Simply put, house clearance companies help remove everything from a property, typically residential. This is useful in situations when a lot of things need to be removed for those looking to clear a location for either selling or new habitation. Sometimes an owner of the property needs a location cleared out and needs a third party to help with the process. This is especially true for locations with previous tenants that were compulsive hoarders.
According to Pro Clear Solutions, an Ipswich house clearance company, a company may purchase items from a house to cover the costs of its work. In other cases, the homeowner may need to pay the company to remove items if they are unsellable or potentially hazardous to remove.
What Items Do House Clearance Companies Remove?
Each company has different specialties and different things that they are interested in purchasing from the property owner. This can be electronics like televisions and computers, or non-electrical items like artwork, books, and even furniture.
Not everything in a property is resellable by a clearance company, so they will need to be reimbursed for these items before they can be removed. This can include old beds, broken appliances, hazardous chemicals or items which can be dangerous to remove.
Hazardous materials can include any over the counter chemical such as cleaning products, pesticides, and combustible fluids like gasoline and oil. Some paints can fall under the hazardous material heading as well, along with things like car batteries, fluorescent tubes, and CFL light bulbs.
A good house clearance company should be cleared to handle toxic materials and even foodstuffs. A refrigerator full of food can be quickly emptied. Even large items like automobiles or pianos can be taken care of. Many services offer some sort of carpet removal as well.
What Other Fees Are Associated with House Clearance Companies?
Additional fees might be tacked on to a property that is particularly difficult to get to, either from poor parking, high rises with only stair accesses, and even the amount of objects on the property. Large quantities of clutter and toxic material might create more fees as well.
One of the first things you should do is is get an estimate. Many online companies offer some sort of free estimate online, but if you want something a bit more accurate you might want to contact them directly and schedule an appointment.
What Should I Know When Looking at House Clearance Companies?
Price shouldn’t be your only concern when looking at these companies; see what types of services they offer as well. They should have up-to-date insurance including some sort of public liability. They should also have multiple reviews that help vet if what they offer is good or not.
When booking your house clearance service, there are a few things you need to keep in mind first. You’ll need to arrange a time and date for everything to begin. It’s also important to keep in mind that you usually have to pay some sort of deposit beforehand.
How Much Can I Expect to Pay and How Long Will It Take?
As mentioned before, there are many mitigating factors when comes to price. Typical prices range anywhere from £650 to £1500. Depending on what you need cleared, you can expect their services to range from a couple hours to many days.
A good company will notify you beforehand. You can typically expect some sort of remind the day before and day of. You should also expect to be at the location when the company shows up, as they will need to be shown what exactly needs to be removed along with giving you a final price.
While procedures vary, most companies will accept full payment for their services at the end of the job. This will, of course, be after the team loads everything into their vans and is about to pull away. Because of this, you should have either cash, check, or card on hand.
When all the hard work is done, make sure to leave some sort of feedback, either on the company website or an independent one. Don’t feel you need to pull any punches either; it’s important to leave feedback that is completely honest and independent.
What Do the Clearance Companies Do with All That Junk?
Toxic materials will be properly disposed of as per government regulations. Other things that cannot be immediately resold will be recycled as much as possible. This can be metal, wood, cardboard, and so forth. A good clearance company tries to avoid landfills as much as possible.
