House clearance - advice

waveneygnome

I'm about to buy a property that has been left empty (due to death of owner) for approx 3 years. The house is FULL of 'stuff' - most of it decent quality. I had assumed that the seller (relatives of the deceased) would clear the house before completion.

Had a letter via the solicitors today asking could we clear it after completion and as a goodwill gesture give 50% of the proceeds (if any) to the vendor. (Vendor is elderly, lives far away from the property and doesn't want the hassle of doing it themselves)

I don't have a problem with this, just not what I expected.

How do I go about getting a whole house cleared, and are there any alternatives I should consider?

I have no idea what the stuff might be worth (if any) - I was only looking at the size of the rooms, location, condition of building etc when viewing........not the contents of the top drawers!

davemorton

One option is to use a 'house clearance' firm, although more money will probably be raised if you get in touch with a local auction house. (IMO)

paddedjohn

contact the soliciter and tell them it is going to cost you to clear the house and you expect the vendor to pay. If you get someone in to clear the house and there arent many saleable items then the rest will cost to be tipped and this is not cheap nowdays.
Local second hand shops are your best bet for house clearances.

If the house has been empty for 3 years then most of the stuff will be rubbish

Doozergirl

Woah! They want money back? Seriously, it's not fun clearing someone else's stuff - it costs time and money to do it fast, and more time and work to make any money from it. They should be offering you money or whoever is dealing with this sale should get rid of it.

If there's anything there you want, ask if you can have it, but it's their problem to sort out, not yours.

Sooki

I'm not an expert by any sense of imagination. But I'd presume once you take possession of the house anything thats in the property would belong to you, what the morals are in all of this is another story.

Why don't the current owners get their solicitors to sort it before the contracts are exchanged ? Sounds to me like they can't be bothered and are relying on your goodwill.

I bet at the last minute they will try and get you to buy the contents part of the sale.

Welsh_Totster

It cost me nigh on a grand (and 4 large skips on top of what was taken by the house clearance co) to clear the family home after my mother had vacated. I reckon they're being cheeky !!!!ers for first, asking you to clear it and secondly expecting some money back from it! Good luck with that one!

eira

Someone I knew used to do house clearances. Procedure seems to be
a) They come round and have a look at the contents. A calculation is made as to how much the stuff can be sold for -then the price for clearance is made with this in mind
b)Key focus is furniture and china. Good quality solid bookcases are apparently a bit of a find. A flick through E Bay will give an indication of price
c) but there is inconvenience in finding a clearance person-seems a bit thick you being left with it

I would be very wary generally of prices-the person I knew was fair and honest and would always tell people if they found something of value-but I got offered £30 for a specialist glass fronted bookcase that I knew was worth a few hundred. Offering to shift/buy boxes of books and china is another ploy. They buy a box for a fiver -most of it being junk-knowing that one item is going to clear several quid

hcb42

I wouldnt generally entertain this. You might get lucky, will probably just end up with a headache.

I would tell them to arrange house clearance themselves....they wont want to risk the sale over it - although why they would not do it personally I dont know. I would not have entertained anyone else clearing my parents place

eira

Agree with this-on reflection you don't know the possible personal implications of 'clearing' someone's things

phill99

Most old people house are full of Toot. Toot which has virtually no value and will cost you to clear. There might be one or two decent bits, but its the contents of drawers and cupboards such as crockery, pots & pans, linen and 1970's crimpeline paisley dresses that are a night mare. Plus old beds are nothing but a burden. And I can guarantee that the valuable stuff would have been syphoned off by the relatives of the deceased.

The solicitor is having a laugh. This will end up costing you, let alobe slitting with the vendor.

dawyldthing

i'd put it all on ebay piece by piece, 99p start, pick up only and sell it that way, but i wouldn't be giving them 50% as it will take time