OT: Moving? Is it really this expensive?

[mickeyluv'r]

Whatever you do, make SURE you get a WRITTEN copy of the estimate BEFORE you let them move a thing! Make sure they are obligated to abide by that quote. I was scammed once...never again. They had all my stuff loaded and then the price mysteriously went way up.Stupd me, it's a classic scam, but what else couldI do once they ahd everything loaded.

The other big thing to look into is your taxes. If you are reloacting for a job, you may well be able to claim a significant portion of the cost of moving on your taxes. You have to have a job on the other end, and the move has to be over a certain distance to qualify. If it does though, then at least you know you'll get something back.

 

[buzzgirls&dad]

We are moving tomorrow We have had several quotes and each company has their own way of moving. We are moving 1.3 miles. Unfortunately we have to put our stuff in store for exactly 5 weeks. Forunately our house sold!!! Our quotes ranged from 5100-2800. The lesser quotes were with smaller co. They were also storing our items on their trucks and not handling things many times to put the items in storage pods. We also checked with our own insurance Co. and were pleasantly surprised to find we did not have to take out extra insurance. Good luck to you --my break is over now and I have to tape up the last of my boxes.

 

[Maureenmouse]

Thanks for the reminders about taxes. My husband thinks that we'll qualify as we're moving to new jobs and we couldn't commute the drive daily. ( unless of course we wanted to drive 3 1/2 hrs. each way!) We already itemize, so hopefully it will help save some.
Unfortunately, our house has not sold yet, so we're moving into an apartment, putting lots of stuff in storage and waiting. We'd like to build after our current home sells. It's only been a month, so we're still hopeful. The home is only 6 yrs. old and in great shape, so keep your fingers crossed...
Thanks,
Maureen

PS
We looked at emove. The thing that scares us is driving the large truck. It will have to be large for all our furniture and stuff.

 

[tink2dw]

Pods, Pods Pods!!!!!!! $165.plus $35.00 to set donw in front of your current home [they have 3 sizes] $165. to pick up and either store it till move in date, and $100. a month storage fee or $165. plus $35.00 to set it down in front of your new home.

Place an Add for guys to help you move[news paper, or www.craigslist.com] just the large pieces then pack in your boxes your self. Place an add for the new place also!!

 

[zumbergc]

We used 2 men and a truck, a few years ago for a move across town.

We thought they did a great job, for a little over 100 miles, i don't know if they only do only local moves, or if your move is too far.

We moved a 1400sq foot apartment, in a little over 3 hours.
We moved all our boxes the day before.
They just moved all the big stuff, sofas, beds, desks , end tables, entertainment centers.

I know they will pack up things for you, I did it myself, but had the time.

 

[Southern4sure]

Thanks for the reminders about taxes. My husband thinks that we'll qualify as we're moving to new jobs and we couldn't commute the drive daily. ( unless of course we wanted to drive 3 1/2 hrs. each way!) We already itemize, so hopefully it will help save some.
Unfortunately, our house has not sold yet, so we're moving into an apartment, putting lots of stuff in storage and waiting. We'd like to build after our current home sells. It's only been a month, so we're still hopeful. The home is only 6 yrs. old and in great shape, so keep your fingers crossed...
Thanks,
Maureen

PS
We looked at emove. The thing that scares us is driving the large truck. It will have to be large for all our furniture and stuff.

My dh drove the largest Uhaul available and drove it 600 miles to our new home. It was the best move considering the distance and inexpensive esp compared to your quotes.

Good Luck.

 

[djbleach]

I've only used my own 'trailer' and friends to move, so I really don't have any experience with companies.
A concern of mine when moving things from a house that I was in charge of moving was Liability.
The house had insurance, but I was still concerned if one of my "friends" got hurt?
With starving students or people off craigslist, I'd be cautious of a scam.
It's easy to hurt your back while moving heavy things.
Maybe you could get them to sign a waiver?
Just something to think about. $4k sounds high, but it actually may not be to bad? I called and a base price is $500 for moving a few heavy things.

