If you are from the city of Fort Collins then we are sure you are familiar with the U+2 or otherwise known as the 3 unrelated law. The Fort Collins City Council proposed this law that states that no more than 3 unrelated people can live in a single residence. According to the Fort Collins City Council,  a Family is defined as being “an individual living alone or with any number of persons who are all related by blood, marriage, adoption, guardianship, or other duly authorized custodial relationship, and who live together as a single housekeeper unit and share the same common living, sleeping, cooking, and eating facilities”.

The penalties for breaking this law hardly seem fair. Upon a receipt of complaint, the staff begins investigation. The owner/property manager will be contacted with a disclosure form. A certain amount of time will be given to correct the over occupancy however if the occupancy is not fixed then there is the potential fine of $1000 per person.

Know and understand that even if you own the house, this law still applies to you. Even guests who spend 30 calender nights at the residence are considered to be occupants. Please be careful, unfortunately, many renters have lost their homes to this law.  The only way to avoid this problem is to make sure your complying with the law.

If you should have any questions regarding this law you can contact neighborhood services at 970-224-6046 and if you are a Colorado State University Student you can contact student legal services.

Our series of Terminology Tuesday is to help YOU avoid all moving problems by being informed and planning ahead. Unfortunately there are so many scam moving companies who will take advantage of you. We want to make sure you know your Rights and Responsibilities when it comes to you and your precious belongings. To keep you informed, we define moving terms to help you understand the moving lingo so the scam moving companies cannot get away with much. This week we wanted to inform you of resources that will help you learn more about your Rights and Responsibilities.

You can receive a copy of Your Rights and Responsibilities and other helpful consumer information at http://www.protectyourmove.gov

To find out whether a mover is registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration visit http://www.protectyoumove.gov

You can obtain information about a mover, broker or freight forwarder’s insurance and process agent by visiting http://www.li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov or by calling (202) 385-2423

To get assistance to determine if a mover has assessed the correct transportation charges call the Surface Transportation Board at (866) 254-1792

To file a complaint against a mover visit http://www.protectyourmove.gov

“The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) develops, maintains and enforces Federal regulations that establish safe operating requirements for commercial vehicle drivers, carriers, vehicles and vehicle equipment. The FMCSA regulates household goods movers and requires them to register with the agency. It’s regulations protect consumers on interstate moves and define the rights and responsibilities of consumers and household goods carriers”

To help you out we have provided a list of questions you should ask and know before requesting services from any mover.  These are your Rights and Responsibilities furnished by your mover as required by Federal Law.

• What is my mover’s normal liability for loss or damage when my mover accepts goods from me?
• What actions by me limit or reduce my movers normal liability?
• What are the dangerous or hazardous materials that may limit or reduce my mover’s normal liability?
• Should my mover have agents?
• What items must be in my movers advertisements?
• How does my mover handle complaints and inquiries?
• Do I have the right to inspect my movers tariffs applicable to my move?
• Must my mover have an arbitration program?
• Must my mover inform me about my rights and responsibilities under the Federal Law?
• What additional information does my mover provide for me?
• How does my mover collect charges?
• May my mover collect charges upon delivery?
• May my mover extend credit to me?
• May my mover accept charge or credit card for payments?

At Exodus, we are locally owned and locally involved. We support and work with many local businesses and know the importance of supporting people right in our own backyard.

Even though we help people relocate from all over the world; whether they are moving to Northern Colorado or not, we still put a heavy focus on being involved with local non-profits, going to events and festivals, and promoting the businesses and charities we work with.

A way that you can get your business or office involved is through BALLE - Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, which is a national organization whose mission is to catalyze, strengthen, and connect local business networks dedicated to building strong Local Living Economies. BALLE has over 70 active networks across the US and Canada. To learn more visit http://livingeconomies.org

Another great way is just by riding your bike down the street and shopping at the farmers market, buying your clothes from a local retailer and having dinner at a community restaurant. Supporting the business down the street builds our local economies, which is vital to overcoming the economic downturn. The small mom and pop shops are closing faster than you can imagine because they cannot compete with the big box stores. Try to think of alternatives within your community to support businesses that are locally owned and operated.

So you have decided to make the decision to move abroad. It’s easy to focus on how to prepare ourselves for the big travel day but we cannot forget about our four legged friends and their safety when traveling. We have provided a few pointers that we feel you can benefit from when it comes to moving internationally with your pet.

First things first, we suggest that you contact the local consulate of the destination country; you need to know the pet requirements regarding quarantine and other strict standards. Remember, pets also need documentation for travel but don’t forget that each country abides by different regulations so make sure you do some research!

Find an airline that will work for you. Being comfortable and confident of your pet’s well being when traveling internationally is important for any pet owner; so we suggest you communicate with a few different airline companies to find one that will work best for you and help you feel at ease with your pet’s safety.

It may or may not be time for a checkup but it’s important to visit the vet before your day of departure. This will help you get clarity regarding any questions and concerns for your pet’s health.

Limit your pet’s food intake before the day of travel but allow regular water access because dehydration can be very dangerous to your pet’s health.  It is also important to allow your pet any physical activity before the day of travel.

Even though your pet may be out of your sight when you are traveling, there are a few things you can do to make it easier for the airline to care for your pet. To ensure the best care for your pet, double check that the crate in which your pet will travel in, is large enough for them to lay down comfortably and to turn around and stand freely.  Mark the crate with a sign that reads “Live Animal- This Side Up” including your name, address and telephone number. Provide two bowls and enough food for your pet, in case of any delays or emergencies.

