How to Calculate Moving Costs

Your NYC apartment lease is coming to an end, and that means only one thing: It’s moving time. If this is the case, you’re probably wondering how to calculate moving costs in NYC.

Unless you’re moving into a furnished NYC rental, chances are high you have large furniture and many miscellaneous items to move elsewhere. You can take the DIY-approach or hire a moving company. Either way, it’s important to understand what goes into calculating NYC moving costs.

Factors of NYC Moving Costs

The cost of moving apartments in NYC can vary greatly depending upon different factors. The most important to consider are:

• Number of boxes
• Distance
• Accessibility (i.e., stroll up or escalator)
• Furniture handling
• Number of heavy items (i.e., piano, pool table)

Keep these in mind as you shop around for moving companies.

Hiring a Moving Company

It’s a smart thought to get quotes from a few different moving companies since they can fluctuate broadly depending upon your timetable and other factors. You can get a rough estimation of costs from a website like Thumbtack. Doing so enables you to get a sense of moving quotes and what a reasonable range would be.

Moving organizations in the city will charge either an apartment rate or an hourly expense. If you can, choose the flat rate. This prevents the movers from rushing. Instead, they can take as much time as is needed.

Be aware of the phenomenon of movers getting “lost” in transit. As they move from one NYC apartment onto the next, they can add a few superfluous hours to the bill. Average hourly moving rates in NYC are about $95. Overall, it should take between 4-5 hours to move a 1-room flat within 10 miles.

Moving Costs: Doing the Math

Suppose you are moving from a 1-room apartment on the second floor to another 1-room flat on the third floor, around 8 miles away. You have about 20 boxes of decent size and a few substantial household items (like a sofa and a bed). However, you are avoiding the costs of moving a piano or anything too huge and heavy. With these conditions, most moving companies will charge about $400-$500.

Consider then the cost of supplies, and it comes to about $200 for boxes and pressing tape. That brings the cost to about $700.

What’s more, keep in mind to tip: industry standard is around 5 percent of the move, split uniformly among every one of the movers. You might need to include a bit more if there were especially heavy boxes (like loads of books or decoration pieces) or if your movers needed to go through narrow stairs or paths. That brings the average estimate for a 1-bedroom move to about $750.

Notice how even the quote from a moving company isn’t necessarily true to the final cost. Be conscious of additional fees and the other components of moving costs in NYC.

Your Moving Options

On the off chance that you have fragile or especially expensive items, it is suggested that you work with a moving company that offers excellent insurance. Otherwise, you can simply lease a U-Haul, get some especially good friends to help, and move by yourself. However, do consider what exactly you are moving and to where before disregarding a moving company entirely. The hassle, anxiety, and stress of moving may not be worth it.

Short Term Rentals NYC can help you find your next dream apartment to move into. Once you’ve locked down your next home, then you can consider the best moving method for you. Meanwhile, you can cut costs and save time and energy by enlisting their service. Doing so means having more room in the budget when calculating moving costs in NYC.