Choosing a realtor, a home, and furniture is all part of the moving process. Factors like budget, proximity, move complexity, and personality influence the decision between “moving DIY or professional help.” While some may struggle with stairs and heavy lifting, DIY moves can be feasible and cost-effective. However, before making a choice, it’s crucial to weigh the pros and cons carefully.
Examine both the advantages and disadvantages of each choice before making your choice.
Moving by Yourself
Pros
1. You are completely in charge of your action
DIY moves give you total control over the moving process, including choosing the truck, buying the supplies, and handling the boxes. This flexibility enables choice of the start and end dates, as well as the protection of possessions from inclement weather and truck loading. Furthermore, no movers can place furniture or boxes in the incorrect rooms, guaranteeing a seamless and stress-free transfer.
2. You’ll cut costs
For those on a tight budget, a DIY relocation is the best option because using a moving company can be pricey. Renting a moving truck can help you save hundreds of dollars; the largest truck from U-Haul (26 feet) costs about $40. For an additional cost, add-ons and loading supplies can be included.
3. Whatever you want to pack
You don’t have to stress about packing everything properly when getting ready for a DIY relocation. Moving companies will want sealed boxes, but you don’t have to pack up goods with unusual shapes, such lamps and plants. As long as everything is in the truck on moving day, you are free to pack however much or how little you wish.
Cons
1. Making all the tough labor
Moving on your own can be difficult, especially if you have to lift furniture and boxes. Walls and stairs may be scratched and damaged by inexperienced movers. Moving without pros could be simple for one-bedroom apartments, but it might be more difficult for a five-bedroom apartment. A seamless and stress-free move can be ensured by picking the proper movers.
2. Requires extensive planning
Planning a relocation includes careful consideration of logistics, packing the rental truck, and organizing the stuff inside. Planning is also necessary when hiring a moving company, but careful planning is needed when organizing a full move. This involves arranging products inside the truck and choosing which ones go first and last.
3. Unexpected issues develop
You can be in trouble if something unforeseen occurs, like your couch being trapped in the door. Without the aid of experienced movers and specific moving equipment, you can find yourself spending hours trying to remedy the problem rather than unwinding on that couch in your new house.
Hiring Movers
Pros
1. You won’t need to do anything
Hire a reliable moving company to undertake the heavy lifting so you won’t have to use buddies or risk damaging your floors or your muscles. This enables you to relax or concentrate on crucial activities like babysitting or taking care of your pets.
2. The action will be effective
For dependability, hire a reputable moving company with plenty of expertise. They have an obligation to help with all predetermined facets of the move. They ought to show there promptly with the necessary materials and tools, cutting down on waiting time and the number of moving hours.
3. Decreased overall stress
Hiring movers can help you avoid the stress of moving day, save time, and avoid the difficulty of maneuvering a big moving truck down a busy highway. Additionally, these experts may help with driving and loading trailers, reducing tension during the process.
Cons
1. Less adaptability
When professional movers are involved, there is less control over the move’s pickup times and loading strategies. A loss of control can be the result of numerous delays and weeks of waiting for trucks. Those looking for total control might not want to use a moving company.
2. It’s pricey
Local moves are estimated to cost between $875 and $2,350 by HomeAdvisor.com, with hourly charges between $25 and $50. Moving a four-bedroom house can cost up to $1,200, and depending on weight and distance, moving out of state can cost anywhere from $2,200 and $5,700. Even if moving nearby, it will still be pricey to hire a moving company because the average home’s contents weigh 7,500 pounds.
3. It might be impersonal
To avoid rip-offs and frauds, it is essential to do your homework and read reviews before choosing a moving company. To prevent a painful experience, use a professional and insured mover from the Empire Movers & Storage network. Additionally, make sure the business surveys your house on camera or in person before giving you a moving estimate.
Hybrid moves combine self-help and professional relocation assistance
Consider this: A local move typically costs $1,250, while a long-distance move (more than 1,000 miles) costs $4,890. These calculations are based on a 7,500-pound move including two to three bedrooms. What a large sum of money. You can DIY your move, or portions of it, rather than hiring a full-service moving company, whether you are relocating on a tight budget, don’t have much things, or don’t have to go very far. The ability to save money—and, with some effort, lots of it—is one of the appealing aspects of a DIY or hybrid relocation.
We advise anyone planning to move without the aid of a professional moving company to at the very least take into consideration hiring moving-day labor to help with the process. Sure, you may try to enlist your family and friends in return for pizza and a cold beverage to assist with your DIY move. Realistically, not many friends or family members will like the idea of carrying heavy boxes and furniture, and hiring amateurs increases the likelihood of injury, back pain, stress, broken or damaged property, and irritation.
