Ballpark costs for house removals
Discussion
Is there a decent website out there somewhere that will give me a ballpark figure for removals costs. It's been 25 years since we moved house, so I have nothing relevant for comparison. Alternatively, what has anyone paid recently for a similar sized house / move distance. The websites I've found vary from £1,500 to £4,000 and that's just for removals.
Both houses are 4 bed detached. Access is good at both ends and parking won't be an issue. Distance is approx 150 miles. I'd also be interested to get a handle on how much extra a full packing service would be (not bothered about unpacking).
Both houses are 4 bed detached. Access is good at both ends and parking won't be an issue. Distance is approx 150 miles. I'd also be interested to get a handle on how much extra a full packing service would be (not bothered about unpacking).
We paid around £2.5k in 2022, moving about 30 miles from a 3 storey terrace plus cellar.
That was with a local independent (Nottingham) and I literally could not fault them in any way.
The big national firms were quoting double that.
There are varying degrees of service you can pay for. For example, we boxed everything ourselves and let them take care of just packing the van and unloading at the other end. I believe, if you wish, you can literally walk out your house as is right now, drop the keys with the removal company, go on holiday and come with all your possessions in place as you left them, but in the new house.
That was with a local independent (Nottingham) and I literally could not fault them in any way.
The big national firms were quoting double that.
There are varying degrees of service you can pay for. For example, we boxed everything ourselves and let them take care of just packing the van and unloading at the other end. I believe, if you wish, you can literally walk out your house as is right now, drop the keys with the removal company, go on holiday and come with all your possessions in place as you left them, but in the new house.
Moved in January, local well renowned company, was £1300. That included 100+ boxes delivered week before, they also turned up day before the move to prep and pack garden/garage. 4 bed house to another 4 bed 15 miles away. Best £1300 I’ve ever spent, brilliant.
Bigger nationals were £4k!+
Bigger nationals were £4k!+
Just be VERY careful who you use, and if possible check on their use of subcontractors. There is one outfit who sub for others which you need to A Void at all costs, however good a deal it might seem. My sister fell foul of this lot on a move from Kent to Wales. They turned up in a van which was too small, and when she asked them what they were going to do, they moved the rest of her possessions onto the front garden and said "we're full, we need to get going as we have to get to Wales and back tonight (this was at about 3 pm) and simply fkd off and left her & the rest of her goods there. Cue a tearful call to me (she's widowed) asking what to do next. We had to get another company to pick up the pieces at the last minute, so it ended up costing her effectively double.
Trustpilot reviews are not always genuine, but they give a guide. Also have a detailed look at any company's website and see what their offers entail (particularly if you want wrapping/packing).
Source: I've done some consultancy work for a large (£8m+ t/o) removals and relocation company. My sister did get a quote from them but thought they were too expensive. See comment above about paying double/twice.
Trustpilot reviews are not always genuine, but they give a guide. Also have a detailed look at any company's website and see what their offers entail (particularly if you want wrapping/packing).
Source: I've done some consultancy work for a large (£8m+ t/o) removals and relocation company. My sister did get a quote from them but thought they were too expensive. See comment above about paying double/twice.
I'm in the process of moving and have my first removal quote:
3 bed house, moving approx 1.5 miles to a 4 bed - easy access both ends.
First quote I've had is £1500 for removal, including packing materials (but not packing).
Packing is £800 extra, which sounds a lot so will avoid that bit.
Will get another couple of quotes, but £1500 is what I had budgeted anyway.
3 bed house, moving approx 1.5 miles to a 4 bed - easy access both ends.
First quote I've had is £1500 for removal, including packing materials (but not packing).
Packing is £800 extra, which sounds a lot so will avoid that bit.
Will get another couple of quotes, but £1500 is what I had budgeted anyway.
We did a move of about 150 miles six months ago. It was a 2 bed to a 3 bed, but we also had the contents of a storage unit and a lockup garage, so we had a lot of stuff.
Because of the distance involved, it's a two day job. We were quoted £3k for our preferred company. Unfortunately our buyer messed us around and they weren't available for our rather rushed eventual completion date. So we had a desperate hunt for another company which came in at £3.5k. They were ok, but not great.
This was for a self pack service. Would have preferred them to pack, but the timescales and availability didn't allow that. Packing was a nightmare, would have happily paid the extra £3-400 for them to pack.
Because of the distance involved, it's a two day job. We were quoted £3k for our preferred company. Unfortunately our buyer messed us around and they weren't available for our rather rushed eventual completion date. So we had a desperate hunt for another company which came in at £3.5k. They were ok, but not great.