 

[grlpwrd]

My parents own a moving company in Hawaii... the rates seem like they are higher because the cost of gas.

Maybe you/your dh can test drive the truck before the move. It is really cheaper if you do it yourself. We moved from Tulsa, OK here to Virginia when I was about 8.5 months pregnant because my dh finally got hired after a long layoff.

Also, try to get free boxes and moving supplies via Craigslist or Freecycle by placing an ad or checking regularly for people giving those stuff away.

GL!

 

[bumbershoot]

I
With starving students or people off craigslist, I'd be cautious of a scam.

Starving Students is an old company. It's not a scam.

*********
Definitely look into the tax/moving thing.

My old roommate lived in Tacoma, WA, and worked at one company. She got a new job up in Seattle, WA (30 miles away) at another company, and at the same time she moved out of our apartment (grr) and to her grandfather's home, approx 7 miles away and in the wrong direction from Seattle (but much longer to drive than one thinks of 7 miles taking). She managed to find SOME route that was 50 miles, and she took, and got, that tax deduction.

If that little move could yield her that (wouldn't have wanted to be her if she had been audited!), your REAL, far-away, job-related move should do just fine.


Even if you don't USE anyone from emove.com, you can find reviews of all sorts of local companies. The only people who can review are people who USED those movers and PAID through the website, so you're not going to get sneaky companies reviewing, like hotel managers sometimes do on places like tripadvisor.com.


thinking more about it, though, I'd use PODS if you can. I looked into it, but ultimately there was no room in our driveway, and it was such a local move we didn't want to deal with the whole set-up (retrospect, might have been a good idea), and we had two weeks in both places, so we weren't in a hurry to get OUT of one place... But you should look into PODS.

 

[djbleach]

Starving Students is an old company. It's not a scam.

I'm saying "scam" by people helping you move, one hurts themselves, and lawsuit.
This is a reality of the world we live in.

 

[lpandorf]

We used a company called Two Men and A Truck or at least I think it was Two. We did everything but the heavy stuff ourselves. Made some trips with the minivan and pick-up truck and did a lot on our own. Then they did the heavy items. I don't think we paid more then $1000. It was just a one day project for them. We are in the Cincinnati area and were doing a local move, about 30 miles from old location to new. Not sure if they are where you are at or if they do moves of your distance, but does not seem that far you are moving so thought they would.

 

[Lisa_M]

To the OP, call your local Penske and see if they have any names of small moving companies in the area that they would recommend. This is what we did and they referred us to this great little word of mouth company that moved our 2 bd apt for $400. When we move again, in the spring, it will be out of state so we are going to use that company just to load up a pod for us. I was quoted $1100 for a 16' pod for one month and a couple of hundred dollars for the load up.

 

[Maddie's Nana]

We're in Laurinburg, moving to Statesville.

We moved from Fl to Statesville, NC & used ABF. It was much more reasonable than the traditional movers - we hired a couple of people to load the truck in Fl & then hired some workers in Statesville to unload. It really worked out well. I will be glad to give you info on the people we hired in Statesville. They were really great. With ABF they drop the trailer part of the truck off at your home and you load it - you call them when it is ready and they pick it up. They then drive to your new location and leave the trailer til you unload it. PM me with any questions

 

[TallyLassie]

We had a horrible experience moving this year. We only moved only down the street 6 houses and is was $900, but the estimate was only $400. We moved everything ourselves but the furniture. The moving company came by and saw all of the furniture that needed to be moved.

They spent an enormous amount of time wrapping everything in blankets and then shrink wrap. They ran into walls, chipped my tile countertop, split the leg of a table, etc. We had used them before with no problems.

When I complained about the bill they said it was only an "estimate" and they were entitled to be paid for the full amount. I tried to get them to agree to a settlement due to the damages, they said to pay them and then they would discuss it.

