The excitement of moving into your new home can be slightly disrupted by the task of packing up your existing home. We want to help you make the process as smooth as possible. So, what is the cost of moving house?
Below, we break down the costs of moving so you can budget and prepare for the big day.
Removal services
The cost of moving services can vary, depending on the volume of belongings you need to move and the distance you’re travelling.
The cheaper option is to do it yourself with family or friends. But sometimes professional help saves time and stress.
What is the cost of hiring a moving truck? If you’ve got a small place and just a few rooms worth of belongings, you can hire a small truck and a mover for as little as $50 per hour. However, if you’re moving a household and require multiple movers, you’re looking at a full day’s work paying $200+ per hour.
The level of access to your new property will also affect the cost. For example, you may have to take your belongings up to an apartment in a lift which can be time-consuming and therefore you’ll be paying for more hours of labour.
Depending on the size of your property, you’ll probably need to budget somewhere between $500 and $2,500 for removalist costs. Now that’s big range, but there’s a huge difference in moving one person’s belongings from an apartment into a new one and moving a big family from one family home to another. If you’re moving cities or interstate, this cost could be significantly more expensive.
It’s a good idea to look at reviews before you commit to a removalist company. Especially if you’ve got important valuables. A good removalist will have the experience and equipment to really take care of your personal items.
Cleaning services
These days, services like Airtasker make it easy for you to clean your property if you’re on a budget.
If you’ve got a large property that you’ve lived in for years, it’s probably a good idea that you hire a cleaning professional to give your property a deep clean. It’s also expected that you have the carpets deep cleaned.
You may have already had your property professionally cleaned in the lead up to your sale, but if not, now is the perfect time to get organised.
Depending on the size of your property, you’ll likely need to spend $200 – $500 on cleaning, including carpets.
Transferring your utilities
Transferring utilities involves swapping over services such as gas, electricity, water and internet.
You may be charged a small fee to transfer these services across to your new address. It could also be a good opportunity to review your current contracts and compare existing deals with others if you’ve reached the end of a contract.
Costs associated with transferring utilities will depend entirely on your new home’s location, the location you’re moving to, the type of services you require and the provider/s you choose.
Redirecting your mail
If you don’t receive a huge volume of mail to your personal address, you can simply change your address with the services who send you bills etc. However, if that sounds like a stressful task to get in a short amount of time, you can sign up with Australia Post for mail redirection for a relatively cheap price. The costs are as follows:
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$33.25 for up to 1 month
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$57.35 for up to 3 months
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$85.45 for up to 6 months
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$144.15 for up to 12 months
This way, you’re giving yourself plenty of time to change your address over a longer period of time.
Self-storage
If you’re downsizing and need to pop some belongings into storage, this can cost between $100 and $200 per month.
What’s next?
If you need further advice to help you with moving, it could be a good idea to ask your real estate agent.
A good real estate agent may have professional connections with removalists and cleaners to help with your move. If not, jump online to search for professionals who service your area.