On the face of it, moving house is an exciting prospect. You get to cash in on your current house, choose another amazing property and have the potential to be able to move to a different city.
However, when you dig deeper, moving house can be really quite stressful – there are so many different things to think about and there can be some high costs involved.
One thing that can help to remove some of the stress as moving day starts to roll around is using a removal company to take some jobs off your plate. But this doesn’t come without a cost, with some removals costs being quite high.
We’ve written a full guide explaining what the actual cost of removals is, alongside whether you need removal insurance and what you can do to reduce the cost of your removals, and much more. Use the menu below to help guide you:
Go to the full page to view and submit the form.
The cost of removals will vary a lot depending on different factors, for example, how big your property is, how much ‘stuff’ you’re needing for the company to remove and also how far it’s needing to be transported.
Naturally, a 1-bed house that has minimal items needing to be removed and it’s only needing to be taken 5 minutes down the road is going to have a much lower removal quote compared to a 4-bed house that needs help removing items from the whole house that also needs transporting to a different city.
Use the table below for the current 2022 average removal costs:
Size of property | Average moving cost |
One or two-bed house | £450-542 |
Three-bed house | £796 |
Four-bed house | £1,070 |
Five-bed house | £1,371 |
Figures taken from ‘Reallymoving’
Of course, this table is just a guide and so needs to be taken with a ‘pinch of salt’. You may find your removals cost is significantly below this if you have minimal items.
Or, on the flip side, you could find that your removals costs are way above this if you need help with disassembling and reassembling your items and packing them up too.
To get a more accurate idea of the house removal costs, you could use an online removals cost calculator.
Companies do offer a range of extra services on top of transporting your items that, should you choose to use them, will add to your total removals cost. The following are extras that your chosen company may offer to you…
Packing:
Specialised services:
Access:
Cancellations and late key charges:
As you may expect with moving house, sometimes things just don’t go to plan and often things always work out more expensive than you originally thought. There’s also the risk that an unexpected delay could affect your moving day.
Research from HomeOwners Alliance found that a huge 115,000 house moves have been delayed each year because funds haven’t arrived on time and therefore meant the sellers took longer to leave the property. 20,500 moves had to be cancelled completely due to funds not arriving in time.
Should delays occur you need to be aware of what the potential costs are and when you will be expected to pay. Below are examples of typical costs you will be expected to pay as a result of delays:
It may be a good idea to check with your chosen company whether these potential delay costs are included in your quoted removals cost. If not, you will need to be prepared that you may end up spending more than you expected.
Yes, it’s a good idea for you to get a pre-move survey to help you get an accurate idea of what the removals cost will be.
A pre-move survey is where removal companies will visit your property and have a look at the number of items that need moving and how much work is required on the companies’ behalf – for example, how many items may need dismantling.
The pre-move survey will also allow companies to decide what size van and the number of people they’re going to need. On top of this, they can also see where you live and exactly how far away your new property is.
A pre-move survey won’t take long, with the average survey taking around 15-25 minutes. With the advance in technology, pre-move surveys can now happen over an online video chat, meaning it’s easy to fit it into your day and get the survey to work around you.
You may find that a lot of removal companies will include insurance in their price, but it’s key that you question what level of protection they’re offering.
Some companies will only offer you transit insurance which only covers your goods when they’re actually in transit in the van. A lot of companies are quite limited on the damage cover they will offer you, with some offering as little as £40 per damaged item, regardless of the value of the item.
If you find yourselves a really good removal company, they can offer up to £10,000 cover for individual items and £50,000 total cover.
You will also need to check if the removal insurance offered by your chosen firm is invalidated if you choose to do your own packing.
On top of this, you will want to make sure your home insurance policy covers your items whilst they’re being moved by your chosen removal company.
We believe it’s worth getting removal insurance, as it will help cover the costs, should any items get damaged, and will also help with the extra cost you may have to pay should any delays arise.
One of the best ways to make sure you’re getting the lowest quote possible is to shop around looking at different removal companies’ costs and see if they’re open to a bit of negotiation, getting a discount could save you a large sum of money.
Another way to make sure your cost of removals is as low as possible is to have a couple of companies conduct a pre-move survey on your property so they can get to grips with exactly what it is you need help moving.
This will also allow them to understand where you live and how far away you want to move, allowing them to give you an accurate idea of costs.
To help lower the removals cost you can also pick to move on one of the quietest days of the week, staying clear of any day that is ‘traditionally’ busy, such as a Monday or Friday. Choosing to move on a quieter day means the removal company will be less busy and will mean you’re more able to negotiate a discount.
Also, if you allow the removals firm to give you a day and time that’s best for them and you’re able to fit in with this, you’re also more likely to reduce your removals cost, as you’re fitting in with the removals company’s schedule, also making them more likely to give you a discount.
Removal companies tend to charge by the hour, so if you make their job easier, then it’s going to mean it takes them less time to move you and therefore the costs will be lower.
If you could have all your boxes packed and correctly labelled and any furniture already dismantled prior to the removal company arriving, then you’re going to save them time and ultimately save yourself money.
That sums up everything you need to know about the removals costs you may face, including what the average costs of removal are, what extras you can expect and how to reduce your removals cost. Got a question to ask? Or maybe some insight to give? Whatever it is, don’t hesitate to get in touch !
Go to the full page to view and submit the form.
Millie is perfectionist with a passion for property and writing articles. You’ll find her researching the latest housing trends and the newest up and coming areas worth investing in. Read more about Millie here.
Want to sell property portfolio in 2024? This is a massive decision that holds significant…
Getting started with Buy-to-Let (BtL) investing can be a thrilling journey towards financial growth, but…
The real estate markets of the United Kingdom and the United States are two dynamic…
Whether you own a business or private land, you will want to restrict who can…
According to the most recent annual report from student accommodation portal StuRents, the number of…
In the dynamic realm of rental properties, landlords and tenants are continually seeking innovative solutions…