Budget moving

[JaymeC]

After 10 years of dealing with the military my dh has finally gotten out and we're looking to buy our first house We have financing worked out (I work at a credit union) and know what we're looking for, but what I'm hoping the budget board can help with is all those other little costs. We'll be doing the moving ourselves, but I'm sure we'll need help with moving some of the big stuff (luckily we live in a college town, lots of cheap young labor!)

Also, while I'm used to moving most of the times I'm moving into a rental house or base housing so I'm sure there are things we're not going to think about. The house we're moving into is a foreclosure and does have some minor problems, and eventually we'll need to do something about the carpet and fencing in the last of the backyard (it's mostly done by neighbors and the owners who started, then stopped).

I'd love to replace the carpet with laminate. Is this something my quick learning husband and I could do on our own? We're both willing to do the work, and get whatever tools we need and don't have, but I don't know if it's something that's going to be hard enough we'd need to hire someone.

I guess my question is what am I forgetting to budget for and how much would you budget? We're moving all our furniture with us and it should work out perfectly in the new place, but I'm sure there's other things!

 

[v.t.]

Congrats on the new house! You and DH will be able to put in the laminate yourself. It is not very hard, just make sure you have great knee pads. But I would suggest, if you have time, that you paint before moving in. Painting goes ten times faster if you don't have to work around furniture or carpet. Painting is the fastest and cheapest way to brighten up a house.
You will run into several expenses when moving into a new house. Some of the bigger items are all the deposits for utility set-ups to smaller items such as extension cords, shelf lining papers, organizers, etc. One of our homes the last owner even took all the light bulbs!
Good luck

 

[thomascaldwell1]

In our case, we didn't budget for the 'oops' events that took place in moving- the closing was put off by several hours, so we then had to budget for dinner and because it was SOOO late at night, we couldn't unload anything at the new house, so we had to budget for a hotel room for one night. Then, when unloading our furniture, some got busted (like the glass-top patio table that my FIL didn't realize had glass on top of it, so he turned it sideways and there went the glass, shattering everywhere!)... You simply must have an 'oops' moving expense built in to your plan.

Security system, if you're going to install one, termite bond/extermination (not sure how long this foreclosed property has been vacant?)... The biggest issue for us was scheduling- scheduling the phone and security guys back to back on move-in day because we have to have phone service before the security system is oficially hooked up... Ugh! And then the satellite company had to come out that day, and our new furniture from the store had to be delivered that day, while unloading our full Uhaul truck...

So, bottom line, scheduling and 'oops' were the biggest issues for us in the past few moves we've made (3 houses in 7 years- not bad compared to many!)...

 

[MickeyDisneyFan]

I just moved from Charlotte to Orlando about a month ago, I rented the truck from budget and found a code when I went to change my address through the USPS I think it was a 20% off coupon if I remember correctly.

I did the drive but hired movers from craigslist to load and unload the truck. It was around 100 bucks to load it and 85 to unload it here. I didnt want to deal with the headache of loading it incorrectly and have things shift and break.

The things I forgot to budget for were turning on the new utilities it was 30 for power, 30 for cable and 20 for water. Not huge costs but just something to remember.

Good luck with the new house!

 

[Sagginit]

well if you don't have good credit (i doubt that being on the board) don't forget the local companies might require deposits for utilities. my current roomate got slammed with a $200 deposit on our gas & electric, a lot for her to come up with on a weeks notice.

my brother & his fiance are just getting blinds after living in their place for almost a year because with the size of the windows they have to buy custom/specialty and cost a ton.

my biggest expense the last time i moved was all those random little things (but then again it was my first place). i just went to home depot and bought boxes for my move at the end of the month. a friend pointed out its not always worth it to get free ones because then you fight to fit them in a truck and then stack them properly when moving them. i know i will inevitably run out, so i have budgeted some extra money to make a run for more the last day or two of packing.

also if the house is not in great condition you may need to replace an appliance or two unexpectedly. i had money budgetted for furniture but when i found my perfect place it had no fridge, the previous two tenants brought their own and took it. i also have heard of people taking things like lightbulbs and even lighting fixtures when they leave.

when do you move? im may 31st/june 1st, i could report back to you if i beat ya to the move.

 

[cbg1027]

My best moving trick requires a late night or two, but could save a lot of money.

If you go to a 24 hour Wal-Mart around midnight-1am, they are unloading boxes and stocking. You can grab a shopping cart and go through the store and get as many boxes as you want, in all sizes, totally FREE! They even have flattened most of them since they just have to get rid of them (recycle I hope).

Budget for deposits on utilities and/or cable/phone/internet.

As for flooring, I just had new stuff installed in my own house. I decided to hire professionals, but I do know people who installed their own bamboo flooring with no previous experience and things went smoothly.

I considered laminate because it's cheaper than wood, and easier to care for. But eventually I went with vinyl planks (they look like the wood style laminate planks), but have the advantage of being more durable and more water-resistant than laminate. Everyone who has come in the house since I had it done compliments my wood floors. The vinyl prices are in the same range as the laminate.
I paid $4600 for 900 sq ft - materials, freight, furniture moving, ripping out the carpets, laying the planks, and putting down quarter round (shoe molding) on the base boards.