A hoarding house is a work in progress, as opposed to the hoarded homes some senior citizens leave behind. Both types accumulate a surprising amount of clutter as the years pass by. It may we unwise to summarily do a hoarding house clearance, though. That’s because there may be important documents, even precious family memories to recover first.
Variable Hoarding House Clearance Costs
Hoarded house clearing costs depend on individual circumstances. Look twice at a contractor who tells you their standard rate is so many pounds. This is because they may be luring you in with an apparently cheap price, while planning to add ‘extras’ later.
A Hoarded House Belonging to a Music Lover © Avery Associates
The Actual Price Depends on the Scope
Clearing a home is a time-consuming activity. We go through everything thoroughly, to separate junk from value, although we never promise to make our clients wealthy. Factors that come into play here include:
- The physical size of the area to be cleared, and how close we can park our removal vehicle.
- The extent of the hoarded clutter we have to work through, and how disorganized it is.
- Whether the collection contains any dangerous, poisonous, or otherwise harmful materials.
- How many van loads of clutter there are, that we will have to cart away and responsibly dispose.
- The number of miles our vehicle would have to travel in the process of doing so.
- Whether there are any abnormal items that might require a different vehicle to transport.
- The total number of ‘man hours’ required to complete the removal, and tidy up afterwards.
- Whether the hoarding house clearance would require any specialist skills or expert advice.
Disposing of Hoarding House Clearance Clutter
There have been occasions in the past when we have found items of real value during a hoarding house clearance. However, we should stress that this is an exception to the general norm, and there is almost inevitably a bill to pay, but we will of course put to one side and retain family photos, documents of importance and valuables on your behalf.
We Have Specialist Skills to Spot Collectibles © Avery Associates
Our experience over many years has taught us that value is often only in the minds of hoarders. This means their accumulation is merely good for recycling, or consigning to a landfill. Our task then involves disposing of household waste responsibly, within the requirements of national and local regulations.
We therefore have to follow a process, mindful of the fact that our clients are liable for any legal infringements, which we carefully avoid:
- Contact the local council responsible for recycling in the area.
- Find out which is the nearest recycling point for various items.
- Establish whether the council will collect, or expects deliveries.
- In what condition the authority expects us to deliver the items.
However, we must first determine which items may be of interest to a charity, or to a charity shop perhaps. That’s because we are avid recyclers ourselves, and can’t abide unnecessary waste.
Advice Before Your Choose Your Contractor
You can subcontract your hoarding house clearance to a contractor who charges you less, because they take a more casual approach. However, please do remember they are legally your employee, and you are ultimately responsible for their errors and omissions.
Therefore, we believe it is of utmost importance to check our waste carriers licence waste carrier who holds a current registration in England to perform the task, unless you elect to transport the goods yourself. By the same token, you need to ensure any charity that collects items from you is similarly on the register of waste carriers.
Remember, you are legally ‘the employer’ of your carrier, and ultimately responsible for their acts and omissions. Some household clearance services are little more than fly-tippers, and they will dump what they collect down the first country lane they encounter.
Choose Avery Associates for Your Hoarding House Clearance
Avery Associates provides two core services from our base in London, established in 1978. Our offerings throughout The City, Greater London, and beyond include the following:
- RICS property valuations and probate assessments of collectibles.
- Probate and hoarding house clearances and professional valuations.
We obtain most of our work through recommendations, and referrals by our expanding customer base. We now have a network of accredited surveyors and valuers too, all of whom are highly experienced in their fields. They have worked in some of the major international London auction houses for many years. Our top professional team includes:
Jeffrey Avery – Managing Director and Fine Art Valuer.
Stuart Billington – Stamp Specialist & Consultant
Allan Darwell – Art & Painting Consultant
Clifford Lansberry – Fine Art & Antique Consultant
Michael Payne – Business Development and Administration
Please contact us when convenient using one of these handy resources. You’ll find us amenable, friendly, and entirely professional in everything we do.
More Information
The Five Steps of Compulsive Hoarding
Break Point Between a Collection and a Hoard
Preview Image: Music Lover’s Hoard © Avery Associates
