Thursday 26 June 2014

How To Reduce Moving Costs

By Pammy McGrath


While searching for a new home is exciting, there's no denying that some big expenses are in your future. Not only do you have to consider the cost of actually buying the home, you also have to deal with costs associated with moving. While you might not be able to reduce some of the costs, there are ways to cut the moving expenses.

In general, the more furnishings and belongings you have, the more you will have to pay a moving company. If you have some particularly heavy items, this will further increase your costs, especially if you are moving to another city or state. One way to reduce your costs is to simply reduce the amount of items you will move. This is the best time to get rid of everything from clothes, books, furnishings and appliances. If you hold a garage sale or list items for sale online, you can even use that money to help cover some of your moving expenses.

Another cost that can be quite prohibitive is the cost of packing supplies. You need boxes, packing tape and packing paper. For a typical three-bedroom house, this might mean you need as many as 100 boxes of varying sizes, which could easily cost around $400. To lower this cost, look for free boxes on Craigslist and Freecycle or ask friends to save any boxes they have. Also ask friends to save their newspaper to use for packing materials. You can also use towels and clothing to wrap up fragile items.

When planning a move, you have two basic options, renting a truck or hiring a moving company. For a move of just a few miles or so, renting a moving truck can be a cost-effective. Of course, you probably will need to enlist the help of some friends or family members to help you carry large items. If you are moving a longer distance, hiring movers makes a good deal of sense. It can be quite expensive to rent a truck for several days, and you probably won't have anyone to help you unload in a faraway city or another state.

Another tip that can help you save money is to plan your move for mid-month or midweek if you can. Most moves take place around the end or first of the month and many people have no choice but to move on weekends. So if you can set your move for a Wednesday in the middle of the month, you could save a bundle.

If your house search has not yet begun, but you are interested in finding Fredericksburg real estate, Kerrville real estate or homes for sale anywhere in Texas Hill Country, the realtors at Nixon Real Estate are ready to help. For more than 30 years, they have located amazing homes and properties for their clients wishing to settle in this popular Texas region.




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