FINANCIAL SIDE OF MOVING
-> Moving estimatesJul 05, 12:49
Question by Joeljohnsonboo (Joel Johnson)
I plan to move a two bedroom house (with a loft area & garage) in Downingtown, PA to Lancaster, PA in early August, and I have already received several estimates from moving companies. However, the price range is very wide.
What would be considered a reasonable price for this kind of move? I am looking for good service, but want to stay within reasonable price boundaries. Please advise.
Also, would you give me some feedback on the reliability of the following companies.
1. A Pioneer
2. Twins Moving Company
I look forward to hearing from you ASAP! Thank you.
Jul 05, 16:31
Answer by alexzehn (Alex Z.)
Let me answer the first part of the question, and rate the movers in a separate threads.
Since your move is within Pennsylvania and is only about 30 miles between the origin and the destination your move is considered to be a local move, and you would probably be charged on hourly basis. I am not surprised that you've got a wide range of estimates, since not only you get different rates per hour, you also probably got different time estimates.
Lets try to estimate the time required to complete your move: two bedroom house with a loft area and garage would require 3 or 4 movers (depending on whether you will do the packing yourself). The loading part of the move would probably take between 4 to 6 hours (I assume your house has good truck access). Driving time is one hour the most, and unloading would take between 2 to 4 hours. Adding one hour travel time (flat charge for the time it takes the movers to reach your first location and then get to the office after the work is done), and you get to roughly 8-12 hours you pay for.
I am not familiar directly with the typical rates for local moves in your area, but assuming they are not far from the national average lets assume that the normal range of prices you could get for 3 movers would be $85-$100 per hour, and for 4 movers it would be $100-$120.
That brings your estimate range to somewhere between $680-$1440 - quite wide range. Also, if you want movers to also pack your items they might charge you extra for the packign materials and boxes.
My advice would be to invite the movers to do on-site visual estimate and get them to offer you a flat fee (also called binding estimate) for the whole move, including all possible extra charges. This way you will get a real range of prices, and this (flat rate) is the safest way to close a moving deal.
Good luck with your move,
Alex Z. @ MovingAnswers.org
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