Foreclosure Cleanout Services in South Florida: What Banks and Realtors Need to Know
The property just came back to the bank. Or the eviction finally went through. Or the estate sale fell apart and now you're staring at a house full of someone else's belongings.
Whatever the path that led here, the situation is the same: you have a property that can't be listed, shown, or sold until someone deals with everything inside.
If you're a realtor, asset manager, property manager, or bank representative working with distressed properties in Palm Beach County, this is the reality you navigate regularly. Foreclosure cleanouts aren't glamorous, but they're essential — and how quickly and thoroughly they're handled directly impacts your timeline to close.
This guide covers what professional foreclosure cleanout involves, what it costs, and how to work with a service provider who understands the urgency of getting REO properties market-ready.
The Foreclosure Cleanout Challenge
Foreclosed and bank-owned properties come with unique challenges that standard cleaning services can't handle:
You don't know what you're walking into.
Previous occupants who've been evicted or walked away from a property rarely leave it in showing condition. Some take everything. Some leave everything. Some leave a mix — furniture they couldn't move, trash they didn't bother with, personal belongings they abandoned.
Until you open the door, you don't know if you're dealing with an empty house that needs a sweep or a hoarder situation that needs a crew and a week.
There's often damage mixed with debris.
Foreclosed properties frequently have issues beyond just "stuff left behind." Holes in walls. Missing fixtures (copper theft is real in South Florida). Water damage from neglect. Pest infestations. Mold from HVAC systems that sat dormant.
The cleanout is step one, but it's often followed by repairs, cleaning, and remediation before the property is truly ready.
Timelines are tight.
Every day a property sits vacant is a day it's not generating offers, not closing, not off your books. Banks want REO inventory moved. Realtors want listings active. Property managers want units rentable.
The cleanout can't take three weeks. It needs to happen in days — sometimes hours.
Legal and liability considerations exist.
Depending on the foreclosure status and state, there may be requirements around how abandoned personal property is handled. Some items may need to be stored for a period. Documentation may be required. Working with a company that understands these nuances prevents problems down the line.
What Foreclosure Cleanout Actually Includes
A professional foreclosure trash out service handles everything required to take a property from "as-found" condition to empty and broom-clean:
Complete contents removal:
All furniture and appliances left behind
Clothing, personal items, household goods
Trash, debris, and general refuse
Items in garages, sheds, storage areas
Exterior items (yard furniture, grills, debris)
Debris and bulk waste:
Construction materials from abandoned projects
Damaged items (broken furniture, ruined mattresses)
Accumulated trash and garbage
Hazardous items (with proper handling protocols)
Basic cleaning:
Broom-clean floors throughout
Removal of surface debris
Basic cleanup of kitchens and bathrooms
Clearing of all closets, cabinets, and storage spaces
What's NOT typically included (but can be arranged):
Deep cleaning (carpet cleaning, window washing, sanitization)
Repairs (drywall, fixtures, painting)
Mold remediation
Landscaping and exterior maintenance
Securing the property (boarding, lock changes)
Many foreclosure situations require multiple services. A good cleanout company can either provide these additional services or coordinate with trusted partners who do.
Foreclosure Cleanout Pricing
Pricing for REO and foreclosure cleanouts varies based on property size, contents volume, and condition. Here's what to expect in Palm Beach County:
| Property Type | Light Cleanout | Moderate Cleanout | Heavy Cleanout |
|---|---|---|---|
| Condo/Apartment (1-2 BR) | $300 - $500 | $500 - $800 | $800 - $1,500 |
| Single Family (2-3 BR) | $500 - $800 | $800 - $1,500 | $1,500 - $3,000 |
| Single Family (4+ BR) | $800 - $1,200 | $1,200 - $2,500 | $2,500 - $5,000 |
| Large Estate / Multi-Family | $1,200 - $2,000 | $2,000 - $4,000 | $4,000 - $8,000+ |
Light: Minimal items, mostly empty, basic debris
Moderate: Furnished, normal household contents
Heavy: Fully packed, hoarding conditions, or significant debris
What affects pricing:
Volume of contents. A house with a few pieces of furniture costs less than one packed floor-to-ceiling. We quote based on what's actually there, not just square footage.
