How Much Does It Cost To Move?
It’s not a secret that moving house is an expensive endeavor but the real issue that’s probably going to get you worried for real is how expensive it is. Some things can be pricey for some people but mere pocket money for others – therefore, it’s important to know in advance how much it will cost to move to another home.
Considering that each and every house move is a unique relocation case with unique pre-move parameters (pick-up location, delivery location, move distance, overall shipment weight, additional services, presence of specialty items to move, and so on), only professional movers can estimate the price correctly after an in-home survey. And yet, you will need to know the average price to move a house in order to set up your budget accordingly.
So, how much does it cost to move across the country or locally to a new home? Find out below.
How much does it cost to move a house? /price factors/
It goes without saying that the moving price will depend on a number of key factors – understand what those fundamental price factors are and you will be able to use special cost reduction methods /see below to find out what they are/. After all, you wouldn’t mind paying less to have your household items moved to where they are supposed to be moved, would you?
Size of your home. Just how big your home is will determine, more or less, how many items you will need to move to the new residence. If you’re moving just a short distance away, the local moving company you end up hiring will charge you by the hour, which means more stuff will take more time to be packed and transported. Therefore, it’s vital from a financial standpoint to only move the items that must be moved. When moving across the country, the size of your home will influence the shipment weight in direct proportion, again, and the moving cost will go up as a result.
Number of items to be moved. The size of your house or apartment will be linked directly to the number of things found under its roof – at least in most cases. Early in your preparations, one of your best opportunities to lower the final moving bill is to reduce the number of the items you’re taking with you. Do yourself a favor – go through your belongings with a watchful eye knowing that the fewer things you choose to move, the more money you will save up in the end. /How to get rid of unwanted items when moving/
Number of special items to be moved. The cost to move house will drastically increase if you own any specialty items in your home AND you make up your mind to take them with you no matter the cost. Moving an upright piano is a perfect example of how the house moving costs will go up, as will be the case when moving a pool table, a hot tub, a heavy metal safe, and even a grandfather clock. Moving house for less is all about making the right decisions when it matters the most.
The move distance cannot possibly be ignored: it makes a big difference price-wise whether you’re moving locally or across the country.
Total weight of items to be moved. The cost to move across country will also be determined by the overall of your entire shipment. Yes, an experienced representative from a cross country moving company will give you a price estimate based on the initial evaluation of the size of furniture pieces in your home, together with the rest of your household items. However, when your things are safely loaded into the moving vehicle, the latter will be weighed at a certified weigh station and you will be issued a weigh ticket with the precise mass of your belongings.
Move distance. Whether you’re moving just across the street, within the same town or city, to a neighboring city, to another state, or coast to coast, you need to understand that the distance between the two homes will remain a value you cannot possibly change or influence for the better. Instead, turn your attention to the price factors you do have control over, such as the number of things for packing and moving, the additional services provided by professional movers, and the season and date of your residential move.
Additional moving services. This is an important decision – how many extra services, if any, will you request from your mover? It’s easier to assume that each extra service will cost you… extra, but the real question is just how much that additional burden will be for your savings? Packing, unpacking, are temporary storage are all additional services offered by the best full-service movers but you must decide if you really need them or not. Keep in mind that the simple decision to pack up your home by yourself (backup by family members and good friends, of course) will enable you to save loads of money on your local or long distance move.
Exact move-out date. You may not think that the date of your house move is a price factor, but it turns out that it is. If you choose to move out during the high season for the moving and storage industry /September – May/, then you shouldn’t be too surprised to see higher moving company rates and experience less availability of professional moving experts. On the other hand, if you have the flexibility to set the moving date whenever you wish, then you should consider moving during the off-season when the chance of getting a really good deal pricewise is quite big.
Must-read info: 13 ways to save money when moving house
How much does it cost to move home locally?
A move distance of around 100 miles will classify your residential move as a local one – something that will determine how and how much you get charged for the moving job itself. In general, moving locally gives you the bonus option of organizing and executing your own move by yourself – as compared to hiring a local moving company to do it for you.
Sometimes it’s not easy to decide which relocation method is better for you – the only way to make a decent comparison that will actually make sense is to ask professional movers for price quotes and then compare them to the possible self-moving costs.
