A real estate professional is an expert at a great many things related directly and indirectly to buying and selling homes - but cleaning foreclosed homes filled junk, trash, and abandoned furniture shouldn't be one of them!

The role of a Realtor involves a wide variety of tasks. Among these are pre-listing activities, listing appointment presentations,  and marketing the listings. Not to mention customer service, selling, and the mounds of paperwork. So why should foreclosure clean outs be part of their job.

Cleaning Foreclosed Homes: Realtor Work?

As we already pointed out, there are a number of tasks a Realtor needs to do for clients as Realtor. In addition, there are their own business needs as  real estate professionals. Cleaning out vacant homes themselves should not on the list. Yet, it is a task that needs to be done.

And, while the housing market has seen improvement, the numbers of vacant properties are still large.

Generally speaking, foreclosures are down, prices are up, and inventory is tight, but increasing. This can mean a great deal of business for Realtors and real estate agents. But the bad news is that the actual number of vacant foreclosed properties is still high, and - in many communities - there are still more coming on to the market every day.

What the Foreclosure Numbers Mean for You

According to RealtyTrac, there are current properties in California that are in some stage of foreclosure (default, auction or bank owned) while the number of homes listed for sale on RealtyTrac is 74,947. In January, the number of properties that received a foreclosure filing in CA was 8% higher than the previous month and 11% lower than the same time last year.

Home sales for December 2015 were down 1% compared with the previous month, and down 62%compared with a year ago. The median sales price of a non-distressed home was $415,000. The median sales price of a foreclosure home was $300,000, or 28% lower than non-distressed home sales.

Foreclosure Status Distribution in the U.S.

Pre Foreclosures

Prior Month	Prior Year
1.0 %	8.6 %

 Auction

Prior Month	Prior Year
7.1 %	29.5 %

 Bank Owned

Prior Month	Prior Year
26.2 %	31.5 %

Q1 2016 MARKET SUMMARY

There are currently 881,394 properties in U.S. that are in some stage of foreclosure (default, auction or bank owned) while the number of homes listed for sale on RealtyTrac is 996,461.

In January, the number of properties that received a foreclosure filing in U.S. was 8% lower than the previous month and 11% lower than the same time last year.

Home sales for December 2015 were up 23% compared with the previous month, and down 59%compared with a year ago. The median sales price of a non-distressed home was $194,900. The median sales price of a foreclosure home was $115,000, or 41% lower than non-distressed home sales.

(Images courtesy of RealtyTrac)

What This Means for Cleaning Foreclosed Homes

The unfortunate reality in most foreclosure situations is the need for major clean up. 

Experience has shown that former homeowners have little or no incentive to leave their foreclosed home in salable condition when they leave the property. In fact, most foreclosed properties are often found with trash and abandoned furniture and other property that the previous homeowners failed to remove.

Foreclosed homes need a lot of preparation before they are ready for an open house. Many Realtors and banks with a large inventory of properties find themselves with a need to hire a foreclosure clean out business. Typically, this includes hauling away old furniture, appliances, unwanted items and other debris that was left behind.

Because of the complex and time-sensitive nature of REO, short sale and foreclosure transactions, banks often need cleaners on short notice and the clean out work needs to be completed with a strict turn-around time-frame. Oftentimes, foreclosed properties require a lot of work before they are in selling condition.

Cleaning Foreclosed Homes to Get to the Sale

Many foreclosed homes are usually sold in an “as-is” condition which means the foreclosing institution doesn’t make any major repairs. But a good real estate professional knows that it is still necessary to clean out the property prior to staging it for an open house and subsequent sale.

And because of the nature of the work involved, really good professionals know that it is strategic and cost-effective to outsource the work to a professional foreclosure clean out service like Junk King.

A professional firm will offer a number of services to protect and preserve your collateral throughout the period of the foreclosure process and up to the sale of property. They understand the needs of Realtors and real estate professionals and are knowledgeable of investor/insurer guidelines in order to ensure that all work is completed in accordance with the applicable specifications.

Cleaning Foreclosed Homes The Easy Way

The saying that “time is money” is founded in a fiscal reality. Paying someone to clean up a property, put it all in a rental truck, then take it to a landfill – if possible – to dump it for a fee, then clean out the truck, and return it to the rental site can take a great deal of time. 

In fact, depending on the size of the job and the amount of debris, it can run upwards to half a day or more. And one of the cardinal rules of smart realty business is to never spend more money than you have to prior to a sale. Let's say you decide to hire someone to do the work and you end up paying a laborer, say, $20 an hour. 

So an eight-hour clean up job not only costs you over $150 in labor costs – plus gas, mileage, and dumping fees – but it also costs hours of your own productivity lost while you research, organize, take care of the rental and rental return, and so on. Altogether, this task can cost well over $300 just to get rid of the trash!

And this isn’t even taking into consideration any over-sized appliances or furniture that will require more than one person to haul out and remove.

Choosing the Right Company for Reliable Foreclosure Clean Out

Once you decide to outsource the trash removal part of your real estate deal, you need to determine which firm is the right one for the job. And while you can certainly find plenty of guys with trucks willing to do the job, choosing that alternative may end up costing you more than you hoped to save. This is why Junk King really is the firm of choice.

Junk King is the leading business to business junk removal service in North America and our real estate junk removal services take care of this clean out process for you. It’s one big task off your to-do list and it’s a big step toward getting your property ready to sell or rent.

Speed, Reliability and Quality Service

We understand that as a real estate professional you need your homes to be pristine and you want to be able to list them as quickly as you can. We also understand that you appreciate hassle-free services and really can’t afford to have problems with a property. And your clients have enough to deal with when selling a home, so having the chore of junk removal handled by someone else is a huge bonus.

Junk King offers fast and friendly junk hauling with an emphasis on eco-friendly practices. We recycle or donate 60% or more of the junk we collect — including renovation debris, furniture and appliances, and even clothing and personal items. Real estate ventures can proudly call Junk King their green partner for real estate junk removal.

We are insured and offer post-escrow payment. Junk King handles junk removal services for real estate professionals across the U.S. and we are the highest rated service brand in the nation. You can depend on Junk King for speed, reliability and for the peace of mind that comes with getting your property ready fast.

Our team specializes in large waste removal and trash hauling. We can be on location in mere minutes, so call us today! Our crew is fully insured and well-trained, so you can trust them to get rid of your unwanted items in a professional and courteous fashion.

One of the best things about hiring Junk King is that we recycle a much of the material we pick-up. This is proof of our commitment to being an eco-friendly removal service. If you have questions about what we do or what we believe, give us a call at (707) 744-4254.