House Clearance Services And How They Work
The reasons for enlisting the services of a house clearance company are, thankfully, not common. It is usually when someone's circumstances change and they have to move out of their current home, often because of ill health, a failed relationship, work or retirement. or perhaps a relative has died and their house is unoccupied and needs to be cleared. All are valid reasons to consider hiring the services of a house clearance company.
This article sets out to explain the somewhat complex way in which a house clearance company will calculate their charges, based on the value of the cleared items.
As a rule of thumb a house clearance company will make a moderate charge for clearing the house, based on the number of rooms, bedrooms, garage, garden etc. to be cleared.
How 'moderate' this charge will be depends on the contents to be cleared which generally fall into one of three scenarios:
1. The contents of the house have no resale value. This attracts the highest charge because the contents will simply be removed and taken to the nearest waste depot.
2. The contents include a mix of saleable and disposal items. Here the fee is reduced by the estimated value of the saleable goods.
3. The majority of the contents are saleable. This attracts the lowest fee. Some companies even offer to share the proceeds of sale with you if they exceed the clearance cost – it's always worth checking to see if this deal is available.
The house clearance company receives an income from the saleable items in one of the following ways:
i) They sell or auction the furniture and other saleable household items
ii) They sell the scrap metal and cables by weight to the appropriate scrap recyclers
iii) They sell clothing and bedding to the appropriate fabric recyclers
So you can see that the house clearance company has some options when estimating their costs (the number of rooms and estimated value of the saleable items), but basically they are taking a calculated gamble on the income they will receive from the saleable items, and they adjust the cost of clearance to suit.
Finally, here are some hints and tips to ensure that your house clearance goes as smoothly as possible.
a) Make sure that you use a reputable house clearance company, one with a waste licence number.
b) Get a firm quotation, in writing if possible.
c) Make sure that you and the clearance company are clear as to exactly what needs taking away from each room, the garage, the garden etc.
c) Pay by cheque or bank transfer if possible, that way you have a record of payment.
d) Make sure you receive an invoice. A licensed waste carrier should insist on giving you an invoice.
