Cost of Moving to NoVa (Suffolk, Fairfax: truck rental, coupon, apartment)

[ryubaum]

Hi all. I am trying to get an estimate of what it would cost to hire a moving company to transport our household furniture to NoVa. We currently live in a tiny two bedroom apartment in Nassau County and looking to move to Prince William County. Just looking for a general estimate. The moving companies don't want to give an estimate unless they can come out, even when given what furniture is to go. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Rangers94]

I'm looking at moving from a 3 bedroom house in Suffolk to Prince William myself and got a quote a couple months ago of around $4000. For that, they would come in, box everything up, transport to a storage facility in VA, hold it for up to a month (additional storage time was extra) and then move from the storage facility to our new house. When the time comes I'm probably just going to rent a U-Haul or something ($600 with a month of storage included) and just do it all myself.

[mshan242709]

I was going to guesstimate $2000 - $2500.

http://www.movinghelp.com

There are also threads about recommended local movers if you search forums.

[South Jersey Styx]

Originally Posted by ryubaum

Hi all. I am trying to get an estimate of what it would cost to hire a moving company to transport our household furniture to NoVa. We currently live in a tiny two bedroom apartment in Nassau County and looking to move to Prince William County. Just looking for a general estimate. The moving companies don't want to give an estimate unless they can come out, even when given what furniture is to go. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

This is true with alot of companies. But some should be able to give an estimate based on a "2-Bedroom House". This differs, let's say, from a "3-Bedroom House + garage" or "two storage units, 10' x 20'". They'll also ask about unique items such as pianos or heavy furniture, stairs/access to your place, etc.

Since it's only a 2-BR place, why not hire a truck, drive it yourself, and hire labor separately? There are places such as emove.com where you can hire the # of people you need, hire a team to load-in at your current place, and a team to unload at your new home. Right now it's low-season for truck rentals so prices will be lower than the Spring/Summer. Good luck!

[jcnycarch]

My family and I moved from NYC about a year ago to Fairfax. Our move (we did packing) was just less than $3000 for a 2 bedroom apt. I suspect the prices you're getting are pretty competitive. Ask if your truck is a "shuttle". Since the NYC to DC route is close and popular, most companies will give you a dedicated truck and deliver it next day rather than putting in their "van lines" network where you'd have to wait a few days or more for delivery at your destination. We used the local (to NYC) United Van Lines.

[snuffy1968]

Remember if you meet distance test and job related (and not reimbursed) could be tax deductible (assuming no changes to tax law, etc).

[snuffy1968]

Its IRS publication 521 http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p521.pdf

[yrb]

When I was moving from PA to VA

- rented a truck for one day for about $100 insurance included, rented it here in VA "local" (that was cheaper), one way from Nassau County could be around $200, I guess
check budget and penske rates, not just uhaul, you can usually find a coupon code for budget

- went to a grocery store before closing and asked if they had any empty boxes - free

- went to U-Haul: Moving Help moving labor service and found some people to load and unload
2 hours/2 people for about $100 x 2 = $200
you can pay extra (basically pay for 4 hours instead of 2) if you want them to take apart and put back together your furniture, but its better to just get a bigger truck, for a tiny 2 br you won't need a huge one

- drove the truck myself

you don't need to hire full service company for a small apartment, it's a total waste of money

[ryubaum]

Thanks for the replies all. I really appreciate the info. Looks like I will be hitting a few friends up to assist up here and will hit family up when we get to the south. Thanks again.

[scorpio516]

Originally Posted by yrb

check budget and penske rates, not just uhaul, you can usually find a coupon code for budget

Depends on locations I'd guess, but Budget usually is MUCH cheaper than UHaul. From Northern CA to PWC, Budget would be $1500-2000. UHaul would be $2000-2800. Just FYI.

But Budget does have higher floors in their trucks, so it's a little more work. I find it fine, because their floors are right at my box carrying level, but I'm tall.