Moving with a roommate means having to split the moving costs. This sounds like a dream come true. You will save a lot of money this way. But there are certain disadvantages people do not think about because they are focused on the advantages of sharing moving costs. This is why we have decided to shine some light on some of the downsides of doing so. Have in mind that pros are not outnumbered by the cons which is why you surely should split the cost and it would be fair to do so. But knowing the disadvantages is important as well.

It might not be a fair share

Even though you are paying an equal amount of money, sharing moving costs might not end up being a fair share. How come? There are a couple of things to think about. First off, the moving supplies. One person might be using more packing supplies than the other. For example, if you have loads of books, you will certainly need more boxes as books shouldn’t be packed in bulk as they are heavy. And your roommate might not have books at all. They might be needing more bubble wrap than you they have more fragile stuff to pack up.

But it doesn’t stop there. As you have more boxes and more books, your things might be taking more space in the moving truck. The number of boxes influences the cost of the move. And if you are sharing moving costs, your roommate will then be paying more than they should. Or it could be reversed. You might not have any furniture and your roommate does. Moving furniture is more expensive than moving boxes is. This then means you are paying more than you should.

Conflict may occur when sharing moving costs

Because of this, conflict may occur. This is why discussing these things with your roommate first is the best thing to do. You can separately get the packing supplies to avoid that being the issue. But when it comes to paying for professional moving services that you hire, splitting will be a hard thing to do.

This is why you have to also talk about this with the moving company of your choice. They have to be upfront about their pricing and just what determines the cost of the move. They can give you the pricing list and then you can calculate just how much each person has to pay for having their things relocated by professionals. Even if you do not want to get into such detail, getting the pricing list is a good thing. It is one of the common moving tips when hiring movers. You will be able to calculate whether your move was priced correctly.

But we believe that as you are roommates you have to be able to overcome conflict no matter what. Even if you do end up paying more than you should, be open with your roommate and make an agreement regarding the issue.