20 Hidden Moving Costs and Expenses When Hiring Movers

If you’ve hired a professional moving company to help you move, you may soon come across some additional moving costs you’ve never expected in the first place.

It’s no secret that the home moving process can drain your budget faster than you can say your own name, so we’ve decided to help you prepare for any unpleasant financial surprises.

This is exactly why we’ve compiled a complete list of all unexpected moving expenses when moving out that – hidden, forgotten, and uncommon costs – that the potential to hurt your chances for a low-cost house move.

After all, a residential move can only be considered successful if all the moving costs have been kept to a minimum.

Check out these 20 hidden moving costs, expenses, and fees when using professional movers.

Be ready – both financially and mentally – for those invisible moving costs and charges so that you can set up your moving budget accordingly.

Hidden moving costs when hiring a moving company

Of course, the major expense when moving house with the help of professional movers is the cost of hiring the moving company itself. First of all, you must get several cost estimates after in-home surveys from at least 3 full-service moving companies.

Request free cost estimates from top-rated movers

While the price of hiring a professional moving company is one of the most typical costs of moving house, there are a number of hidden moving costs that you may not be aware of until you get a closer look at the final relocation bill.

What are the hidden costs of moving house when using a moving company?

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1. Packing labor + Packing supplies

The packing service and the packing materials are an additional service offered by full-service moving companies. It’s entirely up to you to decide whether you wish to pack your items by yourself (the moving company cannot cover any possible damage to your possessions unless packing has been performed by them) or you prefer to have professional packers take care of your household items.

The required packing materials may or may not be included in the cost of the packing service. Review the cost estimate carefully to find out that detail or simply contact the moving company for confirmation.

In order to inflate the packing cost, some movers could try to assure you that most of your things require special packing materials and more packing boxes than are actually necessary for their safe packing and transportation.

After all, unexpected costs of moving out can come from anywhere, so you should be extra vigilant about the packing expenses.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire Packers?

2. Moving insurance

When you sign your Bill of Lading, you automatically get basic coverage (called Basic Limited Liability Protection). You don’t have to pay for that basic type of insurance – it’s free of charge – but its meager coverage of 60 cents per pound per item is absurd.

Get this: if something really bad happened to your flat-screen TV (weighing approx. 30 pounds), you’d be compensated with around $18 for its damage or loss.

One of the most frequently forgotten moving expenses is the proper moving insurance, called Full Value Protection. So, when moving valuable items, do consider purchasing this type of moving insurance because it will entitle the moving company to reimburse the replacement value of any damaged or lost items.

Types of Moving Insurance

3. Fee for disassembly and re-assembly of furniture

Your furniture movers may surprise you with an extra charge for disassembling large pieces of furniture in your current home and later reassembling those pieces in the new house or apartment.

Adding to the extra costs when moving out, you may not even be aware that beds, wardrobes, dressers, china cabinets, desks, and sofas will often need to be taken apart in order to be wrapped up easily and transported safely.

Do you think you can manage the furniture disassembly task on your own to save some money?

How to Disassemble Furniture When Moving

4. Extra charge for handling bulky items

If your items appear to be heavier or oversized, you may be charged additional moving fees.

This is another hidden moving expense you should be aware of in advance. Unexpected moving costs will spring up if you are moving pianos, pool tables, hot tubs, heavy metal safes, or other hard-to-transport items that are super-heavy and take up a lot of space in the moving truck.

For example, many people who are moving house are concerned about how to move a piano. If your piano needs to be lifted by crane, it will cost you around $800-$2,500 extra, depending on the musical instrument’s weight and dimensions, as well as the access to your house or apartment.

If you are moving a piano locally, it will probably cost you between $150 and $600. Additionally, you will be charged for every ascended flight of stairs to your floor with approximately $60 per flight of stairs – the first flight is usually free of charge.

How Much Does It Cost to Move a Piano?

5. Elevator fees (flight charges)

The hidden costs of moving house come in all shapes and sizes.

Ultimately, you may be rather disappointed to learn that if your building lacks an elevator or if that elevator is out of order at the time of the move, you may be charged a one-time fee of around $75.

This cost is only an approximation – the actual amount will depend on the moving company itself. In some rare cases, a mover may choose not to charge a flight charges fee even though the movers will be forced to carry household goods up and down the stairs due to a missing or non-operational elevator in the building.

So, if you live in a high-rise building, make sure you speak with the building management and reserve an elevator exclusively for the move so that you don’t get stunned by another one of the unexpected costs of moving.

6. Long carry fees

If your movers cannot park the truck a certain distance from the front door of your house or apartment building, then you may be charged between $90 and $120 for every 75 feet from the truck to your door.

The long carry fee – another one of the hidden moving expenses – is a direct result of the impossibility of the moving crew to park the vehicle close to the entrance of your home.

It is hard to rely on free parking spots in big cities like New York, for example.

