How Does House Clearance Work?

So How Does House Clearance Work?

Different house clearance companies work in different ways, but in essence how a house clearance works is very straightforward:

• You decide on a house clearance firm to empty your property
• They clear the house and dispose of the contents
• If there are valuable items they will either set them aside for you, or pay you for them
• You then have the costs of the house clearance to pay

If they are buying the valuables off you and they are worth more than the clearance costs, then the house clearance company may end up paying you

At Keke we prefer to set aside valuables for you so that you can decide how to sell them yourself.

We think this is the best solution for you for a couple of reasons:

1. It can be very difficult to value antiques and collectibles, and since we are not dealers we don’t want to end up undervaluing something
2. If you were to put them into an auction you may end up with 2 or more collectors who want the item, who end up paying you far more than the going rate

For these main reasons we feel it is in your best interests to adopt this approach

Choosing a House Clearance Company

There are a few things that you really need to think carefully about when choosing a house clearance firm:

• Make sure they are a legitimate company who are fully licensed and insured
• This is important because since you are employing them
• If they dump, fly tip, or illegally dispose of your waste, you will be liable for costs and a potential fine of up to £5000
• At Keke we are fully licensed with the environmental agency, and fully insured.

We are also committed to protecting the environment, so we use professional “green” waste processing centers where over 90% of cleared items are recycled, refurbished, or donated to local charities to help local people.

Less than 10% of items end up in landfill, which is great for the environment.

How Do House Clearances Work On The Day Itself?

We’ve already discussed how important it is to choose a reputable house clearance company, and not to just go for the cheapest (if something sounds too good to be true – it usually is!)

To help you with picking a reputable firm:

1. Most legitimate companies will charge a similar price
2. They will have to charge extra for fridges, freezers, and mattresses because of government guidelines and costs
3. They will be fully licensed and insured
4. They will be a registered company
5. They will have clear policies explaining what they do with the waste
6. Check their reviews
7. Check their VAT registration number

If you end up hiring a cowboy firm and they illegally dump your waste, then it will be you who ends up being charged and fined, the law sees fly-tipping as your responsibility.

Next make sure that you have removed anything from the property that you want to keep or sell later. This includes:

• Valuables
• Antiques
• Jewellery
• Items with sentimental value
• Photographs
• Etc

The house clearance company can then focus on clearing the property, removing everything that you’ve agreed on.

If you have asked them to totally clear the property then they should remove carpets, fridges, freezers, cooker, furniture, waste & rubbish.

Once the job is completed you can double check to make sure that everything has been removed to your satisfaction.

That is how a house clearance works on the day.

How Do House Clearances Work – Frequently Asked Questions

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How we protect the environment through recycling.

Do House Clearers Empty The Entire House?

If you have asked the house clearance company to remove all contents and been quoted for this, then they should remove everything.

At Keke we aim to recycle as much as possible, after useable items have been donated to local charities.

Even things like blankets and bedding can be donated to animal charities where they can be re-purposed as bedding for dogs, etc.

Of course you can also ask them to remove only certain items, or clear specific locations like garages and sheds.

Usually most of our clients want the entire house emptying of all contents. You can see some before and after photos of our house clearances below:

How Does It Work If There Are Lots Of Valuables In The House Clearance?

If there are lots of valuables like antiques and antique furniture, then your best bet (to make sure you get the most money possible) is to ask a good auctioneer to come and take a look.

House clearance companies are not experts in antiques or collectibles, so it makes sense to get your items valued properly.

Sometimes things that don’t look particularly old or valuable can be rare or desirable, and unless it’s looked at by an expert then you’d never guess.

How Do I Work Out House Clearance Costs?

The best thing to do is to obtain a quote agreeing on how much you will be charged.

Of course this can be difficult to price exactly, since it comes down to how much there is to move, what those items are, and how many van loads it will take.

The government have brought in strict guidelines for recycling fridges, freezers, and mattresses, so there is an extra costs that you’ll need to pay for these to be removed.

This is the same whichever reputable company you choose.

At Keke we base our prices on van loads (read more about how much does a house clearance cost).

There is a base cost of one van load, then a reduced rate for further van loads, you can see our prices in the table below.

In Conclusion

How house clearances work is very straight forward and easy to understand.

If you follow our advice above then you should avoid all of the pitfalls and reap all of the benefits and sail through your house clearance without any issues whatsoever.

Just make sure that you choose a reputable, registered waste carrier like Keke and let us do all of the hard work for you.