Has anyone used a house clearance company?

youth_leader

Hello, I sold at auction last week, and the buyer asked for eight weeks until completion. 
I have moved out of my house but left all the furniture I intended selling, as I am downsizing.  Unfortunately I'd only just listed it on ebay when lockdown was announced, and none of it has sold.  It is mainly heavy wardrobes/chests that I cannot dismantle on my own or carry down the stairs.  I did manage to dismantle my son's bed and left it outside, I advertised it on facebook for free.  First enquiry was 'can you deliver'.  You need a sense of humour, don't you.  Unbelievably it had gone within hours.  
I was considering a house clearance company, does anyone have any experience of them?

Thank you.

wjr4

I’ve just used a removal company to put everything into a storage unit for now. Furniture will then be sold at a later date. 

greatcrested

Assuming they are working (?), they will generally view first and either charge you a fee to clear everything, or offer you a % of whatever they make selling everything at auction (if they think there's anything of value).

If you use an auction house the latter is more likely and they might even send an expert round to identify that valuable painting you didn't know was worth anything....

davidmcn

Last time I had furniture to get rid of, one of the charity shops picked it up - I suspect they'll mostly be shut down for the meantime but you could check.

youth_leader

Thank you.  I've been quoted £60 per week for storage and I'm feeling very poor at the moment.  I can't decide whether to cut my losses.

greatcrested

Where are you?

When clearing my mother's house we paid the council to collect some items which was scheduled for 3 days away. we left them outside and overnight they vanished. Definately not the council. But that was a busy road in North London.....

GDB2222

If it’s brown wood furniture, it may not have any resale value, really. So, a clearance firm may charge quite a bit. 

If you are reasonably fit, you could saw it up, then offer it as firewood.

Flugelhorn

I have used a couple in the past - one to clear a relative's very, very cluttered flat, difficult access and nil of resale value  - £700 and worth every penny
second time was small bungalow, mostly cleared bar the furniture and some glassware crockery etc  - some stuff was  resellable - £200 

Linton

Charities, in particular BHF and AgeUK, clear houses for a reasonable charge and re-use anything they can.

youth_leader

Thank you for all so much for your comments. 
My late husband died from a heart attack, I hadn't realised BHF had such a professional operation and would be able to take it, I'm going to give it to them when they are up and running again,
Thank you for the suggestion Linton. 
Downsizing is hard, I am so fond of my old tetrad grand sofa, I will always miss it.

GDB2222

I fear that you may have to bite the bullet and dispose of the furniture before BHF is up and running again.