How Much Does it Cost To Move a 3-Bedroom House Long Distance? [2024 Data]

Cost Breakdown To Move a 3-Bedroom House Long Distance

When hiring movers for a long-distance move, you’ll need to consider several factors influencing your overall cost. These factors include home size, distance, weight, prep, additional services, accessibility, the time of year, and your location. Here are the cost breakdowns to move a 3-bedroom house long distance:

Home Size

The size of your home, apartment, or condo will influence your total cost, especially if you utilize every room, such as basements, garages, and attics. If you have a larger home, you’ll need more movers to load and unload your belongings, increasing your overall cost. 

Distance

Moving companies generally consider anything from 100 to 400 miles or more a long-distance move. Due to the nature of a long-distance move, moving companies will charge a flat rate instead of an hourly rate. The flat rate will include mileage, gas, tolls, and incidentals. So the further away you move, you can expect your overall moving cost to increase.

Weight

The weight of your belongings is a significant cost factor in your long-distance move. The more belongings you have, the larger the moving truck size you’ll need. A larger, heavier truck will require more fuel, increasing your costs.

Prep

When prepping your home to move, you’ll need to budget for packing materials and supplies. You can expect to pay $200 to $500—with moving boxes costing between $2 and $5 per box and 100 square feet of bubble wrap costing $20.

Additional Services

Heavy and fragile items will cost extra on top of the flat-rate price for moving long distances. You can expect these additional moving fees to cost:

• Piano: $100–$2,000

• Pool table: $50–$4,000+

• Hot tub: $200–$1,000

• Small boat: $2.50 per mile

• Car: $700–$1,200

• Motorcycle: $200–$2,000

• Aquarium: $50–$300+

• Exercise equipment: $100–$300+

• Riding lawn mower: $150–$400

• Safe: $175–$500

• Fine art and antiques: $200–$1,000

Accessibility

The ability of movers to safely and efficiently pack and load your belongings is vital. So, if your home is inaccessible—say, due to living on a crowded city street with limited parking, a walk-up apartment with no elevator, or if you have a steep driveway, you can expect to incur additional charges. For example, your moving company may need to shuttle your items to a larger van parked at a more accessible location. 

Season

Prime moving season is between May and September, with weekends during those months having the highest demand. Make sure to book your long-distance move well in advance—and, if you can, try to move outside of peak season (like during the winter) or during the week, and you may be able to get a lower, discounted rate.  

Location

Another cost factor is your location, with it costing much more to move a 3-bedroom house long distance from New Mexico than from Missouri. Here are the average long-distance moving costs for a 3-bedroom home:

Additional Costs to Consider

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When moving a 3-bedroom house long distance, there are additional fees you need to consider. These costs include:

Insurance

If you purchase third-party insurance coverage, you can expect to pay between 1% and 5% of your household belongings' total value. However, many moving companies provide moving insurance and offer two types of coverage: full value and released value.

Full Value Protection

You can expect to pay 1% of the total estimated cost of your household goods for full-value protection coverage. The moving company will fully repair or replace your lost or broken items. Or they will offer money for repairing or replacing a damaged or lost item.

Released Value Protection

Released value protection is budget-friendly, and you typically won’t pay extra for this insurance. The moving company will pay no more than $0.60 per pound for broken or lost items. 

Tipping

It’s a nice gesture to tip your movers after a long-distance move—especially if they went above and beyond your expectations. You can either tip a flat rate per person or 10% to 20% of your total bill in gratuity. 

Cost to Move a 3-Bedroom House Long Distance Yourself

You can expect to pay a flat rate of $1,500 to $2,300 to rent a moving van for a long-distance trip. Moving a 3-bedroom house long distance is a challenging task. In addition to loading and unloading your belongings, you’ll need to pay for gas, tolls, insurance coverage, overnight hotel stays, food, packing supplies and materials, and heavy-lifting tool rentals. 

DIY vs. Hiring a Pro

If you have the time and can handle a long-distance move yourself, you can save significant moving and labor costs. However, tackling a long-distance move yourself comes with risks, including physical injury and navigating how to drive a large truck. We recommend hiring a long-distance moving company near you. This service will cost you an average of $5,000, but you’ll have peace of mind. You won’t have to worry about loading, unloading, organizing, packing, lifting heavy items, keeping your valuables safe, and transporting household belongings.

Cost of Common Add-Ons

Moving a 3-bedroom house long distance is a lot of work. You can make it easier by adding a few extra service items. These items include:

• Professional packing and unpacking: $1,000 average 

• Renting a storage container: $2,610–$3,290

• Professional furniture assembly: $120–$180 per piece

• Professional organizers: $250–$1,500

How to Save Money While Moving a 3-Bedroom House Long Distance

The best way to save money while moving a long distance is to set a budget and do as much prep work as possible. Here are ways to save money during your cross-country trek:

• Get quotes from at least 3 moving companies.

• Plan and book your moving company early.

• Move during the off-season or during the week.

• Create a moving checklist at least 8 weeks in advance and make sure you stick with it.

• Keep your set moving date as movers may charge $500 or more to change your moving date.

• Pack and unpack all of your household items.

• Choose the proper moving insurance with the best rate.

• Declutter your home and sell or donate belongings you no longer need before moving.