Book your house clearance with St Ann’s to help your local hospice

For St Ann’s Hospice, a house clearance comes with many challenges, from working out how many vans are needed to making sure we can re-sell as many items as possible to raise funds for the hospice.

The clearance of a loved one’s property is often an emotional experience but our friendly team are here to help and advise throughout the journey, whether that is providing a value of items for probate, or reuniting families with missing photos or cherished items.

Often the knowledge that the proceeds are going to support patients with life-limiting illnesses and that many items go on to be loved and cherished again helps ease the burden.

Over 95% of items from house clearances are re-used or recycled, with most furniture and electrical items re-sold through our furniture shops in Ardwick and Ladybarn.

All other items are either sold online, at auction, in our shops or at our monthly £1 clearance sales at our warehouse in Reddish. If any items haven’t sold, they are then either sold to a rag merchant to be turned into insulation and cleaning products or sorted by material at the recycling centre.

How long have St Ann’s Hospice been doing house clearances?

We have been doing house clearances for over five years now, and they have proved a good source of income for the charity as well as stock for our shops.

How does a customer get in touch and what is involved?

Once a customer gets in touch by email or phone (0161 477 7839), we book in a time and date to visit the property. The property visit takes about 30 minutes and whilst there we take a list of all items that are to be removed and note any items which will be staying.

We will take as much or as little as the customer needs. Once the property visit has been completed, the customer will receive an email quote which says how many days the clearance will take and a breakdown of costs.

What happens if a customer doesn’t want to pay for a house clearance?

After the visit, we also provide a list of furniture items which we can collect for free should the customer not wish to pay for a full house clearance. The full house clearance service means we will pack all items and clear cupboards, wardrobes, cellars, lofts, sheds, and garages, no matter the condition of the furniture or items.

We can even remove fitted furniture, carpets and appliances. Whilst we try to resell as much as we can, there are sometimes items which we are unable to sell either due to condition, furniture trends or other factors.

Do we charge to dispose of unsaleable items?

We are a registered Trading Company with a Waste Carriers Licence so we do get charged for visiting the recycling centre to dispose of items – the same as any other house clearance company (we do have a charity tip pass but this can only be used 12 times per year and has to be used for disposing of unsaleable donations that have come into the shops). The costs of disposing items are included in the quote.

Do we only clear residential properties and for individuals?

We will clear any property (commercial, residential or industrial) and a lot of our clearances come through estate agents and solicitors.

How much does a house clearance cost?

The price varies depending on the size of the property, the amount of items to be disposed of, and access to the property (a long walk to the front door or upstairs to a flat increases the time it takes to complete the clearance). Whilst the estimated value of items within a property is taken into account, it is unusual that we wouldn’t charge for a full house clearance due to the amount of work involved to pack all items, load these onto a van and then transport them.

What happens once the house clearance is completed?

Once the clearance is completed the customer will receive an invoice, usually within 3-5 working days, which can be paid via cheque or bank transfer.

Someone we recently helped with a house clearance said: “I would like to thank you and your team for all the assistance you gave us for the house clearance. Your advice and help was invaluable and you carried out the work with great efficiency, understanding and professionalism at a difficult time.”

If you’d like to enquire about a house clearance, please see our website here for more information or ring 0161 477 7839 to speak to one of our team.