Condition of items. Clean, donate-able furniture is faster to handle than rotting mattresses and trash-filled rooms. Properties with biohazard conditions (animal waste, mold, decomposition) require additional protocols and cost more.
Access and logistics. Ground-floor properties with drive-up access are faster than third-floor condos with narrow hallways. Gated communities with access restrictions add time.
Turnaround requirements. Standard scheduling works for most jobs. Rush jobs — same-day or 24-hour turnaround — may carry a premium.
The Foreclosure Cleanout Process
Here's how a typical REO property cleanout works with Junk Bull:
1. Initial contact and assessment.
You call or email with property details — address, approximate size, general condition if known. If you have photos from a property inspection, those help us estimate scope.
For properties where contents are unknown, we can do a quick on-site assessment before quoting.
2. Quote and scheduling.
We provide a written quote based on the assessment. For ongoing relationships (property managers, REO agents handling multiple properties), we can establish pricing frameworks that speed up this process.
Scheduling is typically within 1-3 business days. Same-day service is often available for urgent situations.
3. Access coordination.
You provide access — lockbox code, key handoff, meet us on-site, whatever works for the situation. If the property has active utilities, great. If not, we work around it.
4. Cleanout execution.
Our crew arrives, documents the starting condition (photos for your records if needed), and gets to work. For a typical single-family home, expect 3-6 hours depending on contents.
We remove everything — furniture, appliances, trash, debris. Closets, cabinets, garage, shed, yard. When we leave, the property is empty.
5. Final walkthrough and documentation.
We do a final sweep to confirm nothing was missed. We can provide before/after photos, itemized lists of removed items, and donation receipts where applicable.
You get a property that's ready for the next phase — deep cleaning, repairs, staging, or listing.
What We Do With the Contents
This matters for two reasons: ethics and documentation.
Donation: Items in usable condition go to local charities — Habitat for Humanity ReStore, Goodwill, local shelters. Furniture, working appliances, clothing, household goods. We can provide donation receipts for your records.
Recycling: Metal items (bed frames, appliances, scrap) go to recycling facilities. E-waste gets processed properly. We divert as much as possible from landfills.
Disposal: Items that can't be donated or recycled go to licensed disposal facilities. We handle all logistics and can provide disposal documentation if required for your records.
For properties where the bank or asset manager needs documentation of what was removed (common in some foreclosure situations), we can provide detailed manifests.
Working With Property Managers and REO Agents
If you're handling multiple properties regularly, we offer arrangements that make the process more efficient:
Volume pricing: Regular clients handling multiple cleanouts per month receive preferred pricing. The more properties you bring us, the better the rates.
Expedited scheduling: Established clients get priority scheduling. When you have a property that needs immediate attention, you go to the front of the line.
Streamlined communication: One point of contact. Direct scheduling. No going through call centers or explaining your situation every time. You text us an address, we handle it.
Flexible billing: Net-15 or Net-30 terms available for qualified accounts. No need to process payment on-site for every job.
Coordination with other services: We work with cleaning crews, contractors, landscapers, and property preservation companies across Palm Beach County. If your cleanout needs to be followed by other services, we can help coordinate or recommend trusted partners.
Services for REO Properties
| Service | Included in Cleanout | Available Add-On |
|---|---|---|
| Interior contents removal | ✓ | — |
| Garage/shed cleanout | ✓ | — |
| Exterior debris removal | ✓ | — |
| Broom-clean condition | ✓ | — |
| Before/after photo documentation | ✓ | — |
| Appliance removal & recycling | ✓ | — |
| Deep cleaning | — | ✓ |
| Carpet removal | — | ✓ |
| Light demolition | — | ✓ |
| Yard debris / landscaping cleanup | — | ✓ |
| Biohazard remediation | — | ✓ (specialized) |
Common Foreclosure Scenarios We Handle
The "walked away" property:
Previous owners left suddenly, taking what they could carry. House still has furniture, some personal items, general household contents. Standard cleanout — usually half a day.
