Moving Home Yourself vs Hiring A Removal Company [Pros and Cons]

What is the best way to move home? Do I hire a moving company or move myself?

This question is so old, that it is likely Adam asked Eve the same thing.

Sadly for them, they did not have this guide to help them make that decision.

Following the top tips in this guide, we can help you take some logical steps that will help you decide what the best way for you to move home is.

There are pros and cons when hiring a moving company, as well as pros and cons for moving home yourself.

However, there are so many variables with each home move that it is impossible to give a one-size-fits-all answer.

The only constant is that moving home will cost money. It is not a cheap or easy exercise, but it can be good value for money, and stress-free, depending upon how you choose to move.

You may also like to read: Do I Need a Man and a Van or a Removal Company? In this guide, we explain the difference between the services offered by a man and a van or a full-service removal company to help you choose which is more suitable for your home move.

What Are Your Home Moving Options?

• Pack your belongings, load, drive, and unload your moving vehicle yourself.
• Pack your belongings yourself and hire a removal company to transport the items.
• Hire a removal company to pack and transport your home contents.

So let us try straight away to eliminate at least one of your options.

There are certain aspects of your home move that will dictate how you will move home.

• International home moves, especially if outside of Europe. Full DIY home move eliminated. Considering the long distance and possibility of damage in transit, the self-pack option should also be eliminated.
• You have very expensive and/or, particularly fragile items, which if packed yourself, are not insured by a removal company. Eliminates the self-pack, removal company transport option, and probably the DIY option (are you prepared to take the risk of packing and moving those types of items yourself)?
• The physical size, and the number of pieces of furniture and boxes, to be moved. The full DIY option is now eliminated. Self-pack and removal company transport option probably eliminated too.
• Items, such as pianos, that require specialist equipment to pack and move. The full DIY option is now eliminated. Self-pack and removal company transport options will probably be eliminated too.
• Any access issues out of your old property, or into your new property that you cannot overcome without specialist help, for example when hoists are required. This means that the full DIY option is eliminated. Do you trust your packing skills enough that the items to be moved will not be damaged?
• Whether you are physically able to move heavy boxes or furniture. If you are not fit and healthy enough or can guarantee some help then the full DIY option is eliminated. Self-pack and removal company transport option probably eliminated too.
• Your home move budget will not stretch to hiring a reputable moving company. A complete, professional, stress-free home move is probably eliminated. But how do you know for sure until you get a moving estimate?

The answers to the above questions, which only you can answer, probably eliminates immediately, one or two of the home move options.

If you have no choice but a full, professional home moving service, your dilemma ends here.

Follow this link for a free moving company estimate for your home move.

Follow this link for a free International moving company estimate for your home move.

For those home movers who still have a choice, read on.

The Pros and Cons of Moving Home Yourself

This section will help you to eliminate the pack yourself and use a removal company option or to eliminate the full, move yourself option.

Pros – Or advantages of moving home yourself

• It may be marginally cheaper to pack and transport your items depending on what you intend to transport. If you have no furniture to move, and only a small number of boxes, and are able to get the items into a vehicle to transport, this may be the cheapest, but almost certainly more stressful, option.

Cons – Or disadvantages of moving home yourself

• Having to dedicate the time to finding and purchasing packing materials. It is a fact that most home movers underestimate the number of boxes and packing materials they will need. 
• Performing the time-consuming task of packing your items correctly. It cannot be stressed enough how time-consuming packing your own home contents can be. 
• Dismantling and reassembling your furniture and appliances. 
• The physical exertion of maneuvering furniture and boxes. Do you know the best way to get a wardrobe downstairs or a settee around a tight corner? Have you ever carried numerous, heavy boxes, back and forth for 8 hours? 
• Having to drive an unfamiliar and large vehicle, on unfamiliar roads. Not to mention negotiating parked cars or parking in a tight space. 
• The risk of injury to yourself when moving heavy, awkward, and large boxes or furniture. How long can you afford to be off work with a bad back? 
• Potential damage caused to your home, new and old, which you will be responsible to repair or have repaired. 
• The risk of having to pay an insurance excess on the hire vehicle should you have an accident. This can be anywhere in the region of £500-£1000. 
• Any items packed yourself, but transported by a removal company, are unlikely to be covered by their insurance policy. 
• Will your army of helpers actually turn up on moving day? What if you end up having to hire labour on moving day, at about £40 an hour? 
• The emotional stress of moving home yourself is decidedly higher than having a reputable moving company move your belongings.

