Split Rent Payments arranges the personal loan for the ten days when every line on this list comes due at once. A local move, one that stays within the same metro area, costs far more than the truck. In the years I managed apartments, the renters who struggled after moving in were not the ones who underestimated the rent; they were the ones who paid the deposit and first month, then discovered the truck, the utility deposits, the cleaning fee on the old place, the new mattress, and the two weeks of overlapping rent all in the same ten days. This checklist puts every cost on one page with realistic ranges, marks the ones renters forget, and shows how a moving loan sized to the total covers that week without a card balance that outlasts the lease.
The full checklist with ranges
Ranges are for a one-bedroom in a mid-sized U.S. metro; small cities run 20% lower and the largest metros 40% or more higher.
| Item | Range | Often forgotten? |
|---|---|---|
| Security deposit | $1,100 – $1,600 | No |
| First month's rent | $1,100 – $1,600 | No |
| Last month's rent, if required | $0 – $1,600 | Yes |
| Application and screening fees | $30 – $75 per adult | Yes |
| Truck rental, one day, plus fuel and insurance | $120 – $260 | Partly |
| Professional movers, 2 movers, 3 hours | $350 – $650 | No |
| Moving supplies: boxes, tape, wrap | $60 – $150 | Yes |
| Utility deposits or connection fees: electric, gas, water | $50 – $250 | Yes |
| Internet installation and equipment | $50 – $150 | Yes |
| Renters insurance, first payment | $15 – $30 | Yes |
| Cleaning the old apartment or a cleaning fee | $100 – $250 | Yes |
| Overlapping rent, if leases do not align | $0 – $800 | Yes |
| Change of address, parking permit, key copies | $20 – $80 | Yes |
| Essentials for the new place: shower curtain, cleaning supplies, a lamp | $80 – $200 | Yes |
| A mattress or one piece of furniture | $0 – $600 | Partly |
| Meals during packing and moving days | $60 – $120 | Yes |
| Total, without last month or overlap | $2,900 – $3,700 |
The forgotten lines add up to $600 to $1,200, which is the gap between the number most renters plan for and the number they pay.
The three costs that surprise people most
Overlapping rent is the largest surprise. Leases rarely end and begin on the same day, and a renter who signs a new lease starting on the 20th while the old lease runs to the 31st pays both for eleven days. Negotiate the new start date to the 1st when possible, or ask the old landlord to prorate an early departure; many will if the unit is already rented.
Utility deposits are the second. New accounts with an electric or gas utility often require a deposit of one or two months' estimated usage for customers without a payment history with that utility, refundable after a year of on-time payments. Ask whether a letter of credit history from your previous utility waives it; it often does.
The cleaning fee on the old apartment is the third. Many leases allow a deduction from the deposit for cleaning, and a $150 to $250 charge is common. Cleaning it yourself to the move-in condition, with photos, keeps that money in the deposit refund.
Getting the old deposit back quickly
The old deposit is the single biggest offset to the cost of a move, and it comes back faster when the move-out is documented. Give written notice on time, schedule a walk-through with the landlord, photograph every room after cleaning, return all keys, and provide a forwarding address in writing. State law sets a deadline for the refund, commonly 14 to 30 days and up to 45 in some states, and a landlord who misses it or withholds without an itemized list often owes penalties. A deposit of $1,300 that returns in three weeks can pay down a moving loan by a third; the first apartment guide covers what landlords can and cannot deduct.
Truck rental versus movers
For a one-bedroom with two capable friends, a truck rental at $120 to $260 with fuel is the cheaper route, and pizza for the friends is a line on the checklist. For anything larger, or a walk-up on either end, two movers for three hours at $350 to $650 is worth the difference in back injuries and lost furniture. Book either at least two weeks ahead, and avoid the last weekend of the month, when trucks and movers are scarcest and priced highest.
Splitting move-in costs with roommates
When roommates move in together, the deposit and first month are shared, the truck is shared, and each person's bedroom furniture is their own. Split the shared items by the same shares you will use for rent, and settle who owns the deposit: the person whose money funded it, or each roommate in proportion to what they paid. Write it down before the move. The roommate split guide has the agreement, and the same shares apply to a moving loan payment if one roommate borrows to cover the shared costs. A split pay app can track the shares monthly; the written agreement is what settles the deposit at the end.
