What is a Senior Move Manager?

Susan Stanhope, of Moving Elders with Ease, recently answered my questions about finding a senior move manager to help move mom from home to her new apartment in Assisted Living.

We manage and coordinate all aspects of a client's physical relocation from one residence to another. Typical service offerings include furniture placement for the new space, downsizing and de-cluttering assistance, professional packing, mover oversight and coordination, and complete unpacking and setting up the new home, including decor and artwork. I also shop with/for clients and coordinate liquidation of excess belongings, among other ancillary services.

What is your background and/or training?

After careers in banking, sales, non-profit management and fundraising, I created Move Elders With Ease in 2009 to help senior adults and their families reduce the stress which moving can cause. As an experienced and certified Senior Move Manager(R) and Certified Senior Advisor(R), I am well versed in the various facets of moving as well as aging in general and can help my clients with partial move assistance or a full turn-key relocation.

What value do you bring to your clients?

Just the idea of moving can be extremely daunting to senior adults who typically have more health concerns and less energy than they did in younger years. Adult children of seniors can also feel very overwhelmed by the prospect of coordinating a move for their parent while also fulfilling their responsibilities to an employer, their spouse and their own children. By hiring a senior move manager, the senior adult and their family members are able to focus on the parent’s emotional well-being while the move manager handles all of the logistics. Stress is reduced for the entire family making for a much easier and smoother transition to the new residence and community. A recent survey by the National Association of Senior Move Managers reports that 97% of clients who used a senior move manager felt the service was a good value for the price and 100% reported that the services relieved much stress and they would recommend these services to others.

Are there credentials? If so, what kind of credentials should we look for when selecting a senior move manager?

Credentials include, at a minimum, membership in and certification by the National Association of Senior Move Managers. Some senior move managers also have additional certifications as a Certified Senior Advisor(R) and Certified Relocation and Transition Specialist. Years of experience as a senior move manager is also an important decision factor.

What are the three most common reasons people contact you?

Senior adults often contact me when they are overwhelmed by the thought of a move and don’t know how to start the process; they may have no local family members to assist with the move, or they don’t want to burden their adult children who are often busy with their own work and familial obligations. Or the senior adult may be in rehab and unable to return home because it is no longer a safe living environment for them.

Tell me one story about how you have helped a client?

John lived alone in a three-bedroom home in Chapel Hill, his wife having predeceased him several years earlier. John decided to move to a senior community in PA to be closer to his sons who live in Pennsylvania and Maine, and called Move Elders With Ease for assistance. I first helped John determine which furniture items would fit safely in his new two-bedroom apartment and also created a shopping list of new furniture items to be purchased in PA. John's sons came for a visit and chose items they wished to have moved to their respective homes. Move Elders With Ease arranged for shipment of the chosen items directly to the son in ME and also helped John consider which belongings to move to PA, including cookware and dishes, artwork and décor, clothing, bedding and all other furnishings. We contacted estate sale and consignment professionals to arrange the sale of certain sellable belongings. Move Elders With Ease then obtained three mover quotes for John’s long distance move to PA, including delivery of items to the PA son. We professionally packed all of John's belongings and oversaw the loading of the truck on move day, insuring that the correct items for John and the PA son were placed on the truck. We also arranged for and oversaw the pickup of donation items by a local charity and arranged for a local hauler to remove items from the home that had to be recycled or taken to the landfill. Once the home was completely clear, we delivered the key to the realtor.

Since this was a long distance move, I communicated regularly with the senior move management team in PA who met the moving truck, oversaw the unload and placement of furniture, and completely unpacked John’s new apartment, allowing him to quickly begin enjoying life in his new community. If this had been a local move, Move Elders With Ease would have overseen the entire move and completed the unpacking and settling process, including the hanging of artwork if desired.

How do I find a Senior Move Manager if I don't live in this region? Is there a database or association I should search?

There are senior move managers located throughout the United States and Canada, and in some other countries around the world. I suggest you visit our national association’s website at www.NASMM.org and follow the "Find a Senior Move Manager" prompts to see which senior move managers operate in your area.

What can I expect to pay for these services?

As I’m sure you understand, individual move management businesses set their own pricing structures which vary by company as well as geographic location. The cost of an individual project in the Raleigh/Durham area can range from $1,000 to more than $10,000 depending on the number of services the client chooses to utilize, the size of their current and future residence, and the amount of belongings they own. The more "stuff" we pack, the more time it takes and the higher the fee.

What are names of other individuals/agencies working in this region in this space?

Here to Home, Inc; Carolina Relocation and Transition Specialists

Any additional advice?

Starting the downsizing process sooner rather than later allows you to experience even less stress once the move date draws near. That being said, we sometimes move clients with very little notice, depending on availability of staff and movers. In general, though, it is never too early to start downsizing and de-cluttering your home, even if you won't be moving for months. And one-hour in-home consultations are typically free of charge.