How Much to Charge for an Estate Cleanout
Estate cleanouts typically run $1,500–$3,000 for a small home or apartment, $3,000–$6,000 for an average three-bedroom house, and $6,000–$15,000+ for a large or heavily-packed property, quoted by volume rather than by hour. Disposal fees are passed through at cost, sorting and packing is billed separately at $50–$90 per hour, and appliances with refrigerant, mattresses, tires, and paint carry per-item surcharges.
Whole-house ranges
- Small home / apartment — $1,500–$3,000
- Average three-bedroom house — $3,000–$6,000
- Large or heavily-packed property — $6,000–$15,000+
- Sorting and packing — $50–$90 per hour, separately
- Disposal — passed through at cost
The surcharges
- Appliances with refrigerant — certified disposal required
- Mattresses — per item, most facilities charge for them
- Tires, paint, chemicals — hazardous disposal
- Pianos and safes — specialty equipment or a subcontractor
- Stairs and long carry — a third-floor walkup is not the same job
- Hoarding-level accumulation — a different trade entirely, priced accordingly
Quote from photos of every room
Ask for the basement, the attic, the garage, and every closet. Estate properties are almost always fuller than described — not through dishonesty, but because the person describing them is remembering the house as it was on their last visit.
Give a range, confirm on arrival, and requote before you load anything.
Sorting is a separate business from clearing
Going through every drawer for documents, photographs, and heirlooms is slow, careful, and emotionally heavy. Billed inside the clearing price, it destroys your margin — billed hourly and explained clearly, families are grateful for it and pay it without hesitation.
Price the timeline when there is one
Estate work often runs against a closing date or a probate deadline. A compressed schedule means overtime, a second truck, or turning down other work — quote a rush premium rather than absorbing it, because the deadline is genuinely worth money to whoever set it.
Frequently asked questions
Should I quote by hour or by volume?
By volume for the clearing, by hour for sorting. Hourly pricing on a whole house invites the customer to watch your pace all day; volume pricing puts the risk on your estimate, which is where it belongs once you've done a dozen of these.
How do I quote without walking the property?
You mostly can't. Ask for photos of every room including the basement, attic, and garage, then give a range and confirm on arrival — or quote a site visit. Estate properties are consistently fuller than described, because the person describing them is usually remembering the house from years ago.
How much should sorting cost?
$50–$90 per hour, billed separately from the clearing. Sorting is careful, slow, emotionally loaded work — checking every drawer for documents and photographs is entirely different from carrying furniture, and it needs its own number.
What do I do if I find valuables or cash?
Set it aside, document it with a photo, and hand it to the executor. Every referral in this trade traces back to being trusted alone in a house, and one story about a missing item ends a business in a small market.