Hire a moving company or not?

The decision whether to hire a moving company to do your move for you or to try to move yourself has always been a big dilemma for every family or homeowner that is facing relocation. Like any other decision, the best option is different for every person. Some families prefer to pay a bit more but to get a really good, professional service and move within their ideal time frame. Others choose to do a DIY move and thus save up on all the services, tips and extra charges. Both ways have their pros and cons, so if you need to decide it is best to weigh the advantages and disadvantages first. When you are only facing a local move, you can hire a moving truck and do the move on your own. If you are only moving a small flat or a one-bedroom house, even a man-and-van service might be enough for the move. When you start weighing the pros and cons, keep in mind your most important factor – is it money, convenience, time or professionalism. So here are the things to consider before you make a decision:

1. How big is your move?
   Depending on the number of bedrooms, you will need to choose the right size for the moving truck. If you only have one or two bedrooms a 14’ size of a truck will be enough for the job. However, if you have 3 or more than 4 bedrooms you are looking at a size between 17’and 26’.
2. What is your budget?
   No house move is cheap, but there are some services that add up so much to the bill that it may look like a total waste of money, especially if you can manage with them on your own. Determine your top budget and try to work around it. If you can’t afford special tools for packing or unpacking services, then you should deal with the tasks yourself. If you can hire a few movers to do the loading of the truck, it will be much easier and faster. This will mean that you need to do all the packing on your own though.
3. How long is the distance of the move?
   Fuel, long haul charges, flight charges – you need to consider all of these parts of your move and weigh your options. A long-distance move is not one of the cheapest services.
4. Can you move some things in your vehicle?
   If you own a nice big car, you can do a few trips and carry some of the valuable or fragile items. Glassware, china and electronics are not only fragile and expensive, but they are also heavy which adds up to the overall cost of the move too. Same applies to books – if you can move them yourself you will lower the weight load considerably.
5. Do you have big equipment or oddly-shaped items that need special handling?
   If the answer is yes, then you should definitely hire movers for that task. Don’t burden yourself with the packing and carrying and loading of these, as it may take ages and cause damage.

Whether to hire movers or not is entirely up to you – be realistic about your budget, needs, household specifics and your skills. A house move requires plenty of physical labor. If you are not ready for that simply trust the professionals.