To protect your budget from taking a hit by hidden moving costs, see if there is a way to reserve a parking spot for the moving truck. You can also try to get a parking permit for your movers for the specific day and time of the move.

If that is not possible, speak directly with your movers to find out the terms and conditions of their long carry fee.

Best Ways to Save on Additional Moving Services

7. Move cancellation fee

At the last minute, your relocation plans may have changed or you may have decided to go with another moving company. But beware because the decision to cancel your booked move may cost you extra money.

Every moving company has its own cancellation policy. As one of the most common hidden moving costs, you should make sure you understand its terms in order to avoid the extra moving expense.

For more than a one-week notice, you won’t normally be charged a cancellation fee, so no unexpected moving expenses are incurred.

If you notify your mover one week in advance, you may be charged $50 – $100 as part of their cancellation policy.

For a canceled move in less than five days, you may be charged with an average cost of $300 or the full moving deposit.

In any case, get more information about the move cancellation policy of your moving company before you book the move.

Must-read: The Greatest Moving Checklist of All Time

8. Storage fee (delayed delivery fee)

Another one of the hidden costs of moving is the so-called storage fee. Under specific circumstances, your household items may need to be stored temporarily at the mover’s storage facility (warehouse).

The most common reason for being charged a storage fee is when you request delayed delivery of your items – for example, when your new home is not yet ready for the shipment due to renovation, repair works, paperwork problems, and so on.

The storage fee should be calculated in the cost estimate after you’ve informed the moving company about the precise delivery date. Keep in mind that the longer you have your possessions in storage, the higher that extra moving expense will be.

So, do all in your power to shorten that storage period in order to save from hidden moving costs.

Amazing Tips and Tricks for Preparing Items for Storage

9. Express delivery fee

On the other hand, you may wish your household items to be delivered to the new home as soon as possible. In such cases, you should expect to pay extra for that privilege.

The express delivery charge is usually associated with long-distance moving. In an attempt to cut costs, cross-country movers tend to combine several shipments if there is enough storage room in the moving truck.

So, if you don’t want to wait or if you can’t afford to wait more than you need to, speak with your mover about paying extra for the exclusive use of the moving van.

10. Extra stops charges – fees for extra stops

The extra stops charge is not one of the common moving expenses but you may still need to pay extra if you request that the moving company stop for additional pick-ups or drop-offs along the route.

When it comes to this uncommon charge, $75 is the usual starting price for an extra stop.

Discuss any possible extra stops with your mover to figure out the best way to handle the relocation issue with minimum expenses.

11. Travel fee

When you’re moving locally and you’ve hired a local moving company to handle the relocation job for you, you’re likely to get charged a somewhat hidden moving cost known as a travel fee.

A travel fee is a charge for the time your movers will require to reach your home from their main office. Usually, that extra cost is calculated as 1 additional hour of labor, but it can cost more.

Ask your movers whether they plan to charge you a travel fee in order to be prepared in advance for all possible unexpected costs of moving.

Local Movers: Costs, Checklist, and Tips

12. Hoisting fee

Another moving expense you may not foresee is the so-called hoisting fee.

Practically, if you own a really big furniture piece, a large household appliance, or a specialized item that happens to be too big to fit through the doorways, hallways, or staircases of your home, then your mover might be able to offer you individual hoisting services.

A hoisting or rigging service will mean that the moving company will take that bulky and heavy item through a window or a balcony to save time, guarantee general safety, and avoid any property damage.

The hoisting fee can be rather costly depending on your specific set of circumstances. The reason for the high cost is the use of specialized equipment and well-trained personnel.

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13. Environmental charge (disposal fee)

Some moving companies may try to inflate the overall moving costs by adding extra fees like the environmental fee (also called a disposal fee).

In fact, the environmental charge is one of the most unexpected costs of moving you may need to pay when moving house.

Your mover may claim that the disposal fee will cover the expenses regarding the safe disposal of the used packaging materials – moving boxes, bubble wrap, packing paper, etc. – after the move is over.

So, to stay in complete control of your moving budget, don’t forget to explicitly ask your moving company about what fees and charges they intend to hit you with before you sign the moving contract.

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14. Cash for tipping movers

As you can see from the moving costs checklist above, there are many hidden costs when moving house. Of course, some of those costs are more obvious than others, and there are those moving expenses that are really well-hidden and have the potential to surprise you when you least expect it.

One of the hidden costs of moving out with the help of a professional moving company is the expense of tipping your movers. The thing is that, during the whirlwind of move-related activities, you may not necessarily think about setting aside tipping money for your hired workers. Nevertheless, it’s an expense you should consider in case you’re happy with the work they’ve done.

How Much to Tip Movers

Follow the link to learn how much to tip local movers, how much to tip long-distance movers, and the question that you must be asking yourself right now: do you have to tip your movers at all?

15. Fuel charge

When you hire professional movers to transport your household items to a new location, the moving companies that prepare quotes for you may not add any fuel charges to the final price of the estimate. The reason for this is that fuel prices can vary at different gas stations, so moving companies usually wait until the move is over to charge for the fuel.

