This should be based on the size of the home and the amount of work needed. Use a flat rate and then add for the size and work required for the job. Also, found out what other vendors are charing in your area.

I've already posted an answer to your question, and I encourage new readers to review that post.

You asked "What should I charge to clean foreclosed homes?"

You didn't ask: "What will HUD allow?" Doesn't matter what HUD allows. You asked what you should charge. You should charge enough to cover your costs and make a reasonable profit. I've seen plenty of instances in which the government sets maximum rates for products or services. Sometimes those figures are reasonable. Often they're not. The HUD figures don't reflect what your costs are. At best, they may reflect some national or regional averages.

You didn't ask: "What do foreclosure Realtors pay?" If you read the answers immediately below, you'll see answers of $2,500, $500, and $100. Give me a break! I can tell you that if you charge $100, you'll go broke almost immediately. Beyond that, though, your question was "What should I charge to clean foreclosed homes?" Not: "What do others pay?" Broken record here, but you should charge enough to cover your costs and make a reasonable profit. You can define "reasonable" however you want. But you have to start from a base of covering your costs.

You didn't ask: "How much should I undercut the competition?" One answer here suggests finding out what your competition charges, then pricing a bit lower. Wrong. Your competition's cost structure may be entirely different from yours. You asked: "What should I charge?" Broken record here, but what you should charge is enough to cover your costs (not the costs your competitor may have) and make a reasonable profit (the definition of which may be different with you and your competitor.)

I keep repeating: "enough to cover your costs." That means knowing what your costs are. Knowing how much you're worth per hour. Knowing how long a specific job will take, and it'll vary greatly. My original post provides more details.

And one good piece of advice from several other posters here: It doesn't matter whether you're cleaning up a foreclosure or another type of property. Your time is your time. The value of your time is its value.

Look: There's plenty of great advice below:

Cassandra: "Anybody can price, but pricing "for profit" is an art, so plan to do your research and price to keep $$ in your pocket for your foreclosure cleanup jobs."

Terry: "It depends on the amount of debris. The kind of debris. What size dumpster you need and how many would be where you start. Then if there is just trash this is light weight and perhaps one or two people can clean this out and take a few hours. So you would determine what you think a person would be paid per hour. If it is a lot of heavy furniture, etc you would increase due to the manpower you would need."

Kathy: "My advice for you Santa is to set your business up the right way in the beginning. Get the proper Insurance, equipment (cleaning supplies as they become expensive), professional marketing materials, and MOST of all invest in "Quickbooks". When you do all that, you then do some simple math and figure in all of your proposed overhead. Simple division, and you can move forward with how much you should charge."

Jeff and Ginny: "You should charge a fair price by the hour because some homes are in terrible condition, having been damaged and/or neglected while others have been left in very good condition and just need a typical cleaning. There should not be one set price because your time and effort will not be equal for every home."

Bill: "Your fee for this service should strongly depend on the scope of the work needed."

I apologize if I've left out other advice along the same lines.

Hope that helps.

P.S. I've put a link below to an association representing janitorial and custodial companies. They have some good information on bidding and estimating.

The average in teh DC area is about $500 for a filthy house.

It is all depends who is paying! We usually pay $ 100.00 per house, but it is coming from the broker's pocket not the banks

Use the Hud guidlines! I have been selling REO properties for over 10 years and the HUD guidlines are the structure and verification that asset management conpanies use.

It depends on the amount of debris. The kind of debris. What size dumpster you need and how many would be where you start. Then if there is just trash this is light weight and perhaps one or two people can clean this out and take a few hours. So you would determine what you think a person would be paid per hour. If it is a lot of heavy furniture, etc you would increase due to the manpower you would need.

If using HUD guidelines, know these tables are the maximum HUD will generally pay the primary contractor of a foreclosure cleanup job. As a smaller foreclosure cleanup company, you have to know where you are on the totem pole in getting paid. You just can't look at the HUD charts and use those figures for bidding, or you'll overbid. We wrote the book on foreclosure cleanup pricing, literally, dissecting these tables. Remember, HUD pricing guidelines for foreclosure cleanup are what HUD will pay, max, for a service (though certain scenarios will permit them to go higher with substantiating information), but that $$ is for the primary foreclosure cleanup contractor.

As a smaller foreclosure cleanup company you have to know where you are on that totem pole in getting paid -- and you have to know how to figure that out.

Anybody can price, but pricing "for profit" is an art, so plan to do your research and price to keep $$ in your pocket for your foreclosure cleanup jobs.

Good luck with your business, Santa!

