The Dirty Facts Of Foreclosure Cleanouts/Property Preservation

I'm sure many of you by now have heard of this new work at home business called Foreclosure Clean-outs or Property Preservation. If not, basically what it consists of is removing debris, winterizing, cleaning, maintaining lawns, etc. For the most part it is pretty easy work but don't let the hype fool you!

Lets break down the types of work and tools you will need:

Lock Changes:

• Drill
• Phillips/Straight Edge Screwdrivers
• Locks (usually qwickset)
• Realtor Lock Boxes (attaches to handle of door and holds key inside of combo box)
• Drill Bits
• Bump Key set (optional, but makes life so much easier)
• Big pair of channel locks.

Now I'm not going to get into how you change the locks ect. Maybe if this gets enough hits I will write a step by step manual on how to do all the preservation work. But as you can see you don't need a lot of tools, but you do need the basics. Now its pretty easy straight forward work, the only problems I have ever had doing this is noisy neighbors that come and either talk, get tough, or call the cops. Neither of which do I like very much. lol

Winterizations:

• Water Line Pressure Tester (kind of expensive to buy, easy to make, in fact I will write an article on how I made mine, so incentive for you to follow me and keep up on my articles lol.)
• Couple big pair of Channel Locks
• Pipe Wrench or two
• Air Compressor (which if there is no power you will need a generator to run your compressor).
• Phillips/Straight Edge Screwdriver set
• Pink RV Antifreeze
• Garden hose
• A phone and the number to the county water department!

Now this work can get a little tedious sometimes. You have to pressure test the water lines in the home. Clear the water lines out. Put antifreeze in the drains. Remove water main. Yadda yadda yadda. Not too hard? Well depends. Take a look at some of my pictures I will put below and tell me how hard it can be lol. Besides debris in the way. You have rotten floors to deal with. Nasty toilets. Crawl spaces sometimes. Take a look for yourself!

Lawn Care:

• Push Lawnmower
• Riding Lawnmower (not needed for all jobs but you'll want one for sure!)
• Weed-Eater
• Rakes
• Garbage Bags
• Lawn Edger ( if your slick you can do it with your weed eater if you hold in right, just google "lawn edging with weed eater)
• Brush cutters

For the most part its just like taking care of your lawn at home. Leafs need raked up, grass cut withing standards, lawn edged, weed-eated, shrubs trimmed, ect. Pretty easy and decent paying for the work.

Clean-Outs:

• Van/Truck
• Trailer (not needed all the time but pretty much a necessity)
• Broom
• Garbage bags
• Strong stomach and a keen eye

