Most Unexpected Moving Expenses
You are moving and you think you have carefully calculated and foreseen all the moving costs, right? You’ve accounted for movers, cleaners, and packing material. Unfortunately, there’s a chance you may encounter some unplanned and unexpected moving costs. If you don’t want your budget to be caught off guard, read our list of all forgotten and hidden costs. This way, you will be well-prepared for your upcoming move.
Storage space can be an unexpected moving cost
You may not realize when you start preparing your household removal budget, but you may need to rent self-storage space to temporarily store some of your household items. The most common reason why people get charged a storage fee is when they request delayed delivery of their items because their new house is not ready due to renovation, repairs, and so on.
It doesn’t matter if you opted for short-term storage, or need a long-term storage solution for your furniture – it will cost a certain amount of money. Remember, the longer you keep your items in storage, the higher the moving costs will be. That is why you should do your best to shorten the storage period. If you do, you won’t have to pay that extra money and you will be saved from unexpected moving expenses.
Increased utility costs
Well, you pay utility costs now, and you will pay them in your new home. But, if you are moving from an apartment to a house with a lawn, you should anticipate the cost difference in utilities for maintaining a lawn. Not only will your water bill increase as a result of keeping your lawn green, but you will also receive an increased bill for trash and sewer services. Plus, you will have a higher electric bill too. Finally, make sure you also cancel your utilities on time at your old place too.
Extra charges for disassembling and re-assembling your furniture
There are plenty of reasons to hire professional packers when moving house. However, you shouldn’t be surprised when they charge you extra for disassembling and re-assembling your furniture. Some furniture pieces such as beds, sofas, and dressers are too bulky. Movers will need to be disassemble them in order to pack them easily and move to another location safely.
Extra charge for handling bulky items
Due to the risk of disassembling and packing furniture yourself, you should hire professional movers to help you with relocation. However, if your belongings happen to be oversized or on the heavier side, you may have to pay the additional moving cost. The unexpected moving expenses will come up if you are relocating pianos, pool tables, hot-tubs, etc. These items are hard to transport and occupy a lot of space in the moving truck. The moving company will have to send additional trucks or special equipment to pick up the items and load them. And they will definitely charge you for it.
Move cancellation fee
In some situations, your moving plans may change at the last minute. You may find yourself in a situation where you have to cancel your already booked move. This cancellation may cost you extra money, and it is one of the most common unexpected moving expenses. Every moving company has its cancellation fee policy. Before you hire movers, make sure you know their terms of cancellation. Most moving companies will charge you this way:
- If you give a moving company more than one week’s notice, you probably won’t get charged a cancellation fee, so you won’t have unexpected moving expenses.
- Cancelling your move one week in advance will probably cost you 50%, according to the movers’ cancellation fee policy.
- If you cancel your move less than five days before moving day, you will be charged around 50%-100% or the full moving deposit.
Before you book the move, make sure you are well-informed about the move cancellation policy and can avoid unexpected moving costs.
Replacing the broken items
No matter how careful your movers are, moving the items in boxes loaded on the truck is always a risk. There is a possibility that some of the items don’t quite make it. These are usually small items, like glasses, or in some cases larger ones, like TV sets. You can do your best to secure the items in the truck, but know that you might have to replace something and pay some extra money.
Money for tipping the movers
Some of the moving costs are obvious, but others will surprise you when you least expect it. One of these unforeseen costs will hit you after the move when you plan to unwind after the intense process. The thing is that, during the moving chaos, you may forget to set aside tipping money for your hired movers. It is not obligatory to tip your hired workers, but you should consider it if you are satisfied with the work they have done.
Many unexpected moving expenses can influence your move planning and budget. That’s why, after you calculate how much money you are willing to spend on the move, you should add ten percent for unanticipated moving costs. If something happens, you will be ready and it won’t affect your moving budget by much.