Property clear out in Killiney and Glenageary before a sale

Three jobs before the photographs

When a family home in Killiney or Glenageary is being sold, the estate agent usually asks for the same things in the same breath. Can it be emptied, can something be done about the carpets, and can the front be tidied up before the photographer comes.

Those are three different trades in most people's minds, and three sets of phone calls. With Spotless they are one booking. This page explains what each stage involves, the order they go in and what we need from you. For the general version, our guide to preparing a property for sale covers every kind of house; this one is about the larger, older homes on this stretch of the coast.

What makes these houses different

Killiney and Glenageary are mostly detached and semi-detached family homes on their own sites, many of them lived in by one family for decades. Three things follow from that.

• There is more of everything. More rooms, a full attic, a garage that has not held a car in years and usually a shed or two.
• There is more outside. A long driveway, steps, paths, a patio and garden walls, often shaded by mature trees, which is exactly where moss and algae take hold.
• Access can be awkward. Some roads are steep and narrow, and some entrances were built for smaller vehicles than a Luton van.

None of this is a problem, but all of it belongs in the photos you send. A price is only as good as what we can see.

Stage one: the property clear out

A property clear out is a house clearance with a wider boundary. It covers the rooms, and also the attic, the garage, the shed, the side passage and the garden, because a buyer walks around all of them.

• Every room, including the hot press and the cupboard under the stairs
• The attic, handed down through the hatch
• The garage and any workshop
• Sheds, the side passage and behind the garage
• Garden furniture, pots, old play equipment and a compost bin

Before anything is loaded, drawers, wardrobes and pockets are checked. Personal papers, photographs and anything with a name on it are set aside and shown to the family. If the executor or a solicitor needs particular documents, tell us what to look for.

Items the family is keeping, and anything the estate agent wants left for the photographs, are marked and left where they are. Everything else is carried out by us. Usable furniture and household goods are set aside for reuse where possible, metals and electrical items are recycled, and the rest goes to licensed waste facilities under our permit, NWCPO-25-13287-01.

We cannot take paint, solvents, oils, fuel, chemicals, batteries or gas cylinders, full or empty. Garages tend to have a shelf of all of them, so we stand them together and tell you where they are.

Stage two: the carpets

Once the rooms are empty, the carpets are cleaned by hot-water extraction, wall to wall, including the patches where a wardrobe or a bed stood for years. The stairs and landing are done at the same time, since they are the first thing a viewer walks on.

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We test a hidden patch in each room first. Most carpets in a house like this are dirty and flattened, not worn through, and they come back well. If one is beyond it, we say so before any time is spent on it. A cleaned carpet photographs properly and leaves the question of replacing it to the buyer.

Fabric sofas and armchairs that are staying for the photographs can be cleaned on the same visit. We clean fabric only, not leather.

Stage three: the outside

The outside is what a buyer sees first, on the listing and from the car. Power washing is left until last so the van is not driving over a clean driveway.

• Driveway. Block paving, concrete, tarmac or cobble-lock, with the method matched to the surface.
• Paths and steps. Moss and algae are slippery as well as dull, and steps are where it shows most.
• Patio. Sandstone, granite or concrete slabs.
• Walls and gutters. A green garden wall or a gutter with grass growing in it is the kind of thing a viewer notices.

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We need an outside tap and a power socket we can reach, so make sure neither has been turned off if the house is empty. Where a surface is delicate, we use a low-pressure soft wash in place of high pressure.

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Putting the dates together

The order does not change, but the spacing depends on the house.

Tell us the date the estate agent has in mind for photographs and we work back from it. If you are not sure yet, our guide on when to book a clearance in Dún Laoghaire explains how far ahead to plan.

You do not need to be there for any of it. We collect keys from a neighbour, a solicitor or the agent, and send photos of the empty rooms when the clearance is done.

Before we arrive

A few things only the family can do, and they are worth doing before the first stage starts.

• Take what each person is keeping, or mark it clearly so it is left
• Look through the attic and the garage for anything that should stay in the family
• Leave the water and electricity connected until the carpets and the outside are finished
• Let the neighbours on either side know the dates, since a van and a power washer are hard to miss
• Send us the estate agent's list of what is included in the sale, so nothing on it is removed

If the house has an alarm, tell us how it is set and who to ring if it goes off.

What Spotless does, in one place

• Property clearance and house clearance: the whole site, from attic to shed. See also house clearance in Killiney and house clearance in Glenageary.
• Carpet cleaning, including carpet cleaning in Killiney: hot-water extraction in empty rooms, stairs and landings.
• Upholstery cleaning: fabric furniture that is staying for the photographs.
• Power washing: driveway cleaning, patio cleaning, gutter cleaning and moss removal.
• Garden cleaning: green waste and garden clutter before the front is washed.

We are fully insured on every job and work Monday to Saturday, 8am to 5pm, across Dublin and all of Leinster.

Getting a price

Send photos of each room, the attic from the hatch, the garage, the shed and the outside on WhatsApp to 085 202 1222, or use the quote form on this page. Tell us the date you are working to and what is staying. You will get one written quote covering the clear out, the carpets and the outside, usually the same day.