House clearance
Full or partial clearance of houses, flats and outbuildings, including furniture, appliances and everyday household contents.
This page explains the service we can offer and, just as importantly, what we will not claim. Formal probate valuations for tax or court purposes can require a particular kind of professional. If that is what you have been asked to obtain, we will say so rather than stretch the description of this work.
Why contents may need valuing
Executors sometimes need a record of the household so that beneficiaries understand what was there. Families want to know whether a sideboard, a painting or a box of jewellery is worth more than a charity shop would pay. Insurers, solicitors and estate agents may ask what remains in the house before it is emptied.
None of those situations is the same as a full open-market appraisal of every teaspoon. Most houses are a mixture of ordinary furniture and a smaller number of pieces that deserve a closer look. The useful skill is knowing the difference.
What this is not
We do not claim RICS membership, auctioneer status, or any other accreditation that has not been supplied and verified. We do not claim that a valuation from this business automatically meets HMRC, probate or insurance requirements. Executors should take professional legal or tax advice about what the estate actually needs.
If a specialist is required — for example a jewellery valuer, a picture specialist, or a qualified probate valuer — that should be arranged as a separate instruction. We can still help you identify which items look as though they need that next step.
What we look at
- Furniture, including older or better-made pieces that sit among everyday suites
- Jewellery, watches and small valuables where they are present and accessible
- Art, prints and frames that have been treated as decoration for years
- Ceramics, glass, silver and collectables
- Clocks, tools, musical instruments and garden statuary
- General household contents, usually as groups rather than item-by-item prices
How items are documented
A useful record is a room-by-room note with photographs of anything that stands out. Descriptions should be honest: “appears to be silver plate” is better than a confident guess. Dates, marks and condition are recorded where they can be seen without damaging the object.
Household soft furnishings, everyday crockery and worn white goods are usually listed as contents rather than given individual figures. That keeps the document usable instead of theatrical.
Valuation before disposal
Once a house has been cleared, it is too late to reconstruct what was there. If there is any doubt, the valuation conversation should happen first. That does not mean delaying a sale for months. It means not booking a clearance until someone has walked the rooms with the right question in mind: what here should not go in a mixed load?
Items identified as having resale potential can then be handled through the clearance rather than against it. Reuse and resale are part of the environmental approach; they are also how families avoid throwing money away.
Antiques and collectables
Age alone does not make something valuable. A Victorian chest in poor condition can be worth less than a later piece in good order. Collections — stamps, coins, militaria, dolls, records — need enough time to be looked at as a group. We will not invent a figure to make the visit feel worthwhile.
A longer answer to the common question sits in whether you need a valuation before clearing a probate property.
Working alongside a clearance
Some instructions are valuation only. Some are valuation then probate clearance. Some are a clearance with an agreement that we stop on anything that looks as though it needs a second look. Tell us which of those you need. The quote will follow the work, not a package name.
Common questions
Why would house contents need valuing?
Executors sometimes need a record of what is in the property before it is sold or cleared. Families also ask for a view on antiques, jewellery, collectables or furniture so they do not dispose of something that deserved a closer look.
Does a contents valuation satisfy HMRC or probate requirements?
Not automatically. Formal probate or tax valuations may need a suitably qualified professional. If you need a valuation for estate administration, take legal or tax advice first and tell us what standard of report you have been asked to obtain.
What kinds of items do you look at?
Furniture, jewellery where it is present, art, ceramics, silver, collectables, clocks, tools and better-quality household pieces. Everyday soft furnishings and kitchenware are usually noted as household contents rather than individually valued.
Should items be valued before the house is cleared?
If there is any chance the property contains pieces with more than scrap or charity-shop value, yes. Once items have been removed or mixed, it is much harder to document them properly.
Related services
Probate house clearance
Calm, practical clearance of a deceased estate, working with executors, families and, where needed, solicitors.
Eco-friendly clearance
A clearance that looks for reuse, resale, donation and recycling before anything is sent for disposal.
Ask about a valuation
If you need a view on the contents before a clearance, tell us what you have been asked to obtain and what you can already see in the house.
Ask about a valuation