys. We’d like to answer a few of the most common questions for you here.

Start Your Long Distance Move With a Virtual Survey

A virtual move survey is the step that refines a rough estimate into an accurate one. It often takes less than an hour, requires nothing more than your phone, and gives your National Van Lines move coordinator everything needed to plan and price your move correctly. The more you show, the better idea you’ll have of what you’ll pay for the move. Start the conversation with National Van Lines by calling 800-323-1962 or getting an accurate quote before moving day.