I complained to the Florida State agency that handles consumer complaints, and then they agreed to settle, but it was a HUGE headache. They are a local mover, so you don't have to worry about them, but be careful. After I used them, a co-worker said she had used them and caught them going through her dresser drawers.

I would recommend getting multiple estimates and ask what happens if the amount exceeds the estimates. Oh, don't forget the movers will expect a tip!

 

[Maureenmouse]

The man from the second company called back. His estimate is $2,700. He said to leave all the heavy stuff, it doesn't matter about size, just move all fragile items ourselves. So we'll be moving 6 lamps, a bunch of pictures, my china closet items and dishes. I think we can deal with it especially if we get some back on taxes. Oh we have to move the clothing in our closets too, but we can do all that before hand.
I'm still going to check into pods. The problem with that is where do they store them? We already rented a storage unit.
Thanks for all your ideas and support
Maureen

 

[myAAbatteries&aTD]

We've gotten 3 estimates for a 120 mile move, ranging from $1800-$3300. That's w/ me packing the boxes and them doing all the moving. One company is wanting to charge $300 for just the kids' trampoline - it would be cheaper to just sell it here and buy a new one! The $1800 one is the company I like best (yeah since they're the cheapest!).... so I'll probably go w/ them. I may get a few more estimates just to see, but it would be so worth it to us to not have to mess w/ anything as far as loading/unloading the truck. We live in a 2-story 4 bdroom on a hill so it's not an easy job!

 

[Tink-aholic]

I have moved at least four times and used a local labor force, even moving to and from Canada. Every city has one. It is one of those places where guys who are not employed show up to work a job for a day or two. It usually costs $11-12 per guy for a minimum of four hours. Then I rent a UHaul. Two (or even four) guys plus tip is WAAAAAAAAAY cheaper than what you guys are getting quoted. The guys are usually so grateful to have a job, they do almost anything. I always buy coffee and doughnuts for them in the morning and pizza for lunch if it gets late (one guy told me that I fed him more than he had eaten all week).

I just do my own packing and they moved everything.

Good luck.

 

[NMW]

We paid about $1900 to move from NJ to PA almost 7 years ago. We used movers in PA that our new insurance agent reccomended to us. They were great, didn't break anything, didn't try to rip us off. They even had to send for another truck coming from PA, so it added extra time to the move and they didn't charge a penny over the written estimate. They said it was their mistake. We had A LOT of stuff. The quotes we got from NJ movers were much higher-3,000-4,000.

We did pack all the boxes ourselves. I bought them at Pakmail and Mailboxes etc. I paid at least $400 for boxes and bubblewrap, but they were really good boxes, especially the dish boxes. Our neighbor, a pilot at Newark airport also brought home boxes that airplane parts are shipped in for us. They were good, but really thick and heavy (even without anything in them).

When we moved in 1996 from our apartment in Bergen county NJ to Monmouth county NJ we had these horrible scam artist movers who basicly held our stuff hostage on the truck until we paid them more money. When I got the estimate from them, this really nice well dressed guy came, gave me some "free" boxes (I was charged for them later) and seemed great and really CHEAP. We had to be at the walk through and closing for our new house the day we moved so, we left our friend at our apartment to let the movers in. Well, needless to say, the nice well-dressed guy was not there. When they arrived at our house with all our stuff, they told us it took them way, way longer to get there and we had to pay them more money before they would unload the truck. They also charged me for boxes and wrap they claimed they had to use and our friend ok'd plus the suppossedly "free" boxes. They all spoke to each other in some language I had never heard. I asked them where they were from and they said Isreal. I was 9 months pregnant and it was really stressfull. They broke a couple of things too. I tried filing a claim with the company for the damage-never did get the money for the damage.

I highly suggest using a moving company that someone you know reccomends. I also wouldn't go with a mover based solely on price. As with most things in life, you get what you pay for.