Of course, you shouldn’t base your decision on price alone – factor in the time you will lose or gain in each case, as well as the risks and dangers that you will be facing during a DIY move due to inexperience.
So, how much does it cost to move locally? Here’s what you need to know for the two local moving scenarios:
Self-moving costs
Do you know where to find free moving boxes for your local or cross country move?
The cost of moving a house by yourself will be determined by:
Moving vehicle. Your best bet is to have a friend who owns a pickup truck you can borrow in exchange for returning the favor your way, but that could easily be a long shot. The more realistic move plan is to rent a moving truck from the local truck rental agency. Renting a 14’’ truck (usually enough for a 2-bedroom home) will cost around $20-$30 per day + approx. $0.70-$1 per mile, while renting a 24’’ truck (usually enough for a 3-4 bedroom home) can cost around $40-$70 for one day + approx. $0.70-$1 per mile. However, don’t forget the cost of the truck rental insurance (usually around $150) plus extra fees and surcharges that might hurt your budget.
Packing supplies. If you have enough time to spare prior to moving day, it’s possible that you find most of the cardboard boxes you need for free, or almost for free. Here you can find a complete checklist of the places where you should be able to find free moving boxes. Nevertheless, you will still need to purchase sheets of bubble wrap, white packing paper, packing tape, and of course – cardboard boxes if you haven’t been able to secure them in advance.
Hidden self-moving costs. To estimate moving costs when moving on your own, you shouldn’t forget to include additional DIY moving costs that people often fail to take into consideration, such as moving insurance, road tolls and taxes, food, lodging, and so on. The moment you include the possibility of personal injuries and property damage, the cost of moving by yourself can easily become too much to handle.
Really important: 5 costly self-moving mistakes to avoid
Local movers cost
Reputable local movers charge their clients by the hour regardless of whether they are currently packing, carrying large furniture, loading the moving truck, or unloading. And this is exactly why the time factor becomes crucial for the well-being of your local moving budget.
The average cost of local movers is between $30 and $50 per hour per mover – the local moving rates will differ from company to company and from city to city.
Each extra moving expert will cost you extra, and most of the time, you will get from 2 to 4 movers depending on the size of your residence and the urgency of your move.
Moving out of a studio apartment will require 2 movers to work approximately 4 hours, which will amount to about $240-$400.
If you’re moving out of a 2-bedroom home, expect to pay somewhere between $540 and $900 for 3 movers to finish the job in about 6 hours.
Moving the household items from a 3-bedroom home usually requires 4 local movers and approximately 8 hours to finish their job, which will cost you somewhere between $960 and $1600.
Also, expect to be charged a travel fee that amounts to 1 hour of moving labor. That fee is the time the moving crew needs to reach your pickup location from their office of operation.
How much does it cost to move across country
According to the American Moving & Storage Association, the average cost of moving cross country is roughly $4,300 for a move distance of 1,225 miles. However, not only will the price of your long distance move vary from the above-mentioned average moving cost due to the unique circumstances around your relocation case, but it will also be too complicated to calculate it unless you let the estimation matters to the pros.
Have your moving cost calculated by your professional moving company and never look back.
Top-rated cross country moving companies will send their representatives to your home for a visual inspection of the items you have for moving and a general risk assessment of any possible dangers on moving day. Such in-home visits by experienced moving specialists are extremely important because 1) you get an accurate long distance price estimate, 2) you get the chance to ask the representatives essential questions that seem to worry you, and 3) you eliminate the possibility of getting unpleasant moving-day surprises as long as the costs are concerned.
Use our moving cost calculator to learn how much your moving price will be.
To get a general idea of what to expect to pay when hiring one of the best cross country moving companies in the country, here are some average cross country moving costs /remember that they can only be used as reference/:
1-bedroom apartment: roughly $2000 for a move distance of 1000 miles and shipment weight of 3500 lbs. No additional services are included.
2-bedroom home: approximately $2500 for a move distance of 1000 miles and shipment weight of 5500 lbs. No additional services are included.
3-bedroom home: about $3500 for a move distance of 1000 miles and shipment weight of 8000 lbs. No additional services are included
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