Ask your moving company specifically about the fuel expenses. Also, speak with them about the possibility of consolidated shipment – meaning that your items and another person’s items will be transported in the same truck if the storage space of the vehicle allows it.

That way, the moving expenses will be split between the two households, including the fuel expenses.

16. Cost of a parking ticket

As mentioned above, one of the unexpected costs of moving out is when your movers arrive on the day of the move and park the truck illegally due to the lack of reserved space for their large vehicle. And if that does happen, then you’re likely to be charged extra for the cost of the parking ticket.

The best way to avoid such unnecessary expenses is to obtain a parking permit from the City Hall a few weeks in advance. That is especially relevant in big cities where parking is usually a big problem.

So, as long as you know the exact date and time when your movers are expected to show up, you should take care of the mundane yet important task of obtaining a parking permit for the moving truck.

What to Do Before Movers Arrive

17. Cost of boarding pets

When your movers arrive on Moving day, the packing and loading process can become a bit chaotic, so it’s all going to be dangerous for any pets to be running around movers’ feet while large and heavy furniture items are being carried out of the house.

Ideally, you’ll want to have your dog or cat locked in a room away from the packing and moving epicenter, but if that proves to be impossible for some reason, then you may have to resort to leaving your beloved pets at a boarding kennel until the movers are done.

Moving With Dogs to a New Home

Boarding fees can vary greatly from one boarding kennel to another, but the average cost is between $20 and $40 per day per pet. As a rule of thumb, boarding kennels require all pet animals to be up to date with their vaccinations, so having to vaccinate your pet will be yet another unplanned expense ($30-$50) from the list of hidden moving costs.

Moving With Cats to a New Home

18. Cost of replacing food items

One of the most unexpected costs of moving out when using professional moving services is the cost of restocking your pantry.

You should know by now that professional movers are not allowed by law to pack and move perishable food items due to their tendency to go bad shortly after they are taken out of the refrigerator or freezer.

The thing is that you yourself won’t be too thrilled about transporting frozen or cooled food items in your own car while driving across the state or across the country, right?

It’s best to just leave behind all perishable foods and some of the non-perishable food items as well.

However, once you do it, it means that you’ll have to restock the new-home pantry after the move is over, and that’s an extra expense that few home movers ever include in their moving budget.

What to Do With Food When Moving

19. Cost of forgotten memberships

When you’re moving to a new home, it’s unlikely that you will forget to factor in the cost of setting up the new utilities in the new place – electricity, water and sewage, gas, cable TV, Internet, waste removal, etc.

You should also take into account the utility deposits that can easily go into hundreds of dollars too.

While the home utility costs are viewed as common moving expenses during a house move, a house moving expense that may catch you by surprise is the cost of various memberships that you have forgotten to cancel before moving out.

Most memberships for gyms, yoga studios, sports clubs, country clubs, spas, and so on renew automatically from one month to the next unless they are canceled.

So, failure to cancel your various memberships on time can be one of the unexpected moving costs – you won’t really find out about those expenses until you check your credit card statement.

Canceling your memberships before moving out is a must-do task, but bear in mind that you may have to pay an early termination fee in some cases.

20. Cost of lost wages

As you can see, there are many hidden costs when moving house, and being aware of their somewhat concealed existence will help you set up a preliminary moving budget that will match almost perfectly the moving sum you have to pay at the end of it all.

Possibly the moving cost that few people ever factor in is the cost of lost wages. Now, if you request the add-on service of packing from your professional movers, then you’ll have to pay extra for the packing service.

On the other hand, if you decide to pack your things on your own, then you’ll most likely need to get days off work to finish the packing task, meaning you’ll lose the wages for those days. And lost wages do tend to add up quickly too.

If you’re lucky enough, you may get to use paid time off to complete the packing marathon on time. In that case, however, that time off work will be at the expense of your vacation days, so you’ll have to choose your course of action wisely.

Must-read: 10 Ways Movers Can Increase the Final Cost (Without Cheating)

Hidden moving costs when moving by yourself

You may have decided to move by yourself – that is, to move out without hiring professional movers. Provided that specific prerequisites are met – moving locally, having previous house moving experience, relying on trustworthy friends – organizing a self-move can be a good option to try to cut your moving costs.

However, you must know that there is a fairly long list of costs when moving out on your own that you should definitely factor in when deciding whether to hire movers or move by yourself. HIDDEN MOVING COSTS, that is.

People often forget about these moving costs when moving on their own:

• Truck rental fees (a possible charge for late return of the rental truck, a possible charge for returning the rental truck with less fuel, a rental truck cleaning fee);
• Truck rental insurance;
• Packing supplies;
• Moving equipment;
• Possible property damage;
• Potential personal injuries;
• Car servicing;
• Road taxes and tolls;
• Food and lodging on the road;
• Lost time.

Forgotten Costs of Moving Out on Your Own