Clearly, there are many potential problems to consider when moving home yourself. Cost is only a small part of the home moving equation.

You may also like to read: Is Moving Home Cheaply a False Economy? In this guide, we look at every aspect of a home move where people generally try to save money and we ask whether that is a false economy or not.

The Pros and Cons of Hiring a Moving Company

Pros – Or Advantages of hiring a reputable moving company

• A reputable moving company will ensure a stress-free home move.
• The removal company will professionally pack even your most fragile of possessions.
• The whole packing and moving process will be considerably quicker.
• The removal company will resource the best packing materials for your items.
• The removal company will have the proper equipment to move all your belongings safely.
• The removal company will be responsible for any damage that they may cause to your property.
• You will not be responsible for any associated costs if the removal vehicle is damaged.
• You will not have the stress of having to drive, or park, a large vehicle.
• You will not have the stress of getting large pieces of furniture through tight spaces or down flights of stairs.
• You will not have the risk of personal injury.
• A reputable moving company will provide insurance for your goods whilst being moved.
• In short, you will pay the removal company to take the stress and hardship out of moving day.

Cons – Or Disadvantage of hiring a reputable moving company

• It may be marginally more expensive, depending on the number of items to be moved, or if your DIY home move was incident-free (both in terms of physical and vehicle/property damage).

There are clearly many benefits of hiring a reputable moving company, and only one possible drawback.

But what price do you put on a slipped disk or the emotional stress you will cause yourself during a self-move?

The level of stress that you could be subjected to on moving day cannot be overestimated. By employing the services of a reputable home moving company you will eliminate this major side effect of moving home.

Consider also, that the cost advantage of a DIY home-move could be wiped out instantly, and the associated costs piled up, with any property or vehicle damage that occurs.

…..was that not the reason why you decided to try and move home yourself in the first place…… to save some money?

You may also like to read: What to Know When Hiring a Removal Company for the First Time. In this guide, we look at what a removal company does, what they cannot move, how they will make moving day easier, and how to avoid common scams by the less reputable removal firms.

How Do I Decide Which Removal Company to Use?

In the same way that you eliminated your options when deciding how to move, you can now learn how to make an informed decision when choosing which removal company to use.

Start by visiting a removal company review website and use the quote form to get free, no-obligation quotes.

Having been contacted by up to four reputable removal companies when you requested an estimate, half of the work has been done for you.

Only reputable companies, with positive reviews, who have the ability to move you to your chosen destination would have been selected by the moving estimator service to contact you.

Read the reviews for the companies that have contacted you. Pay particular attention to reviews that mention similar home size, location, or other details that mirror your home move.

A reputable removal review website will have recent reviews, which have been verified as being from real customers, and not fake reviews from the removal company themselves.

Most removal companies will have a website, read these thoroughly.

How professional the website looks, how long the company has been in operation, and whether they are a member of a professional home removal organisation such as the British Association of Removers are all indicators of a reputable moving company.

Ensure there are several contact options for your Removal Company, including email address, mobile, and landline numbers. This indicates that the removal company welcomes communication with their customers.

For any home move an in-home moving survey is essential. This ensures that the price the removal company gives you is an accurate one.

During the in-home survey, the representative of the removal company can ensure that they have the information they require to make your home move as stress-free for you as possible.

Equally, this is a good opportunity for you to ask the removal companies any questions you may have and draw their attention to any concerns or matters you wish to highlight to them.

Once you have the estimates and have met with the removal companies on your short-list all that remains is to compare them and make your decision as to who your moving day partner will be.

You may also like to read: How to Pick a Good Removal Company. The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide. Choosing a good removal company is not easy from the hundreds out there so in this guide, we take you step-by-step through the process of finding a good removal company.

However you intend to move home you will find plenty of tips and guides in our home moving blog to make your home move cheaper and easier, be sure to visit it.

Good luck.