There are over 6,400 high rise buildings in NYC, though most of these fall under business and commercial centers. Still, there are plenty of tall, luxury condos that boast some of the best views of New York City and the surrounding area. While it might seem easier in some cases to move into a high-rise since they have doormen and elevators, they come with their own set of challenges.
Before you move to that new high rise, you’ll want to follow the below tips to make your high-rise move as easy as possible. Of course, with the help of professional NYC movers, your move will be even easier as they will handle most of the logistics for you.
Learn Your Building’s Rules Before Moving
Whether you decide to hire Manhattan movers or go the DIY route, you’ll have to reach out to building management to figure out the rules of moving. Many high-rise apartments will only allow you to move between 9am and 5pm to avoid disturbing the other tenants. Many high rises have freight elevators where you can unload your truck, but these also have time restrictions. Some might even require you to reserve a time slot for your move-in to avoid congestion at the freight elevators. Your best bet is to reserve elevator times for around two hours of your expected arrival time. So if you plan on moving in at around 12pm, reserve the elevator between 12pm-2pm. If you think you will need more time, ask the building management for an extension.
Many high end buildings will require a certificate of insurance (COI) if you hire movers as a way to protect the building from any damages that might occur during the move. If you’re not sure if your building requires a COI, you should call the management company and ask. There’s nothing worse than being refused entry during your move-in day because you didn’t follow the rules!
Before you make the big move, make sure to call building management and ask the following questions:
- Do I need to reserve a date for my move?
- Do I need to reserve the elevator for my move? Is it a freight or regular elevator
- Do I need to hire professional movers?
- Do the movers need to have a COI?
- Are there any fees I need to consider when moving into the apartment?
- Where can I dispose of my moving supplies?
- Can you send a list of rules and regulations I can refer back to and/or send to the movers?
Work With Professional Movers
While going the DIY route might be cheaper, you’ll be on the hook for everything including any damages you might cause during the move. Hiring city movers makes the process much easier as they will take on the responsibility should anything happen. More importantly, they know how to get everything in and out quickly so you don’t go over your allocated time slot.
In some cases, luxury condos in NYC require you to use moving companies as a way to minimize risks and damage to the property. Rather than find that out the hard way, it will save you a lot of time and stress if you hire affordable and reliable movers. When hiring city movers, make sure that they are properly licensed and insured.
Schedule a Parking Space
Parking spaces are a precious commodity in New York City. If you don’t reserve a spot before your move, the moving truck could end up a couple of blocks away from the actual building. While you won’t have to deal with lugging the furniture yourself if you hire NYC movers, the move itself will end up taking longer than expected and you might go over the reservation time for the elevators.
To avoid this issue, just work with your doorman or building manager and let them know a few weeks before time about your plans and your need for a parking space. In many cases, they will make sure to have a spot available for the movers close to where they will be unloading your belongings. If the high rise apartment has an attached garage you should check to see if there are any height restrictions and relay that information back to the moving company.
Declutter
Moving into a high-rise building involved multiple trips up and down elevators. Many freight elevators tend to run on the slower side so those two-hours you reserved can go by in a flash. If you already live in NYC, chances are you probably don’t have too much stuff to move. Still, moving is a great opportunity to declutter and get rid of items that you no longer use.
If you’re not sure what to leave behind, take inventory of everything you have and get rid of anything you haven’t used in the past six months. That includes clothes, accessories, utensils, etc. For holiday-themed items, only keep a couple things that really mean a lot to you such as an ornament from your late grandmother or from a special holiday trip. You want to reduce the amount of boxes you have, thus reducing the amount of trips you need to make. It will make moving a lot faster and seamless.
When it comes to furniture it might be harder to justify throwing out a desk or sofa, especially if you don’t have the money to replace it right away. With that said, there have been many times where people have had to throw out their furniture last minute because it wouldn’t fit in their new apartment. To avoid this issue, make sure to get a floor plan of the new apartment and measure out all of your furniture to see if everything will fit. In the event that it won’t, throw out your old, ratty pieces of furniture. The nice thing about New York City is that you can easily find second-hand replacements through sites like Craigslist or even at thrift stores.
Conclusion
Moving into high rise rentals in NYC provides a lot of benefits you might not have at your current apartment. Most of these apartments offer various amenities such as 24/7 security, rooftop lounges, gym, and more. Of course, it also means more stringent rules that you will have to follow from the day you move in.
FAQ
Can Great Movers provide a COI?
Yes, we can provide a COI to your new or old building. Just let us know in advance as it can take time for our insurance company to follow the building’s guidelines and submit the certificate.
I need to move immediately, but the building manager says I can’t move in until a certain date. What can I do?
Your best bet is to move your items into storage and hold them there until you are allowed to move. Some moving companies offer storage as well and they will help move your items out of their storage facility to the new building once you are cleared to move.
The building won’t let me use the elevators! What do I do?
Did you follow all the instructions and rules? If so, do you have a paper trail of the discussion of the time and date of your move-in as well as the contact person of who you talked to if it is someone different? Contact whoever you spoke to and have the speak to whoever is handling the freight/move for the building to smooth it over. Worst case scenario, you might have to put your items in storage for a short time until you get everything sorted out.
