Bangalore

Shippers/Packers and Movers

Once you have secured your home, and you are ready to move in, you will need to arrange for the transportation of your household goods. It is recommended to hire professional packers and movers for the moving in process because reputable companies will employ trained and responsible staff who will take care of your valuable (monetary and otherwise) possessions. You are highly unlikely to get reliable moving services if you arrange it on your own.

You can either have your household goods delivered to an Indian port by movers/shippers from your own country, or contact agencies that have an international division, who will take care of the entire move from your country to India. They will advise you on any documentation you need to provide, and give you an estimate before taking on the job.

Packers and Movers (who do provide both domestic and international services):

• Writer Corporation http://www.writercorporation.com
• Euro Packers & Movers Private Limited http://www.europackersindia.com
• 123 Packers Movers http://123packersmovers.com/
• Aakash International Packers & Movers http://www.eindiabusiness.com/packersandmovers/
• Alliance Logistics http://www.alliancelogisticsindia.com/

All the companies above also offer freight forwarding services for larger packages, but for smaller consigments you can use courier companies such as:

• FedEx http://www.fedex.com/in/
• DHL http://www.dhl.co.in/
• TNT http://www.tnt.com/

Utilities

As part of the moving in process, there are a couple of other details you will need to arrange in terms of utilities if they do not already come as a package with the house.

Your home will come with water and electricity connections, which you will only need to pay for on a monthly basis, depending on your usage. If you purchased your home, you will need to inform the municipality that your name should now be on the bill. If you are renting, you need not do anything, and bills will be issued in your landlord’s name. Electricity is managed by BESCOM and water by BWSSB (both acronyms for Banaglores Electricity and Water departments). An employee of each of these departments will take your water and meter readings every month and deliver a bill, which needs to be paid at your local water or electricity office. In apartments, this will normally be done on your behalf by the security people, if that luxury does not exist for you, however, you can request that someone in your employment does this for you. Alternatively, you would need to visit your local municipal office and pay it in person. You can also pay bills online if your bank is one of those registered for the service and https://www.billjunction.com for water.

Electricity charges are lower per unit consumed, the less you use, and get exponentially higher the more you use. Depending on your usage, you could be paying anywhere from under 1,000 rupees a month to as high as 10,000 rupees a month for a family of four if your house is centrally air-conditioned (air conditioning and heated water in the bathrooms are the major draws).

Most often, you will need to get a gas cylinder for your kitchen, if you use a gas stove (gas is most often not piped in, except in the very new and upmarket apartments. Most houses use gas cylinders that attach to your stove, and need to be replaced when empty. You will need to get a gas connection, which is easiest done by contacting Jyothi Gas Agencies http://jyothigas.com/ who will install a cylinder at your home the same day, and bring in replacements whenever needed. There is usually a one-time connection fee of Rs. 1,000 and the cost of a cylinder is around Rs. 600 and should last a family of four for a month and a half.

Post and Courier

You do not have to inform the local post office in order to start receiving mail. Just make sure that you include your area/zip code (PIN code) when giving out your postal address. Addresses in Bangalore sometimes have an ‘old’ door number and a ‘new’ door number. Unfortunately, this means that you should include both the old and the new number in your address as postal employees may sometimes be confused by the new one, making it somewhat redundant! To send post, use the nearest post box, or visit the post office, usually open from 9am to 5pm Mon-Sat. You can find the location of your nearest post office on http://www.indiapost.gov.in/.

Most major courier services (FedEx, DHL and Blue Dart) will come home to pick up couriers. They will also deliver to your security person if you are away unless it is from a bank.

Insurance

It is not compulsory to have your home insured in India, but it is recommended that you take out insurance both for the structure of your home and for its contents if you a purchasing, or only for the contents if you are renting.

Policy premiums are not very expensive. Structural policies cover damage to the house in case of fire, flood, earthquake and policies that cover your belongings protect against burglary, fire and water damage, and sometimes mechanical and electrical breakdown. The companies listed below offer separate policies for the house structure, and for its contents.

Insurance Providers for Household Goods:

• • Royal Sundaram General Insurance: http://www.royalsundaram.in
  • The Oriental Insurance company: http://www.orientalinsurance.nic.in/