Moving is an expensive proposition
I’ve mentioned in a previous post that Jason and I are renovating a property. The moving van shows up tomorrow and, almost immediately, this new property will become home. Thanks to Jason, tomorrow morning, I will leave our current house, work a full day, and return to our brand new home later that evening. Exciting and pricey all in one!!!
It seems like you shell out money any time you move. I remember when I first moved out of my parents place. I couldn’t fathom how expensive the move would be. I knew that I now had to pay rent, but what I forgot was that I also needed my own furniture. Not only did I need a new bed, but I also needed to stock my own refrigerator and cabinets. Spices can be very expensive’¦and honestly, I think the bottle of orange peels have now been with me for over 6 residences.
When we first moved to Indianapolis, to begin our real estate empire, we lived in a duplex that had no working kitchen. This meant that any, and all, of our meals were purchased from some restaurant. While we knew that we had to renovate a kitchen, we had downplayed how expensive eating out, for every meal, would be. This was the quickest motivating factor to get one of the kitchens back in working order.
This current move is still much of the same, more unexpected money being spent. While we aren’t buying any more spices and we aren’t living through a kitchen remodel, this house is much larger. With a larger house, you have more rooms. We have had to buy a new bedroom set, a new dining room table, and countless light fixtures. However, I think one of the biggest things that we forgot were the additional utilities. A larger house translates easily into higher energy bills. Also, since we also have our current property and a lake place that we are trying to sell, the utility bills are adding up. Heading into the winter months are going to be a bit nerve wracking. To help, we have bought Energy Star appliances and have replaced the light bulbs with the new spirally bulbs, but to no avail the bills will get higher.
As real estate investors, we often make moves to help our prospect for the future. This new place, after the renovations, has some great future potential. We plan to live here a few years and ride out the soft market while enjoying the additional space and the better quality of life. The built-in equity will give us some comfort knowing that, on paper, we have more than we spent. However, what is the most fun aspect of this move is that we will also have a larger mortgage payment.
At the end of the day, moving is almost always expensive. I’d love to hear other experiences but I’m even more interested in learning some of your money saving moving tips.
When I bought my house, I didn’t know you had to buy all your own appliances. Also, they were supposed to leave window coverings, but they left mostly ill-fitting things they may have picked up at a garage sale or something.
I’m not sure what you mean by a non-working kitchen, but a hot plate (single burner you plug into an outlet) and big toaster oven can get you through not having a stove/oven. Or you can use a grill or fireplace. An ice cooler can substitute for a fridge. (A character in a book I read would buy ice each evening on her way home from work!) With running water and a hot pot and a dish pan, you can do dishes. A closet or bookcase can substitute for cabinets or a pantry. Also you can cook at a friend’s house–and pay them back with a home-cooked meal.
Also you don’t really need to fill up every room with furniture. In my first place I slept on a sleeping bag (yea for carpeting!). I set my stereo on top of its speakers. I lined my books along the wall on the floor (like a very long one-shelf bookcase!). I sat on the floor (yea for carpeting!) to eat or do homework. Now, once you start inviting people over, especially if some of them can’t get up off the floor after an indoor picnic, you might want to get something.
My roommate furnished our entire apartment for free on Craigslist. Seriously. Even still, setting up house was out-of-control expensive–I can’t imagine having had to buy furniture, too.
Phil: Moving is expensive, but it gives us the opportunity to pare down.
My advice: never pay to store your stuff. If you’re not using it, then you’ll never miss it at the new place. Donate it to Goodwill or your local charity and be done with it. Don’t pay to move it and definitely don’t pay to store it.