House clearances are most common when someone has passed away and family are dealing with their home and possessions.  It can involve full house clearance or partial and can also include areas such as garden clearance.  Another element to it might be to have probate valuation to help settle the estate.  The good news is that you don’t need to do this alone and there are companies offering house clearance in Brighton and around the UK.  But how do you choose the right one?

Do some research

When you start looking at the different companies that offer house clearances, you want to look for ones in your area.  So if you live in Brighton, start with local house clearance companies because then you don’t need to wait long periods for them to be with you as they travel from other parts of the country.

When you have a list of the local companies that offer this service, you can start to compare what they do.  Remember that price isn’t always the main factor – look at what their service incorporates but also look at what they do with the stuff they remove from the home.

For example, do they offer probate services?  This helps you by getting goods valuations for any items and is a key part of settling the estate.  Probate will need to be sorted before anything can be moved out of the house.

Disposal system

Another important element to look at is what happens to the stuff they remove from the house.  Something like an ‘anti-landfill’ approach is ideal because this means they are actively working to save items from going to the landfill.

One top way to do this is to work with local charities to find ways to reuse and recycle items that are still useful.  This can include furniture, clothes, electrical appliances and many other items.  This means that anything valuable can be sold, anything useful can be recycled or reused and only a few things end up in a landfill.

Expert valuations

The probate section of house clearance requires expert valuations for any items within the property of any value.  For this, you want someone who has experience and knowledge of the antique industry, maybe something like working in an auction house.  This means they have the knowledge and also the resources to get the information they don’t already have.

Some companies even offer to buy items after the probate is finished and offer generous prices for anything from jewellery and vintage clothing to precious metals and furniture.  This can save you time finding people to buy the items you want to sell.

Caring and understanding

Handling an estate and clearing someone’s house is a stressful time so the last thing you want to look for is a company with plenty of positive customer feedback, showing that they are caring and understanding.  Plenty of experience and good customer feedback makes for a great sign that they will be a great fit for your house clearance project.