Estate cleanout cost is rarely the first thing on a family's mind, but it is the question that has to be answered before a house can be listed, sold or handed back. You want one number you can plan around, from someone who will treat the house with care.
I'm Dany, and clearing a loved one's house in Broward or Miami-Dade is work my crew does, including a full estate cleanout in Coral Gables. Below are my real starting prices, what's included, what makes one house cost more than another, and the steps that save the family time and money.
01How much does an estate cleanout cost?
An estate cleanout with Rapid Haul starts at $1,000 for a full house cleanout, and a garage on its own starts at $300. Those are my Square starting prices. An estate is usually a full house plus a garage, a shed or an attic, so most land above the starting line.
Every job gets one flat, all-in price. For a full house I would rather come look than quote from photos, because closets, the garage and the back bedroom are where photos miss things. Walking it takes a few minutes, and you get a number that holds up instead of a guess.
| Part of the job | Starts at |
|---|---|
| Full house cleanout | $1,000 |
| Garage cleanout | $300 |
| Shed removal | $350 |
| Single piece of furniture | $125 |
| Single appliance | $100 |
02What does the estate cleanout cost include?
The estate cleanout cost includes every room cleared, every trip to disposal and a sweep before we leave. There is no separate dump fee, no fuel charge and no hourly meter running while the crew works.
Families often collect two or three quotes for an estate, and that is smart. The only fair comparison is an all-in number against an all-in number, so ask each company whether disposal is inside the price before you compare. Here is what my flat price covers:
- Every room cleared: furniture, beds, mattresses, clothes, kitchen contents, boxes
- Appliances, from the fridge to the washer and dryer
- The garage, shed, patio and any storage the family wants emptied
- Carrying, loading and every trip to disposal
- A sweep of each room and a final walk with you
03What makes an estate cleanout cost more?
An estate cleanout costs more when the house is fuller, has more extra spaces, or has heavy items and a hard carry. Two houses with the same number of bedrooms can be very different jobs:
- How full the house is. A home lived in for decades holds far more than a rental that was half empty.
- The extra spaces. Garages, sheds, attics and closets packed to the ceiling add up.
- Heavy items. Pianos, safes, solid wood furniture and exercise equipment take more crew time.
- Access. A condo on a high floor, a building that limits elevator use, or a long carry from the door to the truck all add time.
- Sorting. If the family wants us to work around items that stay, it goes slower than clearing a room top to bottom.
04Who decides what leaves the house?
In Florida, the personal representative of the estate decides what leaves the house, because state law gives that person the right to take possession or control of the decedent's property. Section 733.607 of the Florida Statutes says the personal representative "shall take possession or control of the decedent's property, except the protected homestead."
That matters for a cleanout. If probate is open, check with the personal representative or the estate's attorney before anything is hauled away. The Florida Bar describes probate as a court-supervised process for gathering a person's assets, paying debts and distributing what is left, and items in the house can be part of that. I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice; it is just the question I ask families before we start: who has the final say?
05What the family should do before the crew arrives
The hardest part of an estate cleanout is not the lifting. It is deciding what stays. Go through the house for papers, photos, jewelry, keys and anything with family value. Check drawers, coat pockets, the freezer and the garage shelves. Put everything you are keeping in one room, and mark big furniture a relative is coming to pick up.
Set aside what we can't load. Old paint, pool chemicals and propane tanks go to the county: Broward runs hazardous waste drop-off on Saturdays for residents of participating cities, and Miami-Dade has two chemical centers plus mobile events. Furniture in good shape can go to a charity first; Pembroke Pines' bulk page encourages residents to donate usable furniture, appliances and mattresses before setting them out.
If there is no deadline and the family wants to go slowly, the county's bulky pickup in unincorporated Miami-Dade allows two booked pickups of up to 25 cubic yards a year. If the house is in a condo building or an HOA, call the management office. Many buildings set hours for moving work, ask you to reserve the service elevator, or want proof of insurance. Rapid Haul carries $1M general liability insurance.
06Where to start with an estate cleanout
Estate cleanouts often run on someone else's clock: a closing date, a listing photo day, the end of a lease. Tell me the date when you call. A realtor once called me late on a Sunday needing a house cleared before a showing the next morning, and we got it done (Plantation Acres, per my Instagram post). A landlord who called at the last minute wrote that we got a rental "cleaned out just in time" (Miguel A.).
Cleanouts are paid after the job, once you have walked the empty house. Jobs of $1,000 and over that involve demolition take a 50% deposit, and I tell you which applies when I quote, so there are no surprises. Call or text (754) 249-1015, Monday to Saturday, 7 AM to 7 PM. I answer myself.
When the family is ready, start with my estate cleanouts.
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