Willow Glen Movers for Bungalows and Period Homes

Willow Glen was its own town before San Jose annexed it in 1936, and Lincoln Avenue still reads like a main street: coffee, hardware, restaurants and a theater, with walkable residential blocks spreading out on either side. The neighborhood sits about 3 miles south of downtown San Jose, between I-280 and Highway 87, with Los Gatos Creek and the Guadalupe River nearby. Minnesota Avenue, Willow Street, Bird Avenue, Meridian Avenue and Curtner Avenue are the main through streets; everything else is shaded and quiet.

• 6 quote requests came from ZIP 95125 between mid-July and late October 2026, not counting account work.
• 5 of those 6 booked or completed, all local moves.
• The size we saw most was the three-bedroom home, with one two-bedroom and one studio.

Most Willow Glen requests we get turn into a booked move, and most of them are family houses rather than apartments.

Near Lincoln, much of the housing dates from the 1920s through the 1940s. Craftsman bungalows have front porches with a few steps, narrow interior doors and original hardwood. Spanish Revival houses add arched doorways and tight turns at the stairs. Tudor-style cottages have steep rooflines and small upstairs rooms where a box spring may not make the corner. South toward Curtner, post-war ranch houses and mid-century homes take over, and the work gets more straightforward.

On the older homes we lay runners from the front door through every room we enter, wrap each piece in blankets, and take legs and headboards off before they reach a narrow doorway. Disassembly and reassembly are part of a full-service move, not an add-on.

Two Willow Glen features eat time if nobody plans for them. The first is the long single-lane driveway running past the house to a detached garage in back. A truck rarely fits down it, so the crew walks the length with dollies. Clearing the driveway of cars the night before helps a lot.

The second is the canopy. Mature street trees hang low over some curbs, and a box truck can scrape a limb. We pick the parking spot with clearance in mind. If the only good spot is the public curb, San Jose's Department of Transportation issues a Tow-Away Permit, and the city suggests applying about two weeks ahead.

Lincoln Avenue also hosts street events. If you live on or right off it, check the community calendar before settling on a date.

For a Willow Glen bungalow or a two-bedroom ranch, 3 movers at $175 an hour is the usual crew. Larger homes, three bedrooms over 1,800 square feet or four bedrooms and up, get 4 movers at $235. Two movers at $145 is for very small moves or when you ask for it. The first 3 hours are the minimum, then time is billed in 15-minute steps, at the same rate on weekdays and weekends. We do not charge to drive to you, and boxes are billed only if you use them.

Typical Willow Glen move by home size

Every move is billed by the clock, so here are the hours our own crews actually billed this year, next to the crew rate for each home size. Your home may land outside these numbers; what you pay is the hours worked times the rate, in 15-minute steps after the 3-hour minimum.

Source: final invoices on our own local moves for direct customers, July to October 2026, middle half of each size group, not counting account or partner-billed jobs or jobs where we packed the whole home. Materials are billed as used; minimum 3 hours, then 15-minute increments.

Craftsman bungalows with porch steps and narrow doors, and long single-lane driveways leading to a detached garage, are what stretch a Willow Glen move within its range.

• Measure the narrowest interior door and the turn at the top of the stairs.
• Empty the detached garage early; it is usually the fullest room on the lot.
• Move cars off the driveway and the curb out front the evening before.
• Decide if a curb permit is needed and file it about two weeks out.
• Ask about a referral or repeat discount: 5% for a friend referral, 7% for repeat customers or a real-estate-agent referral, with a name or phone as proof.

• Communications Hill movers: just southeast, newer townhomes on a steep hill.
• Downtown San Jose movers: high-rises, loading docks and elevator bookings.
• Naglee Park movers: Victorian and Craftsman homes east of downtown.
• Rose Garden movers: period homes north across 280.
• San Jose movers: the full city page.

Read more on local moving.