How can you minimise costs when moving home?

When you move home, it’s pretty likely the largest cost you incur will be on your home loan. After all, CoreLogic RP Data gives us a combined capital city median price of just under $730,000 for February – that’s going to be a significant chunk of change for your deposit.

However, it’s always wise to try and cut costs wherever you can when it comes to property, and that includes during the move. Whether you’ve taken out a home loan or have found enough capital to do without, here are a few ways to keep your moving costs to a minimum

The New South Wales Government describes in their guide to the cost of a home purchase how a removal company could charge anywhere between $550 to $3,500. This all depends on the distance, amount of furniture, and any additional services the company needs to perform (such as packing)

You can really cut costs here by doing the work yourself. This is particularly helpful for those people who are moving from a smaller apartment to a larger home, and might not have enough furniture to legitimise paying for a full removal service. See if you know a person with a van, prepare a suitable bribe and put in the hard yards to move yourself.

Eating out

When you move, you might encounter some pretty nasty issues. Maybe the power doesn’t work at your new home, perhaps the removal van ends up arriving much later than you thought. What these sorts of issues mean is that you have no opportunity to cook your own food or even store it, as your fridge will be out of commission (or not even there).

If you know there is going to be a time delay between your necessary appliances arriving, try to prepare some non-perishables beforehand. You could also try purchasing a smaller cooking appliance like an electric burner or a microwave to prepare some quick and dirty temporary meals for the time being.

All the unexpected additional costs

Fresh telephone and electricity connections, kennel fees, plain old extra costs for petrol – there are all sorts of prices to pay when it comes to moving home. We hope these tips can help you reduce the out-of-pocket damage, but your best bet is to eliminate unnecessary costs with your loan. That’s where talking to a local mortgage broker can truly minimise the reduction of your bank balance.