The eviction aftermath:
Tenant removed by sheriff. Property contains mix of abandoned belongings and trash. Sometimes damage from the departure. May need repair coordination after cleanout.
The estate-turned-foreclosure:
Owner passed away, heirs couldn't or wouldn't maintain the mortgage. Property sat vacant for months. Contents range from normal household to years of accumulation. May have pest or mold issues from neglect.
The investor flip gone wrong:
Property purchased for renovation, work started but never finished. Contains construction debris, abandoned materials, partial demolition. Needs cleanout before new buyer or contractor can proceed.
The hoarder foreclosure:
Previous occupant had hoarding disorder. Property is packed floor-to-ceiling. Specialized situation requiring more time, larger crew, and often biohazard protocols. We handle these — see our hoarding cleanout service for details.
Timeline Expectations
How quickly can a foreclosure cleanout happen?
| Situation | Scheduling | On-Site Time | Total Turnaround |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard cleanout | 1-3 days | 3-6 hours | 2-4 days |
| Rush / same-day | Same day | 3-6 hours | Same day |
| Heavy / hoarding | 2-5 days | 1-3 days | 3-7 days |
| Large estate / multi-unit | 3-5 days | 1-2 days | 4-7 days |
For established clients with urgent needs, we'll move mountains to hit your timeline. A property that needs to be photographed tomorrow? We'll make it happen.
Why Foreclosure Cleanout Requires Specialists
You might be wondering: why not just hire a general cleaning company or day laborers?
Speed and efficiency.
A crew that does this every day works faster than people figuring it out as they go. We know how to approach a packed house, how to load trucks efficiently, where to take different materials. What takes an inexperienced crew two days takes us half a day.
Proper disposal.
Foreclosed properties often contain items requiring specific handling — refrigerators with refrigerants, electronics with hazardous components, chemicals left in garages. We know the regulations and have the relationships with disposal facilities.
Insurance and liability.
We carry liability insurance and workers' comp. If something gets damaged or someone gets hurt, you're not exposed. When you hire day laborers off the street, you're taking on risk.
Documentation.
Banks and asset managers increasingly require documentation of cleanout services — before/after photos, disposal records, donation receipts. We provide all of this as standard practice.
Reliability.
When you schedule us, we show up. We don't ghost jobs, we don't disappear mid-project, we don't leave properties half-done. For professionals managing multiple properties, reliability is worth paying for.
The Bottom Line for Real Estate Professionals
Every day a property sits full of the previous occupant's belongings is a day it's not generating offers. Every showing that gets delayed because the cleanout isn't done is a potential buyer who moves on.
Foreclosure cleanout isn't the exciting part of real estate. But it's the necessary step between "bank-owned mess" and "market-ready listing."
The faster it happens, the faster you move on to the valuable work — selling the property, closing the deal, getting paid.
We're not here to be your most glamorous vendor. We're here to be the one you call when you need a property emptied, cleaned, and ready. Fast, thorough, documented, done.
That's it. That's the value proposition.
Ready to discuss your foreclosure cleanout needs?
Junk Bull provides foreclosure cleanout and REO property services across Palm Beach County, Martin County, and Broward County. We work with realtors, property managers, asset managers, and banks.
For single properties: Call 561-344-6677 for a quote.
For ongoing partnerships: Let's talk about volume pricing and streamlined scheduling. Email or call to set up a conversation.
Same-day service available. Professional documentation included. Properties ready for what's next.
Junk Bull — Junk Removal & Demolition Serving Palm Beach, Martin & Broward Counties 📞 561-344-6677 🌐 www.junkbull.com
From bank-owned to market-ready.
