Foreclosure and eviction cleanouts

Clearing a property after a foreclosure or an eviction is a routine job for cleanout crews and a legal minefield for owners who skip the paperwork. The crew needs three things from you before they start.

1. Authority to enter

A deed, a court order or a management agreement. Reputable crews will not clear a property on a verbal say-so, because the former occupant's belongings are still legally theirs until the state's abandoned property rules are satisfied.

2. The abandoned property notice

Most states require the owner to notify the former occupant and hold their belongings for a set period (commonly 7 to 30 days) before disposing of them. Some states require an inventory and storage. The crew can do the inventory and the move to storage; the notice is the owner's job. Get this wrong and the former occupant can sue for the value of what was thrown away.

3. Photographs before anything moves

Every room, every pile, time-stamped. This protects the owner against claims and the crew against accusations.

What crews find

Furniture and household goods are the easy part. Common complications: pets left behind, food and garbage, needles, mold from a shut-off utility, and vehicles. Vehicles cannot be hauled as junk; they need a tow and a lien process. Tell the crew what you know about the condition so they send the right equipment.

Pricing

Priced by truck load and condition, usually $500 to $2,500 for a house, with hazard surcharges. Many crews also offer a trash-out plus clean package that gets the property to showing condition, which is what a lender or a landlord usually needs next.