Cassandra

I am reo specialist in northern Ky and most of the companies I deal with also want 2-3 bids. My partner also has a trash out business. In the homes we see it is a bases to bases, We have had bids 2200 for homes where the trashout people had to use snow shovels to get all the dog stuff out. We take the pictures send them to the assest managers and go from there. It is interesting to see all the trashout companies rise up out of nowhere. Lately the banks tend to put bid that looks more professional and includes other services, initial lawn care etc. It is all interesting.

Santa,

Thank you Don & Greg!

Answers are right on + there's a few more facts:

Not only am I an agent, but my husband has been in the business of providing a "full" service Trash Out, Sales Clean, handyman, etc. company.

During the "mean & lean" times, there are several companies out there that just want to "underbid" companies that are "Licensed, Bonded, & Insured" business' & contractor's. We've been providing this service for over 2 years and have seen a dramatic change even in this type of industry.

The only image of this type of "service" is that it's an "easy" way to may "GOOD" money. Well, from experience, there are times when you receive payment and say "I actually made a profit on this one!!"

Many lender's require you provide "2" bids if the estimate is over $495. That does bring in the competitveness. On several jobs, our company has received the approval even though the estimate comes in higher?

Why? The experienced REO agents provide "due diligence" to their lender's by researching and making sure the companies they hire are "insured".

If you are allowed onto the property for a clean-out, repairs, or any type of maintenance and the contractor/sub-contractor, or employee is injured, it can become a complicated situation.

Good REO Trash-Out companies are covered by a minimum of a $1,000,000.00 insurance policy. Two lender's that I'm ($aware of actually insist on having proof by a "Certificate" from the insurance carrier or you don't get the job. Insurance premiums can be exceptionally expensive for these companies, ($1,400-$2,100 in CA) + Workman's Comp.

My advice for you Santa is to set your business up the right way in the beginning. Get the proper Insurance, equipment (cleaning supplies as they become expensive), professional marketing materials, and MOST of all invest in "Quickbooks".

When you do all that, you then do some simple math and figure in all of your proposed overhead. Simple division, and you can move forward with how much you should charge.

Whew......sorry for the long answer but it's a little more complicated than to just "Clean" foreclosed homes/properties.......if you want to do it the right way anyway!!

Best of luck!!!

Some very good and some very bad answers here.

First, anyone who throws out a flat number is wrong. You'll find that jobs vary from simple and quick to complicated and time-consuming.

Second, be skeptical of anyone who says, "I think..." or "In my opinion..." It has nothing to do with opinion.

Third, while it's interesting to know what your competition might be charging, it has absolutely nothing to do with what you charge. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

So, what's the answer? Very, very simple. You determine what your time is worth per hour. $15? $20? $25? $30? That's totally up to you. Then you determine how many hours it'll take you to clean the property. Multiply hours needed by hour hourly rate. Add in any supplies you need. (In most commercial cleaning companies, labor is about 70% of total cost. Supplies typically are about 10%.) The number you come up with is your base price. Charge any less and you'll be underpricing yourself.

Note that this figure won't take into account your overhead and marketing expenses. Those may be minimal, but most folks tend to underestimate those. For instance, cleaners who work out of their home figure they can charge a lot less because they don't have space they're renting somewhere else. For instance, cleaners often forget to factor in time they spend marketing, developing estimates, viewing properties. As a professional, you need to add that time and that expense onto your estimate.

And stick to your guns. If you calculate that a fair charge to clean a home (based on the number of hours it'll take and what you've determined to be a fair hourly rate) is $400 and you're met with: "I've got a bid of $325. If you can match it, you can have the job," your answer is simple and clear: No. If someone else thinks they can do it for $325, let 'em. Maybe they can. Maybe they can't. Maybe they're willing to work for less than you. Maybe they've underestimated the time it'll take. Doesn't matter. What matters is how long it'll take and what you feel you're worth per hour. Period.

Look: I worked for an association representing building service contractors (Building Service Contractors Association International) for eight years, conducted research surveys and wrote books on bidding and estimating (among other things)--feel free to look them up on Amazon. The only factors are the time involved and what you're worth per hour. All the rest are meaningless distractions.

Hope that helps.

I think it depends on how much stuff you have to remove. The last clean up I did was only $350...and I get a good discount since I also use this guy for yard service. Get an estimate from different contractors.

Charita King
Century 21 My Real Estate Co.
562-276-8681

In my opinion it depend on the size of the property and what kind of clean up are going to provide to your client, it is common sense.

You may want to look at your competitors rate and compare your price with them and give padding to your rates, meaning lower your rates a little bit lower than your competitor, that way you can be safe...

If you want business, you should price fairly! If your in the business you should know how long it would take you and how much it will cost you. I would have a itemized list for your clients to check off so you know exactly what they want and give a fair price for the items. Integrity pays off in the long run. Hope this helps.

As much as you can get :-)
I don't know about your area, but around here work is slow and therefore, very competitive. I have paid anywhere from $.10-$.13 per foot for cleaning.

