House clearance advice

Happy_Daddy

Hi - Mrs Happy Daddy is helping to sort her Aunt's affairs and needs to get her 1 bed retirement flat cleared. We've no experience of house clearance companies. We know they take the items away but what is the exact process, what should we be asking companies and how much might it cost? Any other advice would be most welcome!

Savvy_Sue

I suspect the exact process varies from one company to another. If you're near the Reading / Newbury area I can give you an excellent recommendation, not cheap but worth every single penny.

In our case, it was a large family home, stuffed to the rafters with (mostly) worthless tat. Clearance took place in stages: we had an auction house come in and identify what might sell. We worked on identifying what we wanted (not a lot), then the auction house came back and took what they wanted. Next our clearance company came in and cleared most of the tat and thoroughly cleaned and 'staged' the house - honestly, we barely recognised it! - ready for sale. (Although it's worth pointing out the estate agents had already listed it and shown people round, and it was one of those pre-clearance viewers we sold it to.)

When we (almost) had a date for exchange and completion, our clearance company did the final clear.

Again, how each company works will vary, but ours stated that they would recycle as much as they possibly could, and described the various outlets they would use for this.

One thing though: we had to work to their schedule because they did get very booked up. Our final clear actually took place before we'd exchanged contracts, so we did run the risk of having a completely empty house if our sale had fallen through. If we hadn't gone for that date however, we'd have had a mad mad weekend of taking furniture to the tip before exchange ...

A 1 bed flat will be a much easier proposition. Ask about timescales, ask about whether they clean at the end, ask what they do with the stuff ... ask when they send the bill in! Again, we paid in stages, to reflect how the work was done.

Happy_Daddy

Thanks Sue that's really helpful. Mrs HD has been looking at various websites for the Hailsham area and only one so far has mentioned selling items - she has to maximise the value of the estate for the benficiaries. We're in Norfolk, so it's a bit daunting finding someone.

Savvy_Sue

Could be worth asking around within the retirement complex, of course, especially if there is a warden!

Mojisola

If Aunt was in the habit of 'putting things away safely', you may need to go through everything first.

A friend's mother was that way inclined and they found lots of valuable pieces of jewellery tucked into things like a half-used matchbox and two or three £20 notes at a time in old magazines and more slipped between heavy pieces of furniture and the wall - clearing her flat was a very slow process.

Yorkshireman99

Happy_Daddy wrote: »

Thanks Sue that's really helpful. Mrs HD has been looking at various websites for the Hailsham area and only one so far has mentioned selling items - she has to maximise the value of the estate for the benficiaries. We're in Norfolk, so it's a bit daunting finding someone.

It may be worth asking local auction houses if you plan to sell some stuff. They are liekly to know which local house clearance firms are good and even more the bad ones!

Savvy_Sue

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

It may be worth asking local auction houses if you plan to sell some stuff. They are liekly to know which local house clearance firms are good and even more the bad ones!

Of course! That's how we got the recommendation for the house clearance.

Mum used the auction house after Dad died because he had a not particularly valuable collection of Corgi cars she didn't want to just send to the charity shop. We decided we'd get them in again after Dad died, and asked them about house clearance.

I had asked in a couple of charity shops, but personally I don't think we could have had a better service: not just the clearance, but also the cleaning, and the downright helpfulness.

Brighty

When my parents died, I planned to do all the work myself to save cash and maybe make a bit, sell off as much as possible to antique shops, second hand shops, ebay etc. Then take the rest to charity shops, then get a skip to empty the rest of the junk out.

I went down in a van one weekend to take home the furniture I wanted to keep, along with all the personal stuff and jewellery etc. While I was there, I got the letting agent round to take pics and start the ball rolling on getting it rented out. The plan was to then start the selling off and emptying on following weekends.

It didn’t pan out that way in the end

The Fri after that weekend, agent rang to say someone wanted to rent the house, great, that was quick, but wait, they are currently in a hotel and so want/need to move in on Wednesday??

Oh that was a busy Friday.

Found a house clearance company that were free on the Monday, also booked EPC survey for Monday morning as well as Gas safety certificate.

Train down Sunday afternoon, had a real good go through everything to make sure every last photo, keepsake and bit of jewellery etc was gone. Monday morning house clearance company emptied the entire 3 bed bungalow, plus garage, plus shed, took the whole lot away, cost £300, took them less than 2 hours from start to finish, big lorry and 3 blokes, saved so much work and hassle, and not that expensive really when you think a skip is at least £150. Yes you can cherry pick and sell off the good stuff separately, but the more you do that, the more the final clearance is likely to cost you if there's only junk left.

Got gas cert done, EPC done, hopped in dads car and drove it home (sold that to a fella at work a few weeks later). Tuesday, cleaners went in, Wednesday, tenants moved in. Done, Phew.

That was a stressful few days, but we had some very happy tenants, 4.5 years on and they're still in there. Tenants and agent were amazed we got it done in that timescale, so was I

Brighty

Linton

In some areas British Heart Foundation or AgeUK or possibly other charities will clear a house keeping stuff they can recycle and dumping the rest. AgeUK cleared my father''s large 4 bedroom house for £250.

Cuilean

We're clearing my grandfather's place at the moment. Family have taken any items we want, bits which can go to charity have been donated, and a local auction house/house clearance company are in at the moment to take away what's left.

They will literally take everything - the expected stuff, like furniture, knick knacks, white goods (Working or broken), and also things I didn't expect, like carpets, the contents of the attic and garage, and the ancient broken stair lift. They did charge a little extra on top of their flat rate for the removal of the carpets, but it was still cheaper than we'd been quoted by the new carpet fitter for removing them himself, or paying for a skip for him.

Because they're quite well known for their auctions, they will apparently give us a portion of anything they can successfully auction off, although the inner cynic in me says that we won't see much

eddyinfreehold

I agree with the advice above that you need to go through everything carefully first. Make sure you have an independent valuation of all the chattels and the property from a RICS surveyor for the probate process. Next gather up every single scrap of paper and correspondence, cards, passports, ID, bills, chequebooks, everything and keep them in a safe place. Make sure all beneficiaries are aware of your actions and are involved in the process so that there is no friction in the future. If any registered charities are involved in the will and any legacy is a fraction or percentage act very carefully. They will insist on careful valuation and maximisation of the estate.