How to Clean Out Foreclosures
Estate Cleanouts: Receiving a foreclosure notice can be devastating. Occupants have a short period of time to vacate the home – perhaps a home they’ve been in their whole life. Divorce…job loss…market downturns…many factors can contribute to the reasons why a home is being foreclosed on. If you’re a real estate agent and are trying to sell a foreclosed home that the bank has purchased, you have your work cut out for you. The former occupants may have left in a hurry and now you’re left with damage control if you want to sell it.
Following is a helpful guide on how to clean out a foreclosure.
Clean Out Foreclosures – Indoors
Staging the interior of the home for sale can be an overwhelming task if you go it alone. In most cases, homes that are foreclosed on have been neglected for some time. Try to tackle one room at a time so as not to get overwhelmed. Here are a few cleaning and small repair tasks you’ll need to address:
- Call a junk removal company to haul away anything that is no longer of use: old toys, broken furniture, etc.
- Clean or replace the carpets
- Repair broken light fixtures
- Call pest exterminators
- Clean out the refrigerator
- Remove waste materials, paint cans, chemicals, etc.
- Replace blinds and window coverings
- Apply a fresh coat of paint to walls that bear smoke stains or marks
Clean Out Foreclosures – Outdoors
Boosting the curb appeal is essential if you want the home to sell. Making it attractive to buyers will entail sprucing up the outside. Usually, after a foreclosure, the home is run-down and in need of repairs. If the former homeowners could afford to upkeep the property, they would have. So, that leaves it up to you to restore the exterior appearance:
- Call a junk removal company like Got Trash – Clean Out Foreclosures – to get rid of all trash outside, such as old siding, construction debris, old roofing material, concrete chunks, broken patio furniture, junk cars, sheds, old basketball hoops, and hot tubs.
- Repair broken windows, blinds, crumbling steps, and broken mailboxes. You may want to call in a general contractor or fix-it repair person.
- Enlist the help of a gardener or landscaper to plant fresh grass, flowers and shrubs, mow the lawn, prune the trees and shrubs, and generally beautify the property.
- Add decorative elements to draw the eye, such as seasonal décor and window boxes with fresh flowers. A home that doesn’t look lived in won’t be as appealing to potential buyers.
Facing foreclosure is tragic for the families it affects. That’s a given. But the tasks that face a bank, real estate agent or landlord to turn around and sell that home can be just as overwhelming. Get to know local contractors, landscapers, interior designers, electricians, and other professionals who can assist you in getting the property real estate-ready. Of course, you should always have the number handy of Got Trash – Clean Out Foreclosures professionals to help you handle comprehensive estate and foreclosure cleanouts.
We’ve got the tools, trucks and equipment needed to get the junk out of there quickly so you can get the house sold. Call us at 732-431-2788 for a free estimate today.