Apartment moving has become a sort of Chicago pastime. Throughout each year, renters choose not to renew their leases and instead find a new building or neighborhood for at least the next 12 months. This is an extremely common occurrence, with about 54% of Chicago homes being occupied by renters.
Moving to a new apartment requires some planning, even for seasoned veterans who move just about every year. Here’s everything you need to know about apartment moving in Chicago, along with some helpful tips from professional movers.
Apartment Moving Tips
In addition to packing up your apartment’s contents and coordinating the actual relocation, apartment moving requires a few other tasks. Here are some tips to help you have a smooth move:
- Communicate openly with your landlord. In most cases, leases require at least 30 days notice prior to moving out. Review your lease and local laws to make sure you’re in compliance when you choose to find a new apartment.
- Clean your old apartment. In addition to being the right thing to do and helping the next tenant move into a nice, clean home, giving your old place a little love will help ensure that you’ll get your full security deposit back. So grab a dust rag, mop, and start checking items off of your cleaning checklist.
- Get the keys to your new place in advance. This timing might depend on your new landlord or apartment management company, but try to get the keys to your new apartment in advance of your move day. Having to scramble to pick up the keys at the last minute adds stress to your move, and can increase your apartment moving costs if you’re hiring a professional mover.
You’ll also need to inform a list of people and companies about your new address. Find out which utilities you’ll pay for at your new place (sometimes water, heat, and even electricity might be included in your monthly rent), and remove your name from the accounts at your old place. Plus, forward your mail to your new home and let your insurance companies and any subscriptions or delivery services know that you’ve moved.
Looking for reliable apartment movers in Chicago? Check out our dedicated services to ensure a smooth transition to your new home.
Average Costs of Apartment Moving in Chicago
How much does it cost to move to Chicago? Well, that depends on a number of factors. The biggest one is how long your moving inventory list is. Each person—and each apartment—is unique, so a person living in a one-bedroom apartment might have more stuff to move than a person living in a two or three-bedroom dwelling.
The best way to create an accurate apartment moving budget is to start by making a list of your furniture and boxes so you can obtain a few estimates from local movers. The estimates you’ll receive will include a breakdown of costs like hourly rates, standard additional fees, and your choice of moving coverage.
Hourly Mover Rates
Moving companies in Chicago charge an hourly rate based on the size of the crew they send to your move. The crew size is determined by factors like the number of items in your inventory, whether you have any extra-large items in your inventory that require more people to carry, and the number of flights of stairs (sometimes a smaller crew can move a ground-level or first-floor apartment, but a bigger crew will be needed for a third or fourth-floor walkup).
Hourly rates will vary by moving company and timing. As you work with a few movers to obtain estimates, ask them if their rates are different at certain times of the week or month. Most movers have peak rates on the weekends or end of the month, so you might be able to save a little money if you have the flexibility to move at off-peak times.
Here’s a look at the average apartment moving hourly rates in Chicago:
- 2-person crew: $120-$160
- 3-person crew: $160-$200
- 4-person crew: $200-$240
In addition to the hourly rates, you can expect to see a few more charges on your moving estimate.
Additional Mover Fees
On top of the time your moving crew spends packing, wrapping, loading, transporting, and unloading your materials (which will be captured in their hourly rates), they’ll need to cover some additional costs.
Travel time is one of these fees. This is calculated by the size of the crew and the distance between your new and old homes and the moving company’s facility. Another standard line item on a moving estimate will show you the estimated materials. These include items like shrink wrap, moving blankets, warehouse pads, tape, boxes, and dollies. Some movers charge per material used while others just apply a flat fee, so be sure to ask how they charge for materials when you talk to their customer service team about your estimate.
You might also incur additional fees if you have oversized items, pianos, or pieces that need to be hoisted rather than carried. As long as the home inventory you provide is accurate, all of these charges should be included on your estimate, so spend some time building this list.
Moving Insurance and Coverage Options
One more fee you might see on your moving estimate is your apartment moving coverage. In most cases, you’ll have two options, and the first is carrier liability. This is included in the cost of your move and basically means that the moving company assumes liability for $0.30 per pound per item should anything be lost or damaged.
Your second option is called declared valuation. If you purchase this additional coverage, your mover will be responsible for repairing or replacing the item at its depreciated value. These charges differ per moving company, but a standard rate is about $100 per $5,000 of coverage.
Keep in mind that these coverage options are not the same as an insurance policy. If you have items of extraordinary monetary or sentimental value, you might want to either move them yourself or talk to your renter’s insurance broker about special coverage.
How to Find the Right Apartment Moving Company
You want to make sure you find a professional, legitimate moving company to handle your valued possessions. Here are a few tips to help you find a great team of movers:
- Check out their online presence. They should have a professional, user-friendly website and informative posts on their social media platforms.
- Look for credentials. Legit movers are registered with organizations like the IMAWA and the ILCC—and they should brag about this! If you don’t see anything about a moving company’s credentials on their website, don’t be afraid to ask their customer service team about it.
- Read online reviews. What do past customers say about them? What’s their overall rating on Google Reviews? Reading about other people’s experiences can help you weed out companies that might not do a good job on your move.
- Make sure they know your neighborhood or suburb. Learn about each mover’s service areas not only to ensure they can handle your move but to get the confidence of their expertise. Chicago neighborhoods are full of low viaducts, narrow streets, and other obstacles that can impair a move. A moving company that frequently services your areas will know the pitfalls to avoid and help you have an easy, smooth relocation.
Finally, don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions before you accept an estimate and book your move. The more comfortable you are with the customer service team leading up to your move day, the more stress-free you’ll be when the movers arrive. As long as you do your due diligence and pick the right movers, you’re setting yourself up for a great apartment moving experience.
We’re the Experts in Chicago Apartment Moving
You deserve the confidence and peace of mind that you’ve hired the right company to handle your relocation to a new apartment. We’re the experts in the idiosyncrasies of Chicago’s neighborhoods and suburbs—plus coordinating parking permits, helping you figure out elevator reservations, and, in the absence of an elevator, navigating tight stairwells. We’re Chicago’s favorite movers for many reasons, and one of them is our expertise in apartment moving.
Contact us today for a free estimate and to find out how we can help you have a smooth and stress-free move!