What a move really costs in Dallas: the six things that set the price

The short answer: it depends on six things, and all of them can be seen

The price of a move is set by how much you are moving, how far it is going, which services you want, how hard the homes are to load and unload, when you move and how much protection you choose for your belongings. A one-bedroom apartment across town and a five-bedroom house going to another state are different jobs, so any single number you hear before someone has seen your home is a guess. The honest way to get a real price is a walk-through, in person or by video, followed by a written estimate.

We at IMS Relocation have moved households and businesses out of Carrollton since 1991, and we do not publish rates for exactly that reason: no two moves are the same. What we can do is explain where the money goes, so you can read any estimate, ours or someone else's, and know whether it reflects your move or just a number meant to win the job.

Volume and weight come first

Everything else is built on top of how much there is to move. More furniture means more crew hours to wrap and load, more space on the truck and, for long-distance moves, more weight on the scale. The rooms people forget are where estimates go wrong: the garage, the attic, the patio furniture, the second freezer, the closet under the stairs. When our estimator walks through a home, those are the spaces we open first.

Two houses with the same square footage can be very different moves. A family that has lived in a home for twenty years usually has far more in it than a couple who moved in three years ago, and a home office or a workshop adds volume fast. That is why the size of the house alone does not tell you much about the price.

Heavy and awkward items count for more than their size suggests. A piano, a gun safe, a marble-top table or a large aquarium stand can each need extra crew, special equipment or a custom crate. Mention every one of them at the walk-through. An item that appears for the first time on moving day is the most common reason a crew runs long, and on an hourly job you pay for every one of those minutes.

• Large furniture: sectionals, armoires, dining sets, bunk beds
• Garage contents: tools, shelving, bikes, lawn equipment
• Attic and closet storage that nobody has opened in years
• Outdoor items: grills, patio sets, planters, playsets
• Home office and gym equipment

Distance changes how the move is priced, not just how long the drive is

A move within Dallas–Fort Worth is a local job. The crew loads, drives across the metroplex and unloads, usually the same day, and the price reflects crew time and the truck. A move to Austin, Atlanta or Chicago is a different kind of job. It is planned here and then carried through the Mayflower Transit and United Van Lines networks we are an agent for, and long-distance pricing depends heavily on the weight of the shipment and the distance it travels.

International moves add another layer: export packing, customs paperwork and ocean or air freight. Those are quoted separately, and some international moves require a deposit, while domestic moves we schedule do not. If any leg of your move crosses a state line or an ocean, ask the estimator to show you how that part is priced on its own.

Cars, boats and motorcycles are their own line too. We can arrange vehicle transport alongside the household move, which is simpler than booking a separate carrier, but it is priced separately and depends on the vehicle and the destination. If you plan to drive one car and ship another, put both plans on the table at the estimate so the dates line up.

Business moves are priced on the same factors plus one more: the timing needed to keep the company running. If you are pricing an office relocation, our guide on moving an office without losing a workday covers what changes.

Services you add, and which ones are worth it

Loading, transport and unloading are the base of every move. On top of that you can add packing, unpacking, custom crating for art or glass, piano moving, vehicle transport and storage. Each one adds to the estimate, and each one is optional. A good estimate lists them separately so you can decide which to keep.

Full packing is the biggest add-on and also the one people most often regret skipping. A trained crew packs a kitchen in a fraction of the time it takes a family, and boxes packed by the mover are easier to stand behind if something breaks. I go through that tradeoff in detail in our guide on whether to pack yourself or have the movers pack. Many families split it: we pack the kitchen, the art and the fragile items, and they pack books, linens and clothes.

Storage is priced by how much space your goods take up and for how long. If your closing dates do not line up, see our guide on moving out, storing everything and moving in, because a move with storage in the middle should be planned and priced as one job.

Access: stairs, elevators, long carries and parking

The same sofa costs more to move from a third-floor walk-up than from a ground-floor house with the truck in the driveway. Stairs, elevators that must be reserved, long walks from where the truck can park, narrow streets and gated communities with set moving hours all add crew time. Texas regulators make the same point: the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles tells consumers that for a mover to give an accurate estimate, you must describe special conditions such as stairs, long carries or elevators.

Tell the estimator about both ends of the move. People describe the house they live in carefully and forget that the new apartment has a loading dock with a two-hour window, or that the new house sits at the end of a street a full-size moving truck cannot turn around in.

A few minutes of homework saves real money here. Ask the building manager or HOA at each address about moving hours, elevator reservations, certificates of insurance and where a truck may park. Measure any tight doorway or stair turn that a large piece has to pass through. If something will not fit, it is far cheaper to learn that at the estimate than with a crew of four standing in the stairwell.

Timing and season

May through September is peak moving season. Schools are out, more homes change hands and crews book up weeks ahead. We recommend booking four to six weeks out for a standard residential move and six to eight weeks for commercial and international moves. Late fall and winter usually give you more flexibility on dates and can come with savings. The end of the month is busy all year, because leases and closings cluster there.

Changes cost money too. Under our terms, most moves can be canceled or rescheduled without penalty with 48 hours' notice, while changes inside 24 hours of the move may bring extra charges. If your dates are still moving, say so at the estimate, and see our guide on picking a moving date around the Dallas summer.

Protection for your belongings is part of the price

Every estimate should say how your belongings are protected if something is lost or damaged. With us, you declare the value of your goods and choose a protection level, and that choice appears on both the estimate and the bill of lading. A higher level of protection costs more and pays more if something goes wrong.

The cheapest option is very limited. The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles gives the example of liability limited to 60 cents per pound per item, under which a 50-pound television would be reimbursed at 30 dollars. That is fine for a box of paperbacks and painful for a flat-screen or an antique. I explain the choice in our guide to full value protection versus released value.

Reading an estimate so the price holds on moving day

In Texas, a mover must give you a written proposal before loading. According to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, it can be a binding proposal, which states the exact price, or a not-to-exceed proposal, which states the maximum price. The same agency notes that it does not regulate the fees movers charge, so comparing written proposals is how you protect yourself. A verbal number over the phone is not a proposal.

When you lay two estimates side by side, check that they describe the same move. One may include packing materials and the other may not. One may list the garage and the other may have missed it. One may price protection at the minimum level to look cheaper.

• Was the home seen, in person or by video, before the price was given?
• Is every room, the garage and any storage listed?
• Are packing, crating and storage shown as separate lines?
• Is it binding or not-to-exceed, and in writing?
• Which protection level is assumed, and what does it pay per item?
• When is payment due, and is any deposit required?

Ways to bring the number down without cutting corners

The most reliable savings come from moving less. Sell, donate or give away what you will not use in the new place before the estimator visits, so the estimate reflects the smaller load. Pack the easy things yourself and leave the kitchen, the art and the fragile pieces to the crew. If your dates are flexible, ask whether a weekday or an off-season date changes the price.

What does not save money is choosing the lowest number from a company that never saw your home. That number tends to grow once your furniture is on the truck. We give a written, upfront, no-obligation price after the walk-through, we do not take a deposit to schedule a domestic move, and if you pay by credit card the estimated cost is charged the business day before the move. Ask the estimator to walk you through each line, and keep the estimate next to the contract on moving day.

Questions people ask me