This was for a self pack service. Would have preferred them to pack, but the timescales and availability didn't allow that. Packing was a nightmare, would have happily paid the extra £3-400 for them to pack.
On our last move we paid for the full packing service, was the best thing we ever did and would happily pay for the same again. Removed a huge amount of stress / work from the whole process. They came the day before the move and a huge team swarmed round and cleared the entire house in around 7 hours.
Moving on Monday 31st. Detached 4 bed, moving 20 miles. Good off road access both ends. Removal service only, we have done the packing.
£1764 inc VAT
£85 inc VAT delay waiver to cover late release of keys (otherwise £25.00+VAT per crew member per hour or part thereof)
Total £1849 inc VAT
£1764 inc VAT
£85 inc VAT delay waiver to cover late release of keys (otherwise £25.00+VAT per crew member per hour or part thereof)
Total £1849 inc VAT
worldwidewebs said:
Probably a stupid question, but what does 'packing' actually include?
Usually a sliding scale of services from simply providing you with packing materials and portable hanging space, through wrapping and packing just the fragiles, right up to some hairy arsed man scooping the contents of your wifes knicker drawer in to a box, sealing it with tape and writing "sexy panties" in black marker pen on the outside.JQ said:
On our last move we paid for the full packing service, was the best thing we ever did and would happily pay for the same again. Removed a huge amount of stress / work from the whole process. They came the day before the move and a huge team swarmed round and cleared the entire house in around 7 hours.
Yup - we had the full packing service on our last move (25 years ago). We had a 3 year old and my Wife was 8 months pregnant, so it was a no-brainer at the time. They were brilliant. One bloke spent about 4 hours wrapping and boxing the entire contents of our kitchen cupboards, every plate, cup, saucer etc. was wrapped individually and carefully placed into a box.I was thinking we had no excuses now, so should probably pack ourselves, but for £800 I think I'll let someone else do it.
river_rat said:
I'm in the process of moving and have my first removal quote:
3 bed house, moving approx 1.5 miles to a 4 bed - easy access both ends.
First quote I've had is £1500 for removal, including packing materials (but not packing).
Packing is £800 extra, which sounds a lot so will avoid that bit.
Will get another couple of quotes, but £1500 is what I had budgeted anyway.
Sounds very similar to what I have been quoted for a similar move.3 bed house, moving approx 1.5 miles to a 4 bed - easy access both ends.
First quote I've had is £1500 for removal, including packing materials (but not packing).
Packing is £800 extra, which sounds a lot so will avoid that bit.
Will get another couple of quotes, but £1500 is what I had budgeted anyway.
We moved in November. 4 bedroom 2 storey into a 5 bedroom 2 storey plus double garage. Easy access both houses but only 3 miles away. But it was a 2 day move due to the amount of crap we have accumulated.
The large loft was full of boxes which we had to get down to the landing as they won't go into the loft. We also had an annex and 2 sheds to empty as well. On top of that, we moved one of the sheds, a piano and 2 BBQs (they won't put gas cannisters in the truck so you have to move those yourself if you have any).
They supplied all the packing materials, did the packing, disassembled beds, wardrobes etc. and reassembled at the new house and worth every penny they charged. We have moved a few times in the UK and only packed ourselves one time which took nearly 2 weeks. It's much better if the packers just wrap and pack rather than spending an hour talking about an old tea cup that used to belong to your nan. Packing cost £714 including VAT.
The move over 2 days and 3 trucks full (2 packed the first day and one came back empty on day 2 and took everything else that didn't fit cost £2394 including VAT and insurance.
This is from a well established professional company we have used for all out moves including the UK side of moving from Australia.
The large loft was full of boxes which we had to get down to the landing as they won't go into the loft. We also had an annex and 2 sheds to empty as well. On top of that, we moved one of the sheds, a piano and 2 BBQs (they won't put gas cannisters in the truck so you have to move those yourself if you have any).
They supplied all the packing materials, did the packing, disassembled beds, wardrobes etc. and reassembled at the new house and worth every penny they charged. We have moved a few times in the UK and only packed ourselves one time which took nearly 2 weeks. It's much better if the packers just wrap and pack rather than spending an hour talking about an old tea cup that used to belong to your nan. Packing cost £714 including VAT.
The move over 2 days and 3 trucks full (2 packed the first day and one came back empty on day 2 and took everything else that didn't fit cost £2394 including VAT and insurance.
This is from a well established professional company we have used for all out moves including the UK side of moving from Australia.
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