Very soon the migration season for apartment renters will begin, the coming months are expected to include many apartment moves for both families and couples and individuals. If you, too, are currently moving house, here are some helpful tips on how to keep moving costs to a minimum:
- The cost of transportation itself – transportation constitutes the largest segment of transit expenses, which includes, alongside the basic payment, various extras and usually also tips for porters.
Think and examine: Do you really need professional transportation of the commercial type? If it is a full apartment that includes heavy furniture, there is no escape from this, but if the property that moves with you to the next apartment includes mainly personal belongings and furniture of the type that is falling apart, you may be able to save on transportation expenses and transport by private car. If your private car is not suitable for this, it will be worthwhile to check which of your acquaintances can come to your aid – posting a message on Facebook may lead to contact with a friend of a friend who owns a van or commercial vehicle who will be willing to provide you with a nominal fee, compared to costs of hundreds of shekels for a moving company.
- What are friends for? – There are people who own a commercial vehicle or a trailer cart that can be attached to a private vehicle, who carry out transportation as part of income supplement in a less institutionalized and less expensive way, while through social networks the way to reach such vehicles is not complicated. If necessary, you can also transport heavier accessories, which will be effective if it is moving from a ground floor apartment or a low floor to an apartment in a similar layout. With the help of friends or family who can help with carrying – you can actually reduce transportation expenses to an amount close to an average tip for porters.
If you have not found among your circle of acquaintances the owner of a vehicle suitable for transportation, you have the option of renting such a car for one day or at least more – for example through CAR2GO, which will be worthwhile due to the fact that the payment is according to the time of use of the vehicle and the distance traveled, without adding to the cost of fuel. However – keep in mind that in such transport you do not have insurance for the transported items, so if you have expensive items and furniture that may be damaged in transport, it is better not to take the risk.
- Comparing and checking – if there is no escape from paid transportation – the recommendation is to use sites that perform a “cost calculator” and compare different carriers, when a tender can be made according to the type of transport you need, and after receiving several quotes from different carriers you can choose the most worthwhile offer for you.
Some carriers offer the option of carrying out the transport only without providing porters, so the person who loads and unloads the equipment is you – which reduces the price. If you are robust enough and do not need to move furniture and heavy objects, inquiring about such an option may lead to a significant reduction in the price quote on the part of the moving company.
- After you have closed the issue of transportation – the packing stage has arrived: some of the moving companies offer cardboard boxes and other packaging materials, some charge an additional fee for this. If you do not want to pay for this service or if you do not use the services of a moving company, there are convenient and free options to obtain packaging materials: Cartons are available in shopping complexes, both in food chains and in other stores of all kinds – contact the employees on the spot and ask where they dispose of the cartons that are not needed. In order to safely pack fragile products, bring newspapers and wrap fragile objects in them.
- Remember that your time is also worth money – the loss of work days due to moving – both for the move itself and for packing and unpacking is also a significant share of moving expenses. The recommendation, therefore, is that instead of taking concentrated days off, start packing a longer period of time than planned before moving, and devote your evenings and weekends to it. Pack in advance the items that are not in daily use, and the ones you need to pack in a suitcase, so that they are accessible to you even during the transition itself.
