Prices below are a guide for Sydney homes based on the jobs we do. Every estate is different, so treat them as a range, not a quote.
Price is usually the first question a family asks, and the hardest one to get a straight answer to. Most companies will not name a figure until they have seen the house. Fair enough, but you still need a sense of scale before you start ringing around. Here is how the numbers work on our deceased estate clearance service, and what makes a job sit at the low or high end.
The range: $1,000 to $8,000
Most deceased estate clearances we do in Sydney land between $1,000 and $8,000. A one bedroom unit with a modest amount of contents sits at the bottom. A large family home with a full garage, a shed and forty years under the house sits at the top. The great majority of three bedroom homes fall somewhere in the middle.
That figure covers everything: the crew, the trucks, the sorting, the carrying, the tip fees and the sweep at the end. It is agreed in writing before anyone lifts a box, and it is what the estate pays.
What moves the price
It is not the number of rooms. Two houses with the same floor plan can be a day apart in work. These are the things that change the figure:
- How much is actually in the house. Volume is the main driver, because it decides how many truckloads leave the property and how many tip fees are paid. A home that was lived in lightly for five years is a different job from one lived in fully for fifty.
- Access. A driveway the truck can back into is the cheapest access there is. Stairs, a steep block, a long carry, or a unit on the third floor with a small lift all add time.
- Heavy and awkward items. Pianos, safes, workshop machinery, a cast iron bath, a packed filing cabinet or a full freezer need more hands and more care.
- What is in scope. The house alone is one job. The house plus the garage, the shed, the subfloor and the garden is another. Tell us what you want included and we price all of it.
- Anything that needs special handling. Paint, chemicals, gas bottles, batteries, asbestos sheeting in the shed and old medications cannot go in a general load. They are not a problem, but they do go through different channels and that is reflected in the quote.
Why a quote over the phone is a guess
Anyone who gives you a firm price without seeing the property, or at least good photos of it, is guessing. If they guess low, the price goes up on the day. If they guess high, you pay for work that never happened. We would rather look.
In Sydney we come out in person. For families interstate or overseas, a walk through on a video call or a set of photos of every room, the garage and the yard does the same job. Either way you get one written figure for the whole clearance, and that figure does not move.
What should be included
When you compare quotes, check they cover the same things. A fair deceased estate quote should include the crew and trucks, every room plus the areas you have named, the sorting of keepsakes and documents as the crew goes, loading and carrying, tip and recycling fees, drop-offs to charity where items are accepted, and a sweep of each room on the way out. If any of those are missing or billed as extras, the cheap quote is not cheap.
What is usually not included, by anyone, is a bond-style clean, carpet steaming or windows. We clear and sweep. If the agent wants the home professionally cleaned before it goes to market, book the cleaners for after the clearance and ask them to quote on an empty house.
Ways the cost comes down
- Resale. Good furniture, antiques, tools, jewellery and collections can go to auction or a dealer before we arrive. We do not buy contents ourselves, but we will point out anything that looks worth a valuation. Proceeds go to the estate, not to us.
- Donation. Usable pieces go to charity wherever one will take them. That is less weight across the weighbridge, and the tip fee saved comes off the job.
- Family first. Have the family collect bequests and keepsakes before the crew arrives. It costs nothing and it means the day runs cleanly.
- One visit, not three. One crew doing the house, garage and garden together is cheaper than booking three separate jobs.
Council clean-ups and skips
A council kerbside collection is free, but it is limited to a few cubic metres, it will not take e-waste, chemicals, building materials or anything too heavy for two people, and everything has to be carried to the kerb by you. For a whole house it rarely helps much. Skip bins look cheap per bin, but a full home is several bins, each needing a permit if it sits on the street, and all the carrying is still yours. We wrote up the comparison in skip bins versus a truck crew. For an estate, one fixed quote almost always works out cheaper and far less work.
If you would like a figure for a specific home, call us or send photos through the deceased estate page. We quote the same day where we can, and there is no obligation. For the steps that come before the clearance, start with what to do when someone dies.
Common questions
Do you charge by the hour or by the load?
Neither. You get one fixed price for the whole clearance, agreed in writing before we start. It covers the crew, the trucks, the tip fees and the sweep. If the job takes longer than we expected, that is our problem, not yours.
Can the invoice be made out to the estate?
Yes. Ask when you book and we address the invoice to the estate rather than to you personally, which keeps the paperwork clean for the executor and the solicitor.
Is there a deposit?
No. We do not take money up front. You see the written quote, you book a date, and the estate pays once the house is cleared and swept.