No matter how long we talk and write about moving, two are the main characteristics that we always associate with it: a stressful and complicated endeavor. Certainly, both of these do exist and are not just an urban legend but we rarely have control over them. One major thing, though, which plays an important role in deciding when and how to move, and we can determine prior to the, move is its cost. Few of us are wondering how complicated logistically an upcoming relocation will be but everyone is asking themselves the question “How much, on average, will my move cost ?” Regardless of the size of the move, whether it is a single-room studio or large three story house, there is a relatively narrow interval where a reasonable cost for the specific move should fall in. Hopefully, after reading this article, you’ll get a better idea of what the average cost of your move is.
The average cost of Full Service Movers
When you decide to hire a Full Service Moving Company, you should be aware that it will be responsible for every aspect of your move – from the moment movers arrive and begin packing all your belongings until each item is delivered intact and carefully unpacked and placed to its designated place. This is the best option in terms of quality of services and minimum stress involved, but this is also the most expensive one for the same two reasons. The key price-determining factor here is the distance of your relocation: for a long-distance, cross-state relocation, the price is determined by the weight of your belongings and the distance of the move. Typically, to move a 4 bedroom house between neighboring states would cost around $10,000 and above. For a local move within 100 miles from your home, you’ll be charged with an hourly rate, which will vary by the different companies. Usually, hiring a reputable moving company will cost you around $150-$170 for the same 4 room house. The price may rise if you have more items than usual and the company should use more stuff and larger moving vehicle to carry them away.
Packing is another moving-related service that may affect your average moving cost. If you have chosen to pack your items alone, you may save a substantial sum from your moving budget. Most of the moving companies and professional packers will charge you for their packing services an amount, comparable to your moving costs. Taking this into consideration, the moving cost for a 4 room home, based on hourly rates will average between $2000 and $2500 prior to the packing expenses. To make you feel a bit more comfortable with your upcoming move, we offer you a free delivery on all packing materials when you book with us.
Do-It-Yourself Moves
This is one of the most popular ways to move locally or out of state and save money. In this type of relocation, you do all the work but when you add up all the expenses, time and nerves, it may not be as cheap as expected. To be more precise, these are some of the major expenses, related to a DIY relocation:
Do It yourself relocation is a popular money-saving scenario but one must be well informed before plunging into this risky endeavor.
- Moving Truck Rentals – the cost of this service depends on the size and type of the truck, the distance of the move and the number of days it is going to be rented for. To save on this, hire trucks from local rentals, which offer better rates than the big players like U-Haul, Budget, Penske, etc . In addition to the rental cost, you are going to pay for the fuel too, which for a 2000 Mile drive may vary between $800 – $1,200. There are also some other charges that may apply and increase the rental of the truck – these include, but are not limited to extra mileage fees, highway tolls, truck cleaning fees, etc. You can also consider issuing a Truck Rental Insurance, which can be somewhere around $150.
- Hotel expenses – driving cross country for 1,000 miles and more is exhausting, even for experienced drivers and appropriate rest is needed to reach your destination safe and sound. For such a long drive, you’ll surely spend at least one night in a hotel room, so you must prepare to spend some $100 per night plus some extra on food or a relaxing massage. You can also sleep in the truck but it may not be very comfortable and even safe for your health and belongings so the extra dollars for a nice hotel room may be well worth it.
- Hiring moving assistant – this could take up a substantial part of the DIY moving budget. You may need to pay for the services of local moving professionals to help you load and unload your belongings from the moving truck. On average, the cost is around $90 for three men per hour but eventually you are going to pay for the extra travel time.
You do the packing, they do the driving
It is a popular method for long distance relocation where you save the trouble of renting and driving the moving vehicle and pack your own belongings with care and the way you want them to be ultimately protected. This option can be realized in two ways:
Moving containers are convenient way to move your items in a small-size relocation.
- Moving containers and PODs (Portable On Demand Storage). By choosing this option you get a storage container dropped off at your location and you pack and load all your household items into it. Usually, the container is portable so it is suitable for smaller moves. With this scenario you benefit from the stress-free loading and unloading of the container since you have all the time to do it in a convenient pace. You can choose again the option of hiring moving assistant for the loading, which will cost you some extra $30 per helper per hour plus traveling expenses. After the container is delivered to your new address, you simply unload it and unpack the items in your new home, alone or with the help of professionals or friends.
- Door-to-Door Moving Trailer. This is quite similar to the previous option – a specialized moving company deliver s a moving trailer in front of your door at specific day and time and you load your already packed possessions into it. This scenario is really economic, especially if you find some free moving pads and packing materials.
As you have seen above, moving is quite complex and offer too many options to choose from so generalizing it and pointing out one figure as an average moving cost would certainly be misleading and not applicable in most of the cases. What we can see from the statistical data is that the cost is constantly rising and has increased by almost 25% since the beginning of the new millennium. The average cost of shipping household goods rose from an average cost of $9,658 in 2002 to $12,459 in 2012, but, as we said, this varies by family size and homeowner status (homeowners have more belongings to move than renters). If you want to know what the cost of your move will be, take advantage of our free moving cost estimator and get a detailed quote by the moving professionals.
