Frequently Asked Questions

It starts with a WhatsApp message in English. Give us the two locations, the floor and the elevator at each end, an idea of how much you own and the date you need. We answer with a written list of what the move includes and a single closed price. When you accept, we book an independent moving company that has confirmed your date and route, and send reminders about parking, building rules and what to put aside. The same chat stays open on moving day and afterwards, so any question has one place to go.

No. MovingIL is the planner and the one contact you deal with: we scope the job, set the price and coordinate everything. It does not own trucks and does not employ the people who carry your furniture. The packing, loading, driving and carrying are done by independent moving companies, and you learn which company is doing your move before the day.

Seven things cover most moves: the two addresses (a neighborhood is enough to start), the floor at each end, whether there is a working elevator and how big it is, how far a truck can park from the entrance, a rough list of furniture and boxes, your date or date range, and the extras you want, such as packing or furniture assembly. Photos of the stairwell, your biggest sofa or wardrobe and the main rooms help far more than a long description.

A closed price is one number, agreed in writing before the move, for a written list: what is moving, between which addresses and floors, on which date and with which services. Anything not on that list, such as a service you add later or a different address, is not included until you agree to it in writing. If the access turns out different from what you described, for example because the elevator is out of order, we tell you before the work continues.

Book as soon as your date is fixed. The busiest stretch is summer, when leases turn over and families want to settle in before school starts, and the end of every month fills quickly. Fridays and the eves of Jewish holidays are short working days, and movers rarely work on Shabbat or the main holidays, so anything that must be finished before one of them needs an early start. If your date has some give, tell us in your first message.

Keys rarely change hands on the same day, so a gap of a day or two is common and can be planned around. Send us both handover dates in your first message. If they overlap, the move can happen in one day. If there is a gap, the options are asking a landlord for a short extension, or moving in two stages, with the first load on the day the new keys arrive and the rest after the old home is cleared. Check what the handover protocol (the written record of the apartment's condition) requires at each address.

In practice, often yes. The truck has to stop close to the entrance, and whether a space can be reserved, who requests it and how far ahead all depend on your municipality, so ask the municipality before moving day and send us what they tell you. We time the move around it. A photo of the street and the entrance helps the movers judge how close they can get. Also ask the vaad bayit (building committee) about rules on elevator hours or floor protection.

We ask before pricing, because access is where moves go wrong. Tell us how many flights there are, how wide the stairwell and the doorways are, and which pieces worry you, typically an American-style refrigerator, a large sectional sofa, a built-in wardrobe or a heavy desk. Measure the piece and the narrowest point on its way out, or send photos. Walk-ups with no elevator take longer and need more hands, which affects the price. If something looks impossible, we say so and discuss the options before the price is set.

You deal with us in English, and we deal with the movers. Before the day we brief them on the list, the floors and the rooms. On the day, have a one-page sheet that says where each room's boxes go, with the Hebrew word beside the English one: salon (living room), mitbach (kitchen), cheder sheina (bedroom), mamad (safe room). Keep the WhatsApp conversation open and write there if something needs explaining, and we pass it on. If you would like movers who speak English, ask, and we will say honestly whether your date allows it.

Carry the things you cannot replace yourself: passports and other documents, cash, jewelry, medication, laptops, chargers and keys, plus a first-night bag with bedding, a kettle, toiletries and a phone charger. A standard move does not include hazardous or flammable goods such as gas canisters, paint, solvents and aerosols, perishable food or pets. Boxes you packed yourself are carried as they are, without anyone checking what is inside, so label them by room.

Not with the container itself. MovingIL coordinates moves between two places inside Israel, so shipping from abroad, unloading at the port and customs are handled by the international shipper or the customs agent you hire for that. What we can coordinate is the move after you land: from a first rental or an absorption center to your next home, or from a relative's home to your own apartment.

Yes. Someone you trust should be at each address to open the door, show where things go and check the list against what arrives, and it does not have to be you. Give us that person's name and WhatsApp number in the conversation, and the movers are briefed accordingly. A relative or friend can handle the keys while you agree the list and the price with us in English from abroad.

The terms are written into the quote before you confirm anything: how much, when it is due, which payment methods are accepted, whether a deposit is needed, and what happens if you cancel or change the date. Nothing is binding until you approve the written quote, so ask for anything important to be added in writing. Nothing in our terms limits any cancellation right that Israeli consumer law gives you.

Photograph the item and its packaging, and write to us the same day. We pass the report to the moving company that did your move and follow it up. Responsibility for damage during the move sits with that company under its own terms and the law, and MovingIL does not provide insurance, so before you confirm a quote, ask in writing what cover the moving company has. Noting problems when they happen, rather than weeks later, makes any claim easier.