Tenant moving costs

[Dana R.]

I know what it would cost the landlord if a tenant moves. But, has anybody here ever calculated how much it would cost the tenant to move?

Let's say there are more or less two identical homes, and the tenant is already renting in the first home. If they're both priced the same, the tenant won't move because of the costs of moving makes renting the second home more expensive.

But, how much cheaper does the second home have to be before the tenant realizes that it'd be cheaper to move into the second home even with the additional moving costs?

Is it just the cost of renting a moving van and movers? Or, are there any financial considerations that a tenant has to look when determining if its really cheaper to move?

[Steve Babiak]

One thing that is sometimes overlooked is that two essentially identical homes with the same rent might not have identical costs for the occupant. Energy efficiency might be better in one over the other, but a tenant might not realize that when looking. Also, some landlords might include utilities (I include some of the lienable utilities to be certain they get paid) or services (maybe lawn care and snow removal).