Going through an estate cleanout is usually not caused by cheerful events. In some cases, an estate cleanout may be caused by the unexpected loss of a family member. In other cases, forced evictions, downsizing due to a severe financial crisis, or other economic hardships may also be cause for an estate cleanout. For example, recent estimates find that 1 in 12,448 properties in the United States is currently in foreclosure, with an estimated 214,323 active foreclosure cases nationwide during 2020. During many of these foreclosure cases, the prior owners simply don’t have enough space to move the items inside their previous homes.
By definition, an estate cleanout refers to the thorough and all-inclusive removal of all of a home´s items. These items include appliances both large and small, sofas, beds, kitchenware, perishable food items, and all other personal items that are located on a particular property. The purpose of an estate cleanout is to help the property gain the appearance of an empty property that can be immediately listed for sale.
For the person in charge of doing an estate cleanout, it can be an emotionally charged time, especially if they are tasked with getting rid of items that may have sentimental or nostalgic value. At the same time, there is often a limited timeline associated with estate cleanouts, as banks, realtors, or other financial institutions may place a deadline on when the property needs to be listed for sale. Whether you are an individual helping your older family member downsize into a smaller, assisted care living facility, or you work for a larger real estate firm that is doing an anonymous estate cleanout of a property that needs to be listed for sale in the shortest amount of time possible, below we offer five suggestions for how to do an efficient and easy estate cleanout in the San Diego region.
Tip #1: Before You Cleanout Your San Diego Estate, Hire an Appraiser
Before you get into the hard work of doing an estate cleanout, it is important to consider hiring an accredited estate appraiser. Obviously, you can omit this step if the majority of the “stuff” in the estate is junk or other items of low value that you simply want to donate or otherwise get rid of in the timeliest manner. However, if the property does have items of value, it is typically a good idea to have a professional offer you an estimate of each item. Most estate appraisers charge an hourly fee, and they can give you a fairly exact idea of the value of the items in the estate. Things such as jewelry, artwork, pristine furniture, high-quality electronics and appliances, and other items might be worth much more than what you first imagined.
Tip #2: Take The Necessary Time To Go Through Memorabilia
If the estate cleanout you are doing is taking you down memory lane, it is important to take the necessary time to go through all of the family memorabilia, keepsakes, and other items that have nostalgic and sentimental value. Without taking the necessary time to thoroughly go through the estate, you may accidentally throw away old family photo albums hidden in a cabinet or other piece of furniture. The process of unhurriedly going through these important items can also help to bring family members together, often in times of hardship and loss.
If you are doing the estate cleanout on your own, you may consider Junk King of San Diego’s full-service junk removal. After you slowly and deliberately go through the items that you need to get rid of, ensuring that no important items accidentally get thrown out. Give Junk King a call for fast and efficient pickup of all your unwanted items in the estate.
Tip #3: High-Value Items in Your Estate, Consider Selling Them
Most people probably don’t have a lot of space in their homes to take in a whole house full of furniture from an estate cleanout. Instead of simply sending those items to the dump, however, you might be able to earn some quality cash by selling those items locally. Consider setting up a garage sale to attract interest from local neighbors. You can also list furniture, appliances, and other items on Craigslist or other online marketplaces. To not draw out the estate cleanout process, consider setting a deadline for when those items should be sold. If they´ve not sold after a certain allotted period, it might be time to consider calling a junk removal service like Junk King San Diego to haul it away.
Tip #4: Donate Whatever Items Have Little Resale Value
In any estate foreclosure, there are also bound to be several items that simply do not have much resale value. Things such as used clothing, books, and other smaller items are generally not worth your time to try to sell. Whatever items cannot be sold or given to family members, you may consider donating to thrift stores or other organizations that work with underprivileged families in your community.
Tip #5: Hire the Best Junk Removal Service In San Diego To Do Your Estate Cleanout For You
Lastly, it is important to not try to take on too much responsibility by yourself. Though it may be an emotionally rewarding process to go through the memorabilia and sentimental items, trying to categorize, price, sell, donate, and get rid of hundreds of individual items in an estate cleanout can quickly lead to burnout. Instead of trying to do it all on your own, hiring a professional junk removal service is often the best way to efficiently speed up the estate cleanout process.
Junk King of San Diego is the top-rated junk removal service for southern California. We offer both residential and commercial junk pickup services to individuals and businesses in the San Diego area, including Alpine, Bonita, Chula Vista, Dulzura, El Cajon, Jamul, La Mesa, Lakeside, Lemon Grove, Ramona, Santee, and Spring Valley.
For estate cleanouts, we are one of the few companies in the region that can offer you a fair and transparent pricing estimate for any junk removal job. We understand that estate cleanouts can be a hectic time, and we believe that our customers shouldn’t have to worry about hidden prices and other concealed costs. Thus, we offer all of our customers four convenient ways to get a free estimate on any size junk removal service you may need.
For larger jobs, we offer on-site pricing, which will allow us to give you an accurate and exact price estimate for the job. We may even be able to haul away your junk the same day we give you the on-site price estimate. You can also call us at 1-888-888-JUNK to live chat with our highly trained customer service representatives. For smaller junk removal services, you can take a photo of the items you need removed and text us at 737-888-5865. We will text you back an estimate. Lastly, for a pricing estimate online, simply click the “Pricing” tab in the navigation above, scroll to the pricing estimator, enter your zip code, and choose estimate “By List Item” or “By Truckload.”
If you are going through an estate cleanout at the moment, consider hiring Junk King of San Diego by calling 1-888-888-JUNK (5865) or booking online today!