Moving to a new home is not cheap by any means and It hits you because of all the typical costs of moving a house. Moving estimate is very much required to have a look upon your moving budget and cost involving the process. To get right moving quotes, you need to provide more information to the moving company and moving company needs to view all your belongings the items in your home that you need to have moved by taking in-home & virtual walk-throughs, so that estimators can see your belongings, the layout of your home and the areas to enter and exit your home. These walk-throughs enable estimators to review special requirements if any and also answer your questions and concerns. After this kind of walk-through, they provide you an official moving quote.
Average Moving Cost
Generally, the average moving cost of a local move is $1,250 and for a long-distance move, it is $4,890 approximately. As the moving cost depends upon many things including the weight of your belongings and distance to be moved, these estimates are based on a 2 – 3 bedroom, move of approximately 7,500 pounds.
Factors that Affect Your Moving Cost
Factors influencing your moving costs may include:
- Travel fees: Travel fees is a major factor especially in long-distance moves that may include fuel costs and labor costs. It may also include road taxes to be paid while traveling from point A to point B.
- Size of your move: Another major factor that affects your move is the size and weight of your belongings. The more and heavier your shipment will be, the costlier will be the move.
- Packing Supplies: Packing materials are also very costly and impact the overall cost of your move. These moving supplies may include cardboard boxes, plastic bins, bubble wrap, packing paper and any other supplies needed for the move.
- Packing Services: If you are not planning for a DIY move and planning to hire movers to pack up your belongings then this will cost you a few extra hundred bucks or maybe even more.
- Add-on services: Any add-on services will impact the cost of your move. These add-ons services may include disassembling and reassembling furniture, moving of specialty items, and moving supplies provided by movers such as a stretch wrap felt pads and mattress bags.
- Storage Charges: In some special cases, a customer may choose to have a moving company hold or store all belongings before, during or after a move. If you too are facing a complicated move and need storage then be prepared to pay extra for this service. Storage rates may vary from moving company to moving company and it is always advisable to ask for the specifications before hiring anyone.
- Moving Date: Date and time of your move greatly affect the cost of your move. Time of your move is just as important as how you move. The specific date of your move can affect the price dramatically because moving companies are packed and booked in advance for weekends and month ends. Then there are moving seasons including the financial year-end and end of the school session. During these peak seasons, moving companies make no compromise and charge a hefty amount. Though during other times, you can expect discounts too. For example, a weekend move and/or a move during peak season costs much more than a week-day, off-season move.
- Liability and Valuation Coverage: If you’re using a moving company, it is wise to purchase some sort of liability coverage. Generally moving companies offer multiple levels of protection which may include Basic Release Value Protection and Full Value Protection. But it is advisable to purchase additional moving insurance from a third-party provider to keep your belongings safe. This too will cost you extra. Hiring the services of a professional moving company will be a substantial expense.
After all these known factors that impact the moving cost, there are a good number of hidden costs of moving, locally or long-distance. These costs should also be considered in order to manage your budget in the best possible way. You generally have two good options when it comes to packing your home for moving. One is to pack your things without professional help in which most often you take assistance from your good friends, and another is to hire professional packers to do it for you. And we generally get tempted to pack the things ourselves to save money from the packers. Though packing by yourself can
indeed save you money but you shouldn’t forget to count the hidden costs of packing materials in your budget. Other than packing tape and markers, the other three most costly packing materials are cardboard boxes, bubble wrap, and packing paper. Other than packing materials, movers may also charge for disassembling and reassembling of furniture. Elevator charges are also often neglected while calculating moving costs.