When you hire moving-day help, they will load the truck you have rented at the old location and unload it at the new location for you. Typically, this will cost you by the hour, with a two-hour minimum price. This holds true for moving containers and storage facilities in addition to rental trucks. While some companies may offer packing and unpacking services, not all do furniture disassembly and assembly.
A few more things to consider
Still unsure as to whether choosing a reputable moving company is the best course of action for you? To assist you in making a selection, we’ve put up a list of questions.
How long do you have?
One of the most crucial elements of your move is time. Take into account the amount of time you’ll need to move out of your existing home and into your new one. Do you have specific due dates for either one? If so, it might be more sensible to engage expert movers. Not only can they complete the task for you, but they can do so more quickly and effectively. Additionally, they’ll do it by the appointed time. Remember that you don’t have to hire them to handle both sides of the job. Perhaps you have the time to pack your boxes, but you require assistance unpacking your new residence so you can begin a new career or prepare for the holidays. Utilize them as necessary.
What is the value of your time?
The most significant query of them is possibly this one. Get three in-home estimates from reputable moving companies to start. Calculate how long it will take you and your family and friends to complete the task once you have their price quote and an idea of how long they expect the relocation to take. Include the time you spend packing, loading the truck, and performing any other activities that the movers would perform. Be truthful. You’ll need a lot more time than the movers to complete the task.
The number of hours you anticipate it will take you to move should be multiplied by your hourly fee. For instance, multiply your hourly wage of $50 at work by your estimated 12-hour workday. Don’t forget to account for your partner’s time and hourly rate, as well as the price of supplies for packing and moving, the cost of hiring a vehicle, and gas to operate it. It can be less expensive to hire expert movers once you’ve tallied up all these costs to your hourly rate! To determine how many boxes you would need, use our packing calculator. To determine your overall moving budget, use our moving cost calculator.
What is your speed?
Moving across town is far easier than moving across the state or even the world. If you are relocating close by, you might be able to transport fewer boxes and other belongings during weekdays, reducing the amount of work that must be done on moving day. For a local transfer, the logistics are also rather straightforward. On moving day, all you have to do is gather your moving supplies and workers, pack your boxes, get a truck, and load and unload. Moving a significant distance, however, requires crossing state lines, which can be challenging. Additionally, if you are going abroad, customs clearance is required for your possessions. It is better to leave these matters in the hands of experts than to overexert yourself.
What is it that you most need help with?
It’s not always all or nothing when it comes to hiring professional movers. You can engage them to assist with the specific duties you believe you are unable to complete. Therefore, hire them if you only need assistance moving, lifting, and reassembling furniture. However, enlist their assistance if packing all of your possessions feels daunting. You might have a few possessions that you’re not sure how to pack. Your wine collection or a rare piece of art might be packed by professional movers. What about moving is stressing you out? ask yourself. It can be worthwhile to hire movers if it relieves that worry.
How FAR are you traveling?
This is the initial inquiry to help you determine if you should relocate yourself or hire movers. In actuality, the principal element affecting how you approach the impending transfer is the distance between the two properties.
Short distance
Your relocation is regarded as a short-distance move if it involves merely crossing the street, relocating across town, or moving up to 100 miles within the same state to a different town or city.
Therefore, you might as well decide to hire a moving truck (or borrow a friend’s pick-up truck) and ask your close friends to assist you in packing your belongings and carrying those large furniture pieces outside of your house.
Long distance
Should you hire movers if you’re moving far away? Definitely. No matter how you look at it, driving a large rented truck hundreds or thousands (!) of miles across the country is a really bad idea.
Therefore, if the destination home is far away, frequently in another state, choose the sane course of action and engage a cross-country moving company.
What volume of STUFF are you moving?
Now that you are aware of how the distance of your move may influence your choice of moving company or DIY approach, let’s look at another crucial element that may tip the balance in your favor.
The sheer volume of items you want to transport from Point A to Point B should also be taken into account.
Small load
You should be able to move the contents of one room or one piece of furniture on your own… as long as you’re only moving a small distance away. Most of the time, small-load movers are better suited for tasks involving transferring tiny loads across long distances.
Entire home
Hiring a full-service moving company that will handle everything for you makes sense if you want to relocate all of the furnishings from a big house (of course, after inventorying them and getting rid of the ones you won’t need any more).
