How Much Does A Whole House Estate Cleanup Cost?

Estate or house cleanout is time-consuming, requiring a lot of patience and money. Most people are often seen asking how much an estate cleanout costs. Many elements come to play when handling an estate clean out. All of these factors determine the estate cleanout prices. Losing a loved one is so heartbreaking and this whole lengthy process just adds to the pain.

The property, estate, or garage cleanout happens because of the four unfortunate events; downsizing due to financial burden, death of a parent or spouse, divorce, and debt. These unfortunate times require the individual to get the help of estate cleanout services.

How Much Does A Whole House Estate Cleanup Cost?

A lot goes into cleaning out an estate, so, expect to pay higher service charges. The whole process is divided into different phases, each phase costs differently. Different stages of estate cleanup include identification of assets, estate paperwork, and junk removal.

Identification of Assets

After determining benefactors, heirs, and executors of the state, the next step is identifying the assets which are done by heirs and close family members of the deceased. It is decided where an item goes, the method of disposal, and the potential cost.

Estate assets are marked and kept at an assigned destination like hand over to a family member, take it to the attorney's office, hold for benefactor pickup, sell, or donate. The size of the estate determines the cost of the first cleanout phase.

Estate cleanout costs vary greatly and are heavily dependent on the identifying, inventorying, and dispensing of assets. For instance, antique furniture requires the help of an expert in liquidating items for their true value, thus, adding to the expense. It is undoubtedly the most expensive phase but also makes the most money. In general, asset identification and moving items cost between $2000-$6000.

Estate Paperwork

Locating and sorting estate paperwork is another expense of the whole estate cleanout process. These important documents include deeds, wills, titles to vehicles, insurance policies, birth certificates, death certificates, and more to be given to the executor of the estate.

Other paperwork that comes in handy for the executor is electric bills, mortgage, water bills, medical bills, and other bills with account numbers or social security numbers.

Unneeded documents and paper files containing personal information should be disposed of or shredded. Computer hard drives and computers no longer useful can be disposed of with the help of shredding services costing between $50 to $500.

Junk Removal

Not all the belongings inherited would be worth keeping, therefore, should be removed from the premises. It is a challenge to estimate the cost of the junk removal, to get an idea, see how much trash you have. Organize all the stuff in the garage, get a visual, and ask junk hauling companies for an estimate.

Depending on the services booked, the price would vary, however, it would be more or less $700. Hiring a 30 yards container costs about $400 - $900 to take the trash to the local dump. Hourly, daily, and weekly rental rates are different as per the ton of material removed.

Selling or Donating

You can sell items having little value to earn money. Some items can even be sold at a higher price than they are worth. The owner can choose to donate stuff to save the cost of disposal. Many charities will pick up stuff from your location, charging a pickup fee which is under $100.

In Summary

Hire an estate sales manager or auctioneer to carry out estate cleanup costs. Check if the estate is filled with debris or there is any item of value. It can be a simple task even the heir can do it himself.