The trick to entrepreneurship isn’t always how to start a business; it’s what business to start.
And it’s also not always about creating something new. When Steve Jobs built Apple, computers had been around for decades. Jobs didn’t make the first computer, he figured out how to make them smaller so that more people could have access to one. Cars weren’t new when Henry Ford introduced the Model-T. Ford innovated ways to sell cars for cheaper so that more people could buy them.
Hindsight is 20/20. It’s easy to look back at Ford and Jobs and conclude there were more opportunities in their time. However, opportunities still abound today, if you have an eye to spot them. One entrepreneurial venture that is booming right now is cleaning out foreclosures.
What is the Foreclosure Cleaning Business?
The housing bust has created a glut of foreclosed properties. Nearly 4.4% of all mortgages have received a foreclosure notice. Once homeowners move out, banks look to get the property on the market and sold as soon as possible. However, there is one major obstacle banks face in moving the houses to sell: cleaning.
Former mortgagees have no incentive to get properties in saleable condition when they leave their homes. In fact, most foreclosures are riddled with trash and property that foreclosed homeowners don’t feel like transporting with them. Foreclosed homes need a lot of TLC before they are ready for an open house. With a large inventory of bank-owned properties, there’s a need to hire cleaners.
How large of a need? From 2007-2010, foreclosure home cleaning businesses expanded 1,000%.
What’s the Work Like and What Does it Pay?
Those looking to start a foreclosed home cleaning business need a flexible schedule. Banks often need cleaners at a moment’s notice and work needs to be completed on a strict turn-around. Often weekend work is involved and some properties require a lot of work before they are in selling condition. However, the jobs pay well, often averaging between $500 to $2,500 per house.
Another way that foreclosure cleaners make extra money is by selling things that have been left behind by the previous homeowner. You obviously want to check with the client, but often times they’ll ask you to clear out anything left behind in the house. It’s your choice whether to dump the stuff, keep it, or sell it.
One time I was asked by a client to dump a left-behind treadmill and washing machine. I ended up making an extra $300 (in addition to my cleaning fee) by selling them on Craigslist!
How to Start Your Own Foreclosure Cleaning Business
The good news is that you don’t need much to start this type of business. All you need is a telephone number where you can be contacted and some cleaning supplies. The crux of business success is getting jobs. To accomplish this, you’ll need to do a bit of networking.
The best place to network is with real estate agents who specialize in selling real estate owned properties. They aren’t too difficult to locate. Simply call up local realtor offices and ask for the agents in charge of selling foreclosures. It might take some selling to get listed their cleaning vendor list, but if you have a competitive price and flexible schedule, there is no reason you can’t make in-roads.
While realtors are your best bet, you can also advertise on websites that have cleaning service directories. Also, it can be useful to contact local banks directly and reach out to real estate law firms. All this doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get cleaning jobs, but banks won’t know how to reach you if you don’t advertise.
However, with payment of $500 per house, you won’t need many jobs to earn a little extra money.
Good luck Penny Hoarders!
Would you be a dear and Stumble this article?
My stepdaughter and her boyfriend actually have a business similar to this. They mainly clean out rentals when the tenants leave stuff behind but they will do any similar job that comes their way. Real estate agents and property management companies are their best contacts.
Great article.Very helpful.
Great article! Do you think it is best to have a website to share with potential clients? Do you need any sort of insurance? What’s the best way to get started?
I am very interested, but I don’t want to do anything illegal.
Thanks for the great ideas! I love this website.
I used to clean out garages to make a little extra money on the side and also received a lot of free things that I sold on Ebay so I pretty much doubled my income from doing something that wasn’t stressful to me.
Hey everyone, please check out my page, Cross Fit Cleaning, I am based in Philadelphia, I am in the cleaning business, I have been doing this for a long time now, looking to get into clean outs and clean ups of all kinds!!! Thanks to my Aunt I found this website thanks to my Aunt! Hope to hear from you all
Free estimates, low rates and dust free worries!
Why is this? When banks and real estate agencies are calling corporations for foreclosure clean up jobs, they are usually going through the phone book or surfing the internet looking for companies.
I wanted to get into this business but I still trying find out if there still good money to be made some say the business is slowing down. What do you think
This is fairly good info, but you leave a lot out.
Figure on average, costs exceeding $3000/month, then wait for repayment 30-90 days after the job is completed. If you’re hard up for money, just close this page immediately!
Work 7-10 hours a day, 6 days a week. 100 miles+ per day!
Have 2 to 4 employees. Banks want 24 hour turnaround on bids, 3 day turn around to finish. Can’t do this alone! Homeless people are often inside, or coming in at night and pooping in sinks, etc.
Equipment: riding and push mower, weed eater, edger, trimmer, chain saw, ladders, drills, all cleaning equipment including water and head lamps as you’ll be in a home with no power, & no water. Yes, you’ll need to sweep carpets or have a generator. You should also have all safety harnesses, hazardous materials training, CPR training, GPS on your vehicle to jump from house to house, etc. L&I will monitor your every step.
I could go on, but people seem to think this is a “get rich quick” business, but in reality you will work your a$$ off, maybe net $60k/year, but have to pay taxes up to $10k in the income, so work the following year just to cover taxes. Good lord, this is FAR from fun or rich!!
You are right. Many of these things are bad purchase ideas, but I have found some good Ebay deals from time to time.
You might want to mention that selling items left in the house is ILLEGAL!!!!!!!! Items left in the home are to be put in storage for a minimum of 30 days, during which time the bank has to notify the homeowner that the items are in storage and that they either have to collect their belongings or pay the storage fee. After that time is passed, and the homeowners have not claimed the items, the bank may auction off the contents of the storage unit. Mortgage holders do NOT have any legal claim to personal property left in the contents of the home to ‘offset” the cost of the foreclosure, until after the items are held in storage. Mortgages are on the home and the land, not on the contents of the home. Trash out companies who remove items from the home can be charged with theft and can be prosecuted. In some states it is even a felony.