Do House Clearance Companies Pay You?

House Clearance – Do They Pay You?

This is a question we often get asked, and the short answer is yes… and no!

Some house clearance companies will offer to pay you for valuables in the property, like antiques, paintings, etc, while others will ask you to remove items you want and then charge you for the time and costs to empty the property.

There are pros and cons to each way, which we will explore below.

How Does It Work If A House Clearance Company Pays You?

The way that it works is that:

1. The house clearance firm will estimate the cost of the valuables.
2. They then subtract this value from the costs to empty the house.
3. If the valuables are worth more than the costs, they pay you the difference.
4. If the costs of the clearance is more than the valuables, you pay them the difference.

Some companies prefer to just charge for the cost of clearing the property, while other work in the way described above.

There are plus and minus points for each, which is right for you depends on your own circumstances.

Pros and Cons of Letting a House Clearance Company Pay You

At Keke we prefer to operate by putting aside items for you that we believe have value, so that you can sell them in the best and most appropriate way for you.

We believe that this is the best way because let’s be honest – house clearance companies are not experts in art or antiques.

While it’s rare for a home to have a lot of valuables like works of art, for example, it can happen and it only takes one significantly valuable painting or bronze or piece of furniture to be incorrectly valued, and you could end up seriously out of pocket.

For this reason we prefer to simply charge for the work we do, and to cover the costs of recycling, etc, and leave the expert appraisals to expert appraisors!

The Pros of being paid by a house clearance company are:

1. The property can be cleared completely with the minimum fuss for you.
2. This means you don’t need to organise auctioneers or antiques, etc dealers to come and look at the items.
3. You also don’t have to wait for weeks or months to get paid when the items are sold.
4. You could end up with cash for the house clearance, with minimum involvement in the process.
5. Alternatively it might reduce the cost of the clearance if the valuables aren’t quite enough to cover the costs completely.

The Cons of being paid by a house clearance company are:

1. House clearance companies are not expert valuers of antiques, art, or other collectables.
2. You might end up being paid less than the items are worth.
3. This could amount to a serious amount of money if an item turns out to be very rare.

The Pros and Cons of Paying A House Clearance Company, And Dealing With Valuables Yourself

The pros of just paying a house clearance company to clear the property, and dealing with valuables yourself are:

1. You know exactly what the costs are, and can see a breakdown of what you are paying for.
2. You can organise appropriate auctioneers or experts to give an accurate valuation of items.
3. This means you will get the maximum financial benefit from any valuables.
4. If there is something very rare you could be in for a significant financial windfall.
5. Dealers may buy the items from you.
6. You could get much more money for your items, there and then.

The cons of just paying a house clearance company to clear the property, and dealing with valuables yourself are:

1. You will need to organise people to do the valuations for you.
2. It might take you longer to get paid if items are sold at auction.
3. You will need to pay for the house clearance, and deduct that from the money you get from the valuables later.

Of course, if a dealer wants your items and will pay you in cash on the spot, then you are almost certain to end up with a much better deal, more money for the valuables, and then you could use some of that cash to pay the clearance company.

Summary on House Clearances

The best option all depends on your own circumstances.

If you want the house clearing with the minimum fuss or involvement, then it may seem appealing to let the house clearance company value the items and pay you if there is an excess value.

However, be aware that this might leave you out of pocket if they make a mistake.

If you are prepared to take a little more time, and to organise proper, accurate valuations, then you could end up with substantially more money – in some cases it could even be a life changing amount.