Anyone used house clearance firms - worth it?

ahar

ahar

ahar

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My Dad passed away last month and was a bit of a hoarder, so we have a lot of stuff to clear out. Amongst the rubbish are some decent bits of furniture (sofa, bed etc) and some stuff that is probably worth something but probably not a lot (bookcases, TV etc).

The house is 90 mins drive (each way, so 3 hour round trip) away so doing bits and pieces in the evening is not an option, nor is losing every weekend for the foreseeable future just to ebay stuff that might not even cover my petrol money. We're going to sell the house so want to empty it relatively soon.

Has anyone used a house clearance company before, and if so any things to watch out for? How do they typically split the money made from selling the stuff?
 
Can't advise on companies, but I would have thought a lot would be junk that's destined for the local tip. No chance of renting a van, dump everything that looks like rubbish down the tip and then take back anything you need/want to keep.
 
I don't think you necessarily need to dispose of things that are in working order just because they're low value, I'd check with a few charity shops, some of them accept furniture etc.. and plenty will accept various other odds and ends.

If you do have some antiques that are possibly valuable then take them to your local auction house. Flog the TV on ebay/gumtree.
 
Sorry to hear about your Dad.

Someone I know used a house clearance firm. He lives abroad and when his Dad died it was his only option. They charged a fee of about £800 iirc in addition to taking ownership of everything in the house (i.e. there was no "splitting the profits" of what they sold). They arrived in a few huge vans, smashed the junk furniture in the garden and loaded it into one van and loaded the rest into the other two. They emptied the house in a few hours.

Not a good solution IMO.
 
ahar said:
My Dad passed away last month and was a bit of a hoarder, so we have a lot of stuff to clear out. Amongst the rubbish are some decent bits of furniture (sofa, bed etc) and some stuff that is probably worth something but probably not a lot (bookcases, TV etc).

The house is 90 mins drive (each way, so 3 hour round trip) away so doing bits and pieces in the evening is not an option, nor is losing every weekend for the foreseeable future just to ebay stuff that might not even cover my petrol money. We're going to sell the house so want to empty it relatively soon.

Has anyone used a house clearance company before, and if so any things to watch out for? How do they typically split the money made from selling the stuff?
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Sorry for your loss.

Basically they will come round and give you an offer for the things they think they can sell. There wont be much haggling at least in London.

It is up to you if you want to try and sell some bits individually or just let them take what they want, but you will need to take what you want before they come or they will accuse you of taking all the things that are worth anything and vastly lower the price.

Unless there are antiques or collectibles dont expect too much. Then you will need a rubbish clearance or skip for the rest.

Or

https://www.watford.gov.uk/info/20015/rubbish_and_recycling/81/get_rid_of_a_large_household_item/2

Donate your household item
If your unwanted item (furniture) is in good condition, why not donate it? Some charities may collect for free, here are some local ones to try:

Peace Hospice 020 8420 1525

Debra 01923 804241

9Lives 01923 718666

New Hope Trust 01923 210680

British Heart Foundation 0808 250 0030
 
Thanks for the replies so far. House is in rural South Oxfordshire so even charity shops and the local tip are some way away, hence thinking about house clearance to speed things up .
 
Just do it.

If you think there's anything of value single it out. Sentimental or monetary value.
You are going to be paid to clear the house, what is what you need ultimately. At least get a quote. See what kind of Numbers we are talking. Time is very important here.

Also sorry to hear about your Dad. Im sure ill be dealing with this and my mum one day.
 
When my Dad passed away over 10 years ago now, we engaged a house clearing company to empty out the heavy items. Cheeky boogers then wanted £150 after loading the van to take it away. My fault for not clarifying the terms of the arrangement, but then you aren't exactly thinking at your best in those circumstances. Most of it was junk but a few items (such as TV) were worth money. No choice but to pay up as the council wanted the keys to the bungalow ASAP and we were operating 300 miles from home.

So if all else fails, then yes it is an option but be crystal clear what terms they are doing the clearance on so that paying you doesn't turn into you paying them!
 
I'd take a few days leave, hire a van and do it yourself. It's tough going through everything but at least you can pick out the smaller items you want to keep and you'll know exactly what's there.

I emptied my grandads house after he died and after disposing of all the furniture, clothes and white goods was left with 10 big boxes about the size of an old TV which went in mums loft, so at least we knew it was safe.

About 5 years later we got round to sorting through it all and granted about 5 boxes worth were disposed but what was left is great:

His old scrabble board
Binoculars
Tools
Ornaments I remember seeing as a kid
Odd pieces of kitchenware which we have started using again.
Lots of other bits and bobs.

Be mindful that if the furniture doesn't meet modern safety standards then a charity won't take it, they wouldn't take the sofa and bed because they weren't flame retardant, even though they looked new.

It took a few days but I'm glad it was done by the family.
 
Efour said:
If you think there's anything of value single it out. Sentimental or monetary value.
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It might be worth getting somebody in who knows what they are doing to give the contents a once over before getting rid of anything.

It doesn't happen very often, but every now and again you do get stories of people who discover that that old pot of their Nans that she used to keep umbrellas in turns out to be a 16th century Chinese vase or something similar.
 
House clearance works a little like this. You pay them money, they come and completely clear the house for you as per your instruction (you're charged based on the number of rooms etc). They then keep anything they want and pocket the profit made.
I went through this very thing when I lost my mum a couple of months ago - I kind of said "You can have everything in the house and you don't charge us"? He almost laughed.
In the end we got a charity to come and collect large things, other things we took to charity. Finally we hired the two sons of a work colleague to come and empty the entire property and take to the tip (anything without sentimental or money value) and paid them cash.

It sometimes feels that everybody is after a slice of money from you after the death of a loved one. I've been in arguments with the council over her property since she died with them wanting to charge me over £3k for works on the building - tis madness.
Sorry for your loss.
 
stoofa said:
House clearance works a little like this. You pay them money, they come and completely clear the house for you as per your instruction (you're charged based on the number of rooms etc). They then keep anything they want and pocket the profit made.
I went through this very thing when I lost my mum a couple of months ago - I kind of said "You can have everything in the house and you don't charge us"? He almost laughed.
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I guess for them it's a bit of a gamble.

If everything in the house is genuinely worthless then they only get paid their flat rate for a few hours of back breaking work.

Otherwise if they hit gold - jewellery, antiques, collectables etc. Then it's essentially a bonus to them.

Unless you already have a rough idea of whether there is anything valuable in the house, i'd say it's worth having a look through before getting someone in to clear it all out.
 
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