What does it really cost to move house? The short answer is time, patience, and money. But we’re sure you’ve already guessed that and are really just interested in a breakdown of the costs that you can expect when moving house. We’ll therefore give you the long answer to that question for you below, give you some pointers about reducing house removals costs and make sure you know what to account for when requesting a moving quote.
Distance
There’s not much you can do about the new distance to your new home, but there are some things that you should be aware of. First of all, movers often charge per mile or per hour depending on the company. It can be that one will add more to the cost of moving house than the other in your case so be sure to ask which it will be and plan accordingly. If you’re moving somewhere and there’ll be traffic, per mile might be a better choice. If you’re moving somewhere with great motorway access, per hour might be better.
Volume
You may have already guessed, but the volume of your belongings will alter your house removal costs. The volume will affect the vehicle needed to load your belongings and the amount of work that will need to be done. If you are aiming to reduce the cost of moving house, considering the items that you’ll be taking with you is important. Does your new home come with a fridge? Then you don’t need yours. Have you ever used that treadmill? Consider rehoming it rather than letting it take up space.
Choice of Moving Company
The biggest factor that can affect the cost of moving house is your choice of moving company, so, be sure to choose wisely. When looking it’s best to do some price comparison and it’s advisable to avail of free quotes to compare removal services. Of course, just comparing can be almost meaningless if you don’t also have a basis to judge the quotes. As a rule of thumb, the average cost of moving house is approximately £900 to move a 3-bed house but can increase depending on the services and distance of your move.
Moving Houses
There are some additional costs of moving house that you should be aware of. If you are moving from rental accommodation there may be fees for cleaning or fees incurred for breach of the rental agreement. So, be sure to read your agreement fully and always take pictures before you leave!
If you are leaving a house you owned or moving into a house that you just purchased, there are fees that will add to the cost of moving house. You’ll have to pay your estate agent a fee for any sale or purchase, stamp duty on a property you purchase, in some instances you may have to have a survey of the new property.
These costs will add up and are important to pay as they could impede your move to your new home.
Mail Redirection
One more thing to add to the bill might be mail redirection. You can ask Royal Mail to forward mail to your new address, for a fee of £33.99 for three months to £66.99 for 12 months. This would be useful to ensure you don’t miss any payments or mail in the time it takes you to notify everybody of your new address.
All this might seem like a lot of costs to move house, but it’s worth paying to start your life in your new home on the right foot. Good luck with your move!