Financing the move with a moving loan
The reason moves get financed is timing: the deposit, first month, truck, and deposits for utilities all come due within about ten days, while the old deposit comes back in three to six weeks. A moving loan of the checklist total minus savings, with a 12-month term and a plan to apply the old deposit refund as an early payment, is the arrangement that fits. A $3,000 moving loan over 12 months at 20% APR has a payment of about $278 and costs about $335 in interest, as the personal loan calculator shows; apply a $1,300 deposit refund in month two and the interest falls to roughly $200, since lenders in the Split Rent Payments network allow prepayment without penalty. The rates page shows costs by credit tier.
Apply from your current address, at least a week before the deposit is due; the eligibility guide explains why the address on file matters and what documents a lender may request.
The one-page version
Deposit, first month, and possibly last month. Application fees. Truck or movers. Supplies. Utility and internet setup. Renters insurance. Cleaning the old place. Overlapping rent. Address changes and keys. Household essentials. One piece of furniture. Meals on moving days. Add a 10% cushion. Subtract savings and the expected old deposit refund. What remains is what a moving loan should cover, and the term should end before the next lease renewal.
The personal loan from Split Rent Payments, sized to the checklist
A moving loan through this site is an ordinary personal loan, and the checklist above is how to size it. Add every line that comes due in the move-in window, subtract savings, subtract the old deposit only if it will arrive before the first personal loan payment (it usually will not), and request the difference. For the one-bedroom example, a renter with $900 saved and a $3,300 total requests a personal loan of $2,400. A personal loan of $2,400 over 12 months at 21% APR has a payment of about $224 and costs about $284 in interest; applying a $1,300 deposit refund in month two cuts the interest to roughly $170. The personal loan calculator shows the schedule.
The personal loan should not include the mattress or the furniture unless they are unavoidable in week one. A renter who adds $800 of furniture to a moving personal loan pays about $95 in extra interest over a year for items that could have waited a month.
Personal loan rates for movers
Movers are often mid-career-change, which affects the personal loan rate in two ways. A new employer's income is harder to verify until the first pay stub exists, and lenders that verify by bank connection can see the previous employer's deposits and an offer letter. And an address change during the application can trigger a document request. The rates page explains the factors; a mover with steady income and a clean checking account commonly lands in the good tier, where a $2,400 personal loan costs $150 to $250 in interest over a year.
Personal loan eligibility and the address on file
Eligibility does not change with the purpose. An applicant needs to be 18 or older, a U.S. resident with a Social Security number, in receipt of regular documentable income, and the owner of an active checking account. The eligibility guide lists them and explains the address issue that matters most for movers: lenders verify identity against the address on your credit file, so apply from the current address before the move. If the move has already happened, use the new address and expect to upload the lease. Apply at least a week before the deposit is due.
Splitting move-in costs and a personal loan with a split pay app
When two roommates move in together and one takes the personal loan for the shared lines, the split happens twice: once for the personal loan payment, by the same shares the roommates will use to split rent payments, and once for the deposit, by whoever funded it. Both go into the written agreement before the move, and the monthly shares go into a split pay app as recurring items with a collection date before the draft. The SplitPay style visibility matters more at a move than at any other time, because the roommates are new to each other and the amounts are large. The first apartment guide and the roommate split guide have the agreements.
After the move: paying the personal loan down early
The old deposit refund is the largest early payment most movers will ever make on a personal loan, and it should go to the personal loan the day it arrives, since lenders in the network charge no prepayment penalty. A second early payment often comes from the utility deposit refund on the old account, typically $50 to $150, a few weeks later. Between them, a 12-month moving loan is commonly paid off in eight or nine months. The renter who followed the checklist, borrowed only the move-in window, and applied the refunds early has paid about $170 in interest for a move that would otherwise have sat on a card at 27% until the next lease.
A split payment app set up on moving day, with the rent share, the loan share, and the deposit buy-in as three recurring lines, is the habit Split Rent Payments recommends for new roommates; the rent split payments method sets the numbers, and a SplitPay style reminder before the draft keeps them paid. The checklist above is what makes the numbers accurate on the first day. Keep every receipt from the move in one envelope; the cleaning supplies, the truck, and the utility deposits are the items most often forgotten when reconciling with a roommate a month later.
Related articles
Your first apartment: the security deposit and first month's rent, explained
What a first apartment costs at signing: security deposit rules by state, which fees landlords can charge…
How to split rent payments fairly with roommates
Three methods to split rent payments fairly with roommates, with a three-bedroom worked example, a one-page…