It is one of the first questions most people ask when arranging a house clearance: how much is it going to cost?
The difficulty is that two properties with the same number of bedrooms can require completely different amounts of work.
A lightly furnished two-bedroom bungalow may take considerably less time to clear than a one-bedroom flat containing decades of possessions. A rural property with barns and outbuildings presents different challenges from a modern house with straightforward vehicle access.
For that reason, a professional house clearance is usually priced after the property and its contents have been assessed.
What determines the cost of a house clearance?
The biggest factor is normally the volume of contents that need to be removed.
Furniture, books, clothing and ordinary household possessions quickly add up. Garages, lofts, sheds and outbuildings can sometimes contain as much material as the house itself.
Access also matters.
Devon has everything from city-centre flats and Georgian terraces to remote cottages reached by narrow lanes. Stairs, long carries, restricted parking and difficult vehicle access can all affect the amount of time and labour required.
There may also be additional costs associated with disposing of particular materials responsibly.
But there is another side of the calculation that is sometimes overlooked.
The contents may have value
A house clearance should not begin with the assumption that everything in the property is simply something to be removed.
Older homes in particular can contain furniture, paintings, ceramics, silver, jewellery, books, collectables and decorative objects that deserve closer examination.
Sometimes the owner or family knows exactly what is valuable. Quite often they do not.
That is why at Devon House Clearances we prefer to look at the contents before deciding how the property should be cleared.
The objective is simple: identify anything that merits further consideration before the clearance takes place.
Where items have genuine resale value, this can potentially change the overall economics of the clearance. Read more about our approach to antiques and valuations.
Full house clearance or partial clearance?
You do not necessarily need to clear an entire property.
A clearance might involve a single room, a garage, an attic or selected furniture before a house move.
At the other end of the scale, an estate clearance may involve the complete contents of a house, sheds, garages and external buildings.
The scope should therefore be agreed clearly at the beginning. Our house clearance service covers both complete and partial clearances.
What should a house clearance quotation include?
A good quotation should make clear what is being removed, what areas of the property are included and what work has been agreed.
It should also take account of access and any unusual items or disposal requirements identified during the assessment.
Be cautious about comparing quotations purely on the headline price.
The more important question is whether each company is quoting for exactly the same work.
Can you reduce the cost of a house clearance?
Possibly, but that does not necessarily mean doing lots of work before somebody visits.
In fact, if the property contains older furniture, antiques or collectables, it can be sensible not to start throwing things away immediately.
Let the contents be assessed first.
Something that appears unwanted may be reusable, saleable or of interest to a specialist.
Once the contents have been considered, it is much easier to decide what should be retained, sold, donated, recycled or disposed of.
House clearance costs for probate properties
Probate clearances can require a slightly different approach.
Executors may be dealing with the property from another part of the country, several family members may be involved and important documents or personal items may still be inside the house.
In these circumstances, the quality of the process matters just as much as the price.
The property should be assessed carefully and the responsibilities of everyone involved should be clear before clearance begins. Our probate clearance service explains how we support families and executors.
Getting a house clearance assessment in Devon
The most reliable way to understand the likely cost is to let us know where the property is, what needs to be cleared and any particular circumstances we should be aware of.
We provide house clearance services throughout Devon, including Exeter, East Devon, South Devon, North Devon, Plymouth, Torbay and surrounding areas.