Start with the building office, not the moving company
Before you book a crew, contact your building's strata or property management office and ask three things: whether a freight elevator reservation is required, whether a certificate of insurance is needed from the moving company, and whether there is a specific move-in window such as weekday mornings only. Getting these answers first means the crew you hire can actually plan around them.
Some buildings also charge a refundable damage deposit tied to the move booking, which is worth confirming early since it can take a day or two to process.
Booking the elevator itself
Freight elevator slots near the end of the month go quickly, since that is when most leases across Burnaby turn over at once. If your move date is flexible, a mid-month weekday often has more open slots than the last Saturday of the month.
Once you have a confirmed window, pass it straight to your moving crew. A booked slot that arrives to a crew that was not told the exact time is nearly as bad as no booking at all.
What move-in inspections usually check
Many Metrotown buildings do a short walk-through of the hallway, elevator cab and lobby before and after your move, checking for existing scuffs or damage so nobody is unfairly blamed later. If your building does this, ask the concierge or the property manager to walk it with your moving crew lead so everyone signs off on the same starting condition.
Parking and loading
Loading zones directly outside Metrotown towers fill quickly, especially near the mall entrances, and some buildings require the truck to book a specific loading bay through the property manager rather than simply parking outside. Confirm this ahead of time so your crew is not circling the block looking for somewhere to unload.
The unit itself
Once inside, most of the challenge is corners and doorways rather than distance, since towers are built efficiently and hallways are often narrower than in an older house. A crew used to Metrotown buildings will have already measured for this kind of thing on other moves in the same or a similar tower, which is one advantage of hiring locally rather than a crew unfamiliar with the area.
A short checklist before your date
Confirm the freight elevator booking in writing, not just verbally with the concierge. Ask whether a certificate of insurance is required and, if so, request it from your moving company at least a week ahead. Check whether the building expects a refundable damage deposit and how it is paid. Ask about a move-in inspection and whether the property manager or concierge needs to be present.
None of these steps take long individually, but skipping one is the most common reason a booked move gets delayed at the front desk on the day itself, after everything else has already been arranged.