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800-333-3434Movingfeedback.com was created to help you move with as little stress and financial expenditure as possible by bringing everything you need to know about moving to your fingertips.
So, if you’ve grown tired of having multiple tabs open on your web browser with moving information of dubious accuracy on your screen, or you’ve ever wished you could get all the relevant information about moving in Texas in one concise, easy-to-understand, and constantly updating the place, then welcome, you’re in the right place.
If you’re moving for the first time, it’s normal to be a bit flustered. You’re in the middle of a life-defining event, you’ve people waving about unfamiliar terms like non-binding estimates and accessorial services in your face and you get the sneaking suspicion that you’re about to part with a fair amount of money. Well, take a deep breath, hold it in, and let it flow out with all your stress because, by the end of this article, you’ll be negotiating with those moving companies in Texas like you were born in the business.
This article will focus on the absolutely essential bits of information you’ll need before your move. Things like how far ahead of your move you need to get a contract with a mover in Texas, how you can get a cheaper quote, what a non-binding estimate actually means, and tons of other tips that will help make your move efficient and inexpensive.
Before we go on to tell you can choose the best moving companies in Texas, you should actually know what a moving company does. You probably already know that they are companies that help you move, but that’s not the full extent of their services.
Movers in Texas can either take care of all aspects of your move or take care of the specific parts you have trouble with, so you should actually be looking to hire the most suitable moving company in Texas that offers services that suit your particular needs. Here are some qualities to look out for in the ideal moving company in Texas.
If you decide to carry out a hybrid move — this is when you only hire a moving company in Texas for one specific aspect of moving like transportation while you handle the packing, installation, and disassembly yourself — then you have to choose a mover in Texas that is open to service customization.
It is absolutely not too much to ask that your moving company in Texas keeps its word when it comes to pricing. Movers in Texas will often offer a binding estimate of the cost of your move which represents an almost inviolable legal guarantee that you won’t pay more than the quote that they give you after inspecting your home. Some movers stick with this estimate, while others have been known to hit you with added charges after your move.
In addition to this, you should choose a moving company in Texas that is fully insured according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the US Department of Transportation laws. This will help ensure that you get some compensation in the event of an unavoidable loss of property and, let’s be honest, you’ll sleep better knowing that you’ve entrusted your property to a company that is licensed to do their job.
Movers in Texas are as numerous as Stetsons but one of the most sure-fire ways of deciding what moving companies in Texas might be the right fit is by taking a look at their pricing. While cheapest isn’t always best, you should always choose a moving company that offers value for your money.
One of the quick and easy ways to figure out if you’re paying too much or too little — which we’ll go into in more detail below — is by comparing the cost given to you by the moving company in Texas to the average quote by other movers in the state.
While Texas is a generally affordable place to live, with the cost of living estimated at 0.93 times the national average, there are some areas where you’ll be expected to pay more than the national average. Things like transportation will cost more while people living in Texas will pay less for healthcare, groceries, and housing.
In Texas, you’ll be expected to pay $1,722 to rent a one-bedroom apartment in the middle of the state while actually purchasing one will cost just above $3,400
Remember when we asked you to think about moving as a multi-stage process consisting of a pre-move and a moving stage? Well, that’s going to come in handy now. Here are some handy tips about moving in Texas that are guaranteed to make your move easier.
At movingfeedback.com, we like to think of moving costs as more than just fixed figures. So even as research states that it'll cost between $1,700 to $2,000 as total moving costs in Texas, we want to go a step further to explain what this price will cover and what it will not.
For your potential move, you need to think of moving in two distinct stages. Let's call them the pre-move, and the move itself. For the pre-move, you'll need to consider the preparation you'll need to make for the move itself and this includes things like costs of materials like boxes, duct-tape and cushioning like packing peanuts for more delicate items. You may be able to make up the cost of these materials by carrying out a garage sale, which is a handy way to raise money as well as reduce the number of things you'll need to take to your new home.
The move itself is where the moving companies in Texas come to play, and the cost implications in this stage of your move will typically depend on the following factors:
Do you think moving would be really convenient for you during the summer months when it's warm and cozy? Well, so those everybody else. The result of this is that the moving companies in Texas typically experience a higher demand for their services during these months and you'll be asked to pay more for your move. The same applies, albeit to a lesser extent on weekends, holidays, and during times of anticipated traffic congestion.
Moves are typically classified as either local or long distance depending on the distance traveled. Local moves are typically intrastate, and range between 50 to 100 miles. Long-distance moves, on the other hand, exceed 100 miles and often require crossing state lines. You shouldn't be surprised to learn that moving companies in Texas will charge a higher price for longer distances, and some of the factors contributing to this price include fuel costs, tolls, and additional driver wages.
You'll spend most of the money during the move itself on labor costs, and wages paid to workers in moving companies generally vary according to the state. In Texas, expect to pay between $75 to $150 per hour for a single worker, and although this may not seem like a lot at first, the total amount can be startling when you consider that you may need to hire more than one worker for multiple hours.
Your typical contract with a moving company in Texas will generally involve moving your property from poi
point A to point B. This does not mean that they only offer those services though, as movers in Texas are designed to render extra services to make your move easier for an additional cost. These services include full packing services where the moving company helps you pack and move your property, handling delicate items, furniture (dis)assembly, and transport.
You can think about accessorial services as extra services that may not be explicitly covered by the contract but will require a significant expenditure of time and effort on the part of the moving company in Texas.
These services include stair carry, elevator carry, and long carry services. Stair and elevator carry are useful in situations where the property they moved is located in high-rise buildings and the workers in the moving company will need to maneuver property through either stairs or elevators. Long carry services come into play when the moving company can't move property directly from the home to the moving truck due to poor access and having to carry these properties by hand.
It’ll cost between $1,700 and $2,000 for a local move with in Texas. Expect to pay about $1,000 for labor if you’re looking to hire a two-man team for five hours of work.
Budget around $700 for extra services and materials for moving such as cardboard boxes, tape, transportation and set aside about $300 as tips to the workers in the moving company for a job well done.
By their very definition, non-binding estimates can be reviewed upward if your moving company in Texas discovers that there are aspects of the move that’ll require more work than they had anticipated. For this reason, its best to insist on a binding estimate that can only be changed by an addition to the contract and your full consent.
The cheapest way to move is by doing everything by yourself. This means purchasing the supplies you’ll need for the move yourself, packing up and disassembling your furniture without help, renting and fueling the moving truck, driving your new home, then unpacking, assembling and installing by yourself. From this description alone you can probably see why it’s not a popular option.
When you’re moving across state lines or cross-country, you’ll be expected to pay more for your move for several reasons. First off, longer distances will require more fuel, which as we know, doesn’t come cheap. It’ll also mean that the driver of the moving truck will have to work for longer hours, which will inevitably increase the amount you pay as labor wage.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with just packing up your property and shipping it to your new home. As a matter of fact, it’s actually cheaper and can be more convenient than using a moving truck.
One significant drawback though, is that you can only transport a limited weight which might play out to your detriment if you have to move the contents of a three-bedroom apartment.