We have some exciting news that we would like to share with you!

Both Jake Atchison and Ilan Levy with Exodus Moving just received their AMSA and CMC Certifications! AMSA is the American Moving and Storage Association and the CMC test is to become a Certified Moving Consultant. This test requires months of studying and a written exam and both Jake and Illan passed it with flying colors! We are so proud of all their hard work! Not to mention how special they are to be 2 of the few CMC certified individuals. There are only 4 other CMC certified individuals in the whole state of Colorado! WOW! Now that’s impressive!

In your search for a quality moving company, you will unfortunately have to sift through many movers who are unqualified, uncertified, and, worse, may put your belongings in danger of being damaged or stolen. However, with us, you will never be just another move. Ever. Count on our expertise and trustworthiness because not only are we good at what we do…  We love what we do!

We were lucky enough to provide our expert moving assistance for such a great cause!  Here is some feedback we received after we helped Loveland High School and their Book Drive Competition!

Today, Monday, January 18th 2010 Exodus Moving provided a large moving truck to the Loveland High Invisible Children Club for their Book Drive Competition. I am so very thankful for the Exodus Moving staff and special thanks go out to Ilan Levy for providing such great service free of charge and on such short notice. Ilan’s driver was incredibly kind and helpful. Without that truck we would have had to move over one hundred 30+ lbs boxes from Loveland High to a storage unit near the Loveland/Fort Collins Airport in over 10 trips because we didn’t have access to pickups. Invisible Children is a California-based Non-Profit Organization that is working to end the 24-year-long running war in Northern Uganda. Every year they do a book-drive competition where different schools put together “teams” and raise books. They scan the books’ ISBN codes into a computer system of a partner website of Invisible Children and see if the Website will accept the books for re-selling. All of the money the website raises from re-selling the books that were accepted and sent into the company goes to re-build schools in Uganda. As of now, Loveland High School is in 2nd Place out of the entire world. The top 3 schools get the chance to send one representative to Uganda, Africa over the summer. Ilan Levy’s contribution to our Invisible Children Team has helped us send out books quickly and efficiently so we can continue to work to stay in the top 3 and win a trip to Uganda! Thanks so much to Exodus Moving!!

-Lizz Roth

We got the nicest call from a customer we moved into storage on Tuesday.  She wanted us to know that the two movers she had were far and above the best she’s ever had.  She said we were a bit more expensive than she has paid in the past, but we were well worth every penny!  The guys were “expedient”, “careful” and above all else, a “pleasure”.  She’s moved 10 times in 15 years and we were heads above all the others.

Calls like that really make our day! Hearing positive feedback motivates us to do more for our customers! What can we say, we love what we do!

Just yesterday, our Exodus team was lucky enough to have a conference with Mr. Joel Comm social media expert, also known as Mr. Adsense or the Internet Millionaire. Joel focused his discussion about the perks of using the internet to build relationships with potential customers or create a platform for current customers to engage in conversation. Joel reassured us that the internet is about one thing…Relationships. Twitter specifically, is about people, the sense of community built by people, conversations that are made, information that is shared, questions that are asked and questions that are answered. It’s about being portable with the people that like, know and trust you.With all the scam moving companies trying to take advantage of you, wouldn’t you be more inclined to engage in  business transactions if there was added value to the relationship?

Joel also taught us about the 4 step sales process that can add value to the relationship that both parties can benefit from. For example, your Twitter profile needs to be built on a level of trust and support before profit even becomes a thought in your head. In order to be efficient and effective while building on the relationship that may one day lead to profit, three things must happen first. In this order people need to Like me- Know me- Trust me- and maybe one day- Pay me.

With all of that being said, hopefully these blogs will help you get to know a little bit about Exodus Moving Company so you can like, know, trust and maybe one day do business with us!

First and foremost, we want to stress the importance of determining if your mover is registered with FMCSA by accessing www.protectyourmove.gov or calling FMCSA at (202) 385 9805. Unfortunately, we hear so many horror stories of people signing with moving companies that seem to be too good to be true and we want to stress to you that anything that seems too good to be true… Probably is! Hopefully, our Terminology Tuesday series will help you know and understand the information provided by the professional mover. The expert mover should provide you with the following basic documents as a part of your move.

Estimates: estimates should be clearly described- in writing- do not accept oral estimates. Here at Exodus, we believe in order to get the most accurate estimate you must see what you are estimating. Therefore, we are more than happy to give you an in person estimate.

Order For Service: this is a list of all the services the mover will perform and shows the dates that the household goods will be picked up and delivered.

Bill of Landing: contract between you and the mover and receipt of ALL your belongings. You should be given a partially completed form before the vehicle even leaves the residence of origin.

Inventory List: receipt showing each item you shipped and its condition. At Exodus we provide and go over the inventory list with you so we can agree on the description of the goods condition before and after the move.

Applicable Transportation Charges: charges that a mover assesses for its services must be contained in a published tariff which MUST be made available upon request. If you feel that a mover has overcharged you, you can contact the Surface Transportation Board at (866) 254 1792 to obtain assistance.

Filing a Complaint: you may file a complaint against a mover by visiting www.protectyourmove.org or calling 1-888-DOT-SAFT Monday-Friday.

We hope that you never go through the typical horror moves that we too often hear about. It is super important that you understand your rights and your responsibilities before selecting a mover. We believe that the best way to avoid problems is to be informed and plan ahead.