How to prepare for a moving survey

A useful moving survey shows the job as it is, including the cupboards, awkward corners and things you have not decided about yet. You do not need to make the apartment look ready for a property listing.

Keepsake offers a free video or in-person survey. A little preparation helps us discuss the right load and access details, and gives you a place to raise questions before the move.

Start with what is going and what is staying

Walk through each room and identify the furniture and belongings you want moved. Make a short note of items that will stay, be sold or be collected separately.

If a decision is still open, keep it open in the conversation. Say that the sofa may be replaced, that a roommate has not confirmed a shared item or that storage contents still need to be checked. It is more useful to know about an uncertainty than to build a plan around an assumption.

Include belongings outside the main rooms. Hall cupboards, storage lockers, basement items and possessions at another address can change the job even when they are not visible during the initial walkthrough.

Show the contents behind the doors

Packed and unpacked belongings both need to be accounted for. Show wardrobes, cupboards, drawers and shelving rather than only the furniture around them.

You do not need to display private documents or personal information. Describe the quantity and storage space involved while keeping sensitive material out of view.

If you have already packed boxes, show where they are stored and explain whether more packing remains. A finished stack in one room does not tell us what is still in the kitchen.

Mention items that are unusually heavy, delicate, large or valuable. Show their condition and dimensions where useful, and describe any known difficulty from a previous move without assuming the same approach will be appropriate again.

Make the video view useful

For a video survey, check the device, connection and how you will move between rooms. Use enough light to show the contents clearly.

Move at a pace that lets the person surveying ask questions. Show the whole piece of furniture before moving in for a detail. If a connection drops or the picture is unclear, pause and agree on how to cover that part of the inventory.

Have a tape measure available if you can safely take a useful dimension. Do not climb, move heavy furniture or reach into an unsafe place just to show something on camera. Photographs or a later measurement may be a better way to resolve the question.

Our furniture-measuring guide explains the difference between measuring a piece and assessing the route it needs to travel.

Describe access at both addresses

Prepare the basic address and access information for the origin and destination. Include the apartment floor, stairs or elevator access, entrance arrangements and anything you know about the route between the property and the loading area.

If the new home is not yet accessible, say so. Share the information available and agree on what still needs confirmation. A photograph from a listing may help describe a room, but it does not establish every doorway dimension or building rule.

Ask management for written move requirements where applicable. Keepsake can coordinate directly with building management and handle COI requirements once the contact or requirements are provided. Elevator permissions and timing should be confirmed as part of the access discussion rather than assumed.

Decide which work you want included

Explain the help you want with packing, furniture, storage and any separate collection or removal. If you are comparing options, ask for the scope of those options to be clear.

For packing, identify which rooms or pieces you want handled. Keepsake’s packing takes place on moving day, or on the first day of a planned two-day move. Do not plan around a separate earlier packing visit unless that arrangement has been specifically discussed.

If you want storage, explain the likely dates and whether you will need anything from the load during the gap. The conversation should cover the arrangement, not just the word “storage.”

Keep your own questions beside you

Write down the questions you want answered before the survey starts. It is easy to forget a concern while walking through rooms and explaining furniture.

Useful questions concern what is included, what remains to be confirmed and how changes should be communicated. Ask about anything that affects your decision, including the proposed dates and the responsibilities at each address.

A survey gathers information for a quote; it is not itself confirmation that a date has been booked. Our guide to reading a moving quote explains what to check when the written scope arrives.

Tell us when the plan changes

Keep a note of additions, removals or changes after the survey. Send material updates before moving day rather than relying on the crew discovering them on arrival.

You do not need to predict every detail at the first conversation. A useful survey identifies the job, the decisions still open and the information needed to finish planning it.