My experience with foreclosed homes is that the condition varies all across the spectrum, from having been vandalized where fixtures have been removed, kids have used an unsecured property as "party central" to great condos in secured buildings which just need a deep cleaning. Invest your time to preview the property, and have a schedule of different levels of cleaning with costs attendant to each level. As long as the lender can see the benefit of your clean up to the ultimate sales price, and it makes sense, they're invest in your services accordingly.

$1500 is such a high price to base on so little information. I enjoyed listening to the memos stating to list a set price then go from there, hourly minimums, etc. Cleaning a foreclosure home should not affect your price. Cleaning a home takes no huge talent, just hard work, and even in that you can work around with bare minimum employees. No need to charge $1500, that's robbery unless the house was extremely trashed. America is need of business owners who are in business to make money - not rob people to surpass the Jones'. Persons with reasonable prices are asked to come back time and again, recommendations for that company are passed along. Business is good, long lasting, and honorable.

Not only do you need to view the job before your price it you have to access the condition. I've seen some houses where a good cleaning would do and some that require hazardous suits and masks. Also, the cost of dumpsters, bags, cleaning materials. It can get pretty pricey. Think of it as how much is your time worth.

Each particular job would require its own estimate. You can start at a basic base charge for the job depending on how big it is and then charge an hourly rate. Only you know how much work you will do and how much you require as payment

Not too long ago, our company put out an article on crucial "soft factors" to consider when pricing. I've pasted it below:

Tip: How to Price Foreclosure Cleanup Jobs -- The "Soft Side" of Pricing‏
Pricing for profit encompasses many factors in the foreclosure cleanup industry.

The foreclosure cleanup industry is booming, but new smaller companies have to price carefully to make maximum profit in this burgeoning new industry. Here are some "soft side" tips on pricing...

If you own a foreclosure cleanup company, you already know that pricing is all over the place for services, because services can encompass so many things. In a foreclosure cleanup business, you can offer everything from simple trash-outs, to lawn maintenance, to gutter cleaning and pressure washing, painting, minor repairs, and so much more.

You can offer any of these services exclusively, or in combination with other services, which makes determining how to price effectively somewhat difficult.

According to Cassandra Black, the owner of Foreclosure Cleanup, LLC, in Atlanta, "We get calls all the time from foreclosure cleanup start-up companies wanting to know how much to charge for debris removal, repairs, etc. They want a simple formula into which they can plug certain factors to come up with quick pricing. Unfortunately, there are no cookie-cutter answers because so many factors dictate effective pricing for especially the new, smaller foreclosure cleanup company."

Ms. Black continues, "On the flip side, potential clients often call and want an estimate over the phone, just an idea of what they can expect to pay foreclosure cleanup services. Often they are looking to buy a foreclosure and want to know what they're facing after closing to get the home in move-in condition, or a realtor will call because he or she has gotten a host of foreclosures from the bank to ready for the market. We tell them we have to see the properties before pricing."

As in most things, haste makes waste and that's certainly true in pricing. New foreclosure cleanup companies will almost always do themselves a disservice by giving a quick price over the phone to appease the caller. Several factors need to be taken into consideration before providing an estimate to make a profit in this industry.

There are several schools of thought on foreclosure cleanup pricing. Below are some soft factors that should be considered before doling out hard and fast numbers in foreclosure cleanup estimates.

1. What is someone in the subject county, city or zip code willing and able to pay for a foreclosure cleanup services? Clients in a metropolis like Chicago will expect to pay more than someone in a smaller city like Selma, Alabama. New companies should call other companies to see what they charge for services. New foreclosure cleanup companies may not be able to call existing foreclosure cleanup companies because they may be the only one in town. Foreclosure cleanup is a new, burgeoning business, per Entrepreneur Magazine, shows on Oprah, and several news outlets, but there's still room for new companies in a host of areas throughout the United States due to foreclosure rates being at record highs.

To help determine pricing, new companies should call existing companies that offer some of the services they plan to offer in their new business. For example, calling domestic and commercial cleaning companies, lawn companies, gutter cleaning companies, painters, etc., will help smaller start-ups come up with their own pricing structure based on their services and their area.

2. Who will be paying your foreclosure cleanup company? You need to know who will be writing the check to your company. This little slice of info will help you price effectively to make a profit. Here's why:

Realtors who specialize in listing REO (real estate owned) properties often come out-of-pocket financially for maintaining properties and wait to get reimbursed by banks for their expenses for lawn care, trash-outs, minor repairs, etc. If a realtor, in these times of lower and slower commissions, is paying you directly, you may need to lower your estimate a bit to secure the trash-out job so they can afford you – over and over again! Bulk from these realtors is how you will make your money.

