How to Clear a Parent's House in Florida From Out of State

A lot of the houses I clear in Polk County belong to someone whose kids live in Ohio, New Jersey or Michigan. They can't take three weeks off to sort a house in Winter Haven, and they shouldn't have to. Here's exactly how I do a parent's house with the family on the other end of a phone, from the first video call to the last payment.

How does the walkthrough work if I'm not there?

We do it on FaceTime, or whatever video call your phone has. You pick a time, I stand in the front door, and we walk room by room. You tell me what's staying, what's promised to family, and what nobody wants. I count trailer loads as we go and ask about the garage, the attic and the shed, because those are what people forget from a thousand miles away.

The call doesn't take long for a normal house. At the end you have a plan and a price, and I have a list of what to set aside.

If you've already got the paperwork step done, good. If not, read the estate cleanout checklist first. It covers finding the will, deeds and statements before anything leaves. I won't repeat it here, but it comes before the walkthrough, not after.

What are the three piles?

For a remote cleanout I keep it to three. Five is too many to manage over a phone.

You call the Keep pile during the walkthrough. My crew builds it as they go and doesn't touch a keep item once it's marked. Donate is my judgment with your okay: if it's clean, solid and something a thrift store can sell this week, it goes to the donate side. If you'd rather everything just go, say so. No one is grading you on it.

What about papers and photos?

This is the part families worry about most. Paper turns up everywhere in a parent's house: the nightstand drawer, a coat pocket, a shoebox in the closet. My crew is told the same thing on every estate job: if it has a name, a date or a face on it, it stops. It goes in one box in one spot. Before we leave for the day I hold the phone over that box and show you what's in it. You tell me what to ship, what to hold for a family member, and what can go.

Jewelry and cash get the same treatment: found, set aside, shown on video.

How is a remote cleanout priced?

By the load, same as every job I do. A half trailer is $350 and a full trailer is $700, all-inclusive. A parent's house is usually more than one full trailer, so after the walkthrough I tell you how many loads I count and what the total is. If the house turns out lighter than we thought, you pay for the smaller number. If it's heavier, I tell you before the extra load goes on, not after.

You don't need to be on the phone all day. Most families take three calls: the walkthrough, the paper box, and done.

How do I pay from another state?

Card, over the phone, when the job is done. No account to set up and no terms to sign. You'll get photos of every empty room and the swept driveway with the receipt.

How does the realtor fit in?

Tell me who's listing the house and whether they have a lockbox or a code. From there I coordinate with them directly: they let me in, I text you the walkthrough time, and the crew works the day. If there's a closing date, I book ahead of it with room to spare. Empty rooms photograph better, so the cleanout usually happens before the listing goes up, not after.

A daughter who needed her father's house cleared to sell wrote a review about the job. It's below, in her own words.

5.0 · 119 Google reviews · Davenport & Polk County

What can I do from home to make it easier?

• Tell family members to claim what they want before the walkthrough. After it, the crew is moving.
• Mail or email me a list of anything you know is in the house and want found.
• Cancel the utilities after the cleanout, not before. The crew needs lights and, in August, the air.
• Decide about the car, the lawn mower and anything in the shed. Those are the three things nobody has an answer for on the call.

What Big Rob's does here

Estate cleanouts is the full service page, and senior downsizing covers the version where a parent is moving, not gone. I do remote cleanouts every month in Winter Haven, Lakeland, Poinciana, Kissimmee and Davenport.

Text me the address and a time that works for a video walkthrough at (863) 225-2147, and we'll take it from there.