Operating businesses
How to Sell a Moving Company
The short answer
Moving companies generally sell for around 2.5 to 4.5 times seller's discretionary earnings, with the fleet and any owned property adding to or underpinning that number. Commercial and corporate relocation accounts, storage income, a van line affiliation and crews that work without the owner push toward the top of the range; a purely residential, seasonal, owner-driven operation with an ageing fleet and a poor claims record sits at the bottom. Home inspection businesses are valued on the same basis and are almost entirely about how transferable the referral relationships are.
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How movers are valued
Buyers price on seller's discretionary earnings for smaller companies and on earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation once there is a full management team. Either way the arithmetic starts by normalising: add back the owner's compensation and personal costs, then subtract what it would cost to hire someone to do the owner's actual job.
In moving companies that job is usually sales and estimating. If you personally survey homes, quote jobs and win the commercial accounts, a buyer must hire an estimator and a salesperson, and the cost of both comes out of earnings before any multiple is applied.
Trucks and any owned warehouse are handled explicitly. The fleet's value acts as a floor under an earnings-based price, and warehouse property is normally appraised and treated separately.
Commercial and corporate work versus residential moves
Residential moving is highly seasonal, price-sensitive and largely one-off. A family moving house is not a repeat customer. Buyers understand this and do not penalise a residential business for being what it is, but they will not pay a premium for it either.
Commercial work is a different proposition: office relocations, facility moves, furniture installation, ongoing contracts with property managers or corporate accounts. It is less seasonal, higher value per job and often repeats. A company with a meaningful commercial book gets a better multiple.
Corporate relocation programmes, government and institutional contracts, and any arrangement with a national account are worth documenting in detail — how long they have run, what the annual value is, whether they are contracted and when they next go out to bid.
Storage: the quiet profit centre
Many movers hold warehouse space and generate storage-in-transit and long-term storage income from it. That revenue is recurring, high margin and almost entirely unlike the moving work around it, which makes buyers pay attention.
Break it out in your financials. A mover earning $300K a year in storage revenue from a warehouse it already occupies is running two businesses, and the storage side may support a better multiple than the moving side on its own.
If you own the warehouse, decide before going to market whether you want to sell it, lease it to the buyer, or sell the business to one party and the property to another. Owned warehouse space near a growing metro can be worth a great deal on its own.
Van line affiliation, authority and interstate work
Agents of national van lines have access to interstate and corporate work they could not obtain alone, and the affiliation is a real asset. It is also a real constraint: the van line generally has to approve any change of ownership, and the agency agreement's terms shape what the buyer is actually acquiring.
Read that agreement before you plan your sale. Territory rights, performance requirements, transfer approval and any fee can all affect timing and net proceeds, and buyers will read it too.
Independent interstate carriers need their own operating authority and must comply with federal household goods rules — written estimates, tariffs, valuation coverage and claims handling. Buyers verify authority and safety records directly, so make sure everything is current before you begin.
Crews, seasonality and the labour model
Moving is physically demanding and turnover is high, so a company with experienced, retained crew leaders has something genuinely valuable. Buyers will ask about tenure among crew chiefs and drivers, pay relative to local competitors, and how much of the workforce is seasonal or temporary.
Seasonality is inherent — summer is busy and winter is not — and buyers expect it. What they check is whether the business can carry payroll and fixed costs through the slow months without strain, and whether anything smooths the year, such as commercial contracts, storage income or off-season services.
Driver licensing and qualification records need to be in order. So does your use of any labour contractors, since misclassification is a liability a buyer would inherit and their counsel will look for it.
Claims, reviews and reputation risk
Damage claims are part of the industry, but the pattern matters. Buyers will ask for claims history, average claim cost as a share of revenue, and how disputes are resolved. A rising claims rate suggests crew or training problems that will follow the business.
Reviews carry unusual weight in moving because customers research heavily before booking, and the industry has a reputation problem that good operators work hard to counter. A strong review profile is a marketing asset that transfers with the business; a poor one is a cost the buyer will have to fix.
Insurance follows both. Cargo and liability premiums reflect claims history, and a bad loss run raises the buyer's operating cost permanently, which they will reflect in the price.
Home inspection businesses
Home inspection companies are valued on the same earnings basis, generally at the lower end of the range, because they are typically small, owner-performed and dependent on referrals from real estate agents.
The central question is whether those agent relationships belong to the business or to the inspector. A company with several employed or contracted inspectors, a recognised brand and a referral base spread across many agencies is genuinely sellable. A single-inspector business where every referral comes to one person by name is much closer to selling a job than selling a company.
Licensing, errors and omissions insurance, inspection software and report templates, and any ancillary revenue such as radon, mould, sewer scope or termite inspections all factor in. Ancillary services are worth breaking out, since they often carry the best margin per inspection.
Preparing to sell
Three years of financials with add-backs identified, and revenue split between residential, commercial, storage and any ancillary services. A fleet schedule with year, mileage and condition for every truck and trailer. Warehouse lease or property details.
Then the compliance and reputation file: operating authority, van line agreement, insurance certificates and loss runs, claims history, driver qualification records, crew roster with tenure, and your review profiles.
The highest-value preparation is building commercial and storage revenue and stepping out of the estimating seat. Both make the earnings more durable, and durable earnings are what the multiple is really measuring.
A worked example
Take a hypothetical local moving company with $2.6M of revenue, 30% of it commercial, $220K of annual storage income from a leased warehouse, eight trucks with an average age of six years, and $430K of seller's discretionary earnings after hiring an estimator to replace the owner. At 3.5 times that is roughly $1.5M. Remove the commercial and storage revenue and the same business is a seasonal residential mover valued nearer the bottom of the range.
Multiple ranges reviewed September 2026. They are a guide, not a quote or a formal appraisal — see how the process works.
Common questions
What multiple do moving companies sell for?
Typically 2.5 to 4.5 times seller's discretionary earnings. Commercial accounts, storage income and independence from the owner are what move a company up that range.
Are my trucks included in the price?
In an earnings-based sale the fleet is included because it produces the earnings. The fleet's own value acts as a floor if the earnings multiple comes out lower.
Does my van line affiliation transfer?
Generally only with the van line's approval. Review the agency agreement early, since transfer terms and any fees affect both timing and your net proceeds.
How much does claims history matter?
More than most sellers expect. It drives insurance cost, which is a large recurring expense, and a poor record signals training problems the buyer will inherit.
Is storage revenue valued differently?
It is more attractive than moving revenue because it recurs and carries high margin. Break it out separately so a buyer can see it clearly.
Can I sell a one-person home inspection business?
You can, but expect a modest price. Buyers pay for referral relationships and inspectors that transfer, not for a schedule that only exists because of you.
When is the best time of year to sell?
Most sellers go to market with a strong recent season behind them, since buyers weigh the most recent twelve months heavily. Avoid launching a process during your slowest stretch if you can.