Different types of moving estimates

So, you are moving to NH from MA and you are concerned about the cost. Long distance moves can be pretty costly but luckily there are ways to lower that cost. First, you need to decide what services you will need from your moving company. As you probably already know, there are many available services that moving companies offer. But if you take a closer look most of those things you could do by yourself. And that is the key to lowering your moving cost. Of course, you will still need your movers for the basic services like loading, transportation, and unloading.  From that, you can’t get away. Especially when it comes to long distance moves. But what you can do is to get moving estimates from different companies and compare the quotes and conditions. When it comes to conditions there are 3 basic types of moving estimates.

What is a moving estimate?

Do you know what’s a moving estimate? A moving estimate is what its name says. An estimate of the overall price you’ll have to pay your movers when the job is done. And there are many factors that can determine that price. Long distance moves are usually calculated differently than a local move.

KNow about moving estimates before you sign a contract
Before you sign anything you need to know about different types of moving estimates

A local move will usually be charged around 100$ per hour. So the least local-moving cost you can hope for that includes 4 movers, up to 9 hours of work for 3-bedroom home is around 900$. But an average local-move cost is around 2300$. And that is every move within 50 miles radius. Anything more than that and you will need services of long distance movers. And they will calculate your price in a very different way. The average price of a long distance move is 4300$. And there are many factors that are determining that price.

What goes into a moving estimate?

If you decide to use services of long distance movers Massachusetts, for example, your moving estimate will include many things.  Here is the list of all possible factors that could affect your overall moving price.

  • The first thing that they will take into consideration is the weight of your inventory.
  • Some companies will also calculate the volume of your inventory.
  • Travel fees include fuel cost and labor cost for the time they will have to spend in traveling to your destination.
  • It will also affect the price if they have to cross many stairs while carrying your belongings.
  • If you do not arrange a parking spot for the moving truck, and your movers need to carry your belongings from far away, you can expect an item with that description on your final bill.
  • Carrying heavy objects
  • Disassembling and assembling of furniture
  • People usually like to pack their belonging by themselves, but sometimes it is not an option. If for whatever reason, you decide to use packing services it will be included in the final bill.
  • If for some reason you need storage for your part of your belongings, it will cost you. But it will depend on the length of the rent and size of the rented unit.
  • Another possible factor for determining your final moving cost is the date of your move. You could lower your moving cost if you avoid weekend or peak season for your moving date.

Get your moving estimates

Now that you have learned what goes into a moving cost, you can start getting estimates from different moving companies. Find several moving companies NH that look like they have clean sheets and start getting their estimates. But how to get a moving estimate? There are several ways of getting one.

Get your moving calculations
Get your moving estimates and do the calculations

There are many free online calculators on the internet, and they are really good. You can also use the phone to get an estimate. In this case, it is very important to give your estimator the most precise assessment of your inventory and to mention every other possible factor that could affect the final price. It is important to mention that using the internet or phone is not the best way to get the most precise moving estimate. The best way is to get the estimator to come to your home for a personal inspection.

Before you get your first estimation you should know that there are three different types of moving estimates. Binding moving estimate, Non-binding moving estimate, and Binding-not-to-exceed moving estimate. You are now probably puzzled with these strange terms, but it is not that complicated.

Different types of moving estimates – Binding-not-to-exceed

Of all three types of moving estimates, the binding-not-to-exceed is the most customer-friendly. It means that the moving company will give you a moving estimate according to the available information at the time. If in the end, the total price of your moving is higher than what was in the original estimate you will not pay anything. And if the final cost ends up being lower than in the estimate you will only pay the true cost.

Different types of moving estimates – Binding estimate

Another type of moving estimates is the Binding estimate. It basically means that you will get the fixed price for your move. In this type of agreement, you can’t hope that your moving services NH cost will get lower if you decide to throw out some things in the last minute. But it also means that you will be protected from some final minute overcharging by your movers.

Shaking hands agreement before the move
A binding estimate means fixed price

You will pay the agreed price no matter what the true cost is. But don’t try to chuck in some things into a moving truck and hope that your price won’t change. The FMCSA rules say that in the case where the customer decides to add new items to the inventory the movers can create a new binding estimate, convert the existing one into a non-binding moving estimate or agree to work under the existing binding estimate.

Different types of moving estimates – Non-binding estimate

You should generally avoid doing business with companies that will only offer a Non-binding estimate. Of all three types of moving estimates, this could be the worst for the customer. You could get a fantastic non-binding estimate that will lure you to hire them and in the end, end up paying way more than you originally hoped.