On the other hand, if you tell that realtor you will do the trash-out and wait the 60+ days to get paid from the bank, your estimate should be higher. Why? Because you have to take into account you will be waiting to get paid; someone else will be holding those monies that should be in your bank account earning interest or keeping you in the black when it comes to your business's cash-flow.

If you decide to wait on the bank... TOO LONG SO CONTINUE READING HERE: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1926606/how_to_pric…

Set an hourly rate acceptable to you. Then visit the property before giving an estimate. Some are so bad you may not want to be exposured to the health issues involved. Others may be a breeze.

Santa:

This question is so broad that there is no one-size-fits all answer. Every foreclosure cleaning job is different. On one, you might be just cleaning out junk and debris. On others, they may ask you to repair holes in walls, paint and fix broken windows.

A lot depends on how big the property is, the condition it's in and the services your company offers. One-stop shop foreclosure cleaning companies get the most jobs in our opinion b/c realtors, bankers and investors don't want to call one firm to do the painting, another to do the floors and yet another to do the yard work.

Three things to keep in mind regarding pricing is to:

1. Never price a job without seeing it first (you can underprice or overprice --and both have their pitfalls);

2. Know your costs: as in what subcontractors charge, what supplies cost and how much time each job is going to take; and

3. Keep in mind add-ons: Sometimes a client will ask for more than what you all initially settled on. Either you can overestimate a job (a little) with this in mind so you can "do it for no extra charge" for them, or add that to the existing service contract.

For more info on how to start a successful foreclosure cleaning business, visit Start-a-Foreclosure-Cleanup-Business.com for 200 pages of first-hand information from the owner of a leading foreclosure cleanup company in Atlanta, GA. View the news video featuring the company here as well.

Read more informative articles on the foreclosure cleaning business here also.

Hey Santa! About time you came down to Florida to retire! haha

I didn;t see an answer like this one, so I felt it would be good to point out a couple of little-known foreclosure/cleanout facts:

~Most of the foreclosure homes on the market right now have had a cleanout which the lender hired a crew to do, and the lender sets the prices (although, of course, when bidding they will ask for your fees).

~Another trend in the foreclosure cleanout field at this time is for the cleanout crew to work for the listing broker on contingency, (just as we Realtors do), therefore the job is not paid until the home sells. Many of the newer REO agents are building their businesses this way, since REO's are an expensive specilization to get into, due to the heavy upfront costs associated with property maintenance.

Hope this helps!

If you are already in the business of cleaning houses then you should charge the same amount as you charge your other clients. Whether a property has been foreclosed on or not should not affect the price you charge. It is the work that is involved that should be the only determining factor. If you are not yet in the business then I recommend that you do some research and check out your comptetion. You are in business and pricing and quoting a job based on competitive prices is really what business is all about. Good luck.

It all depends on how much work is involved. You need to set a fee schedule such as $55 an hour and 1 hour minum. then break down initial lawn care, weekly lawn care, interior trash out, exterior trash out, repairs, maintenance, floor cleaning, c arpet removal, dumpster fees and such. The key to getting a job from a broker and being able to keep getting jobs is beiong priced right, going the extra mile and providing that extra effort to detail and most important is the broker has to pay for these fees up front and wait to get reimbursed by the bank 30-90 days so set up a payment plan or be flexable with getting paid by the broker, that is just as important as the price you charge. good luck

Santa,

I think the others are right in that it depends on the level of the job. I've seen some houses that really need some extra TLC that my two 'regular' housecleaners won't touch, so I would venture to say that you should be able to charge a bit of a premium for jobs that require a strong stomach.

Will you send me your contact information for future jobs I run accross? What areas will you service?

Regards,

Julia

Santa,

Sight unseen, it's difficult to put a price on a job like this....it's similar to a real estate agent pricing a home without seeing it.

Your fee for this service should strongly depend on the scope of the work needed. It might be beneficial to have a list of services and assign values to each:

light cleaning- based on homes square footage

cleaning, clearing, and hauling

repairs, painting etc.

light yard work

extensive yard work

A list of commonly performed services with assigned fees will help you to keep your prices fair and consistent.

Good luck

The people I know who do that usually charge between $400-$500 per home give or take a little depending on size. They do everything from winterizing and cleaning to yard work and minor repairs. Good luck!

Jeff and Ginny are right. Charge for cleaning a foreclosed house just like how you would charge any other homes. If you are doing a lot of jobs for one client (Realtor or Lender), then you might want to consider a discount, just like anything else.

Best,
Sylvia

You should charge a fair price by the hour because some homes are in terrible condition, having been damaged and/or neglected while others have been left in very good condition and just need a typical cleaning. There should not be one set price because your time and effort will not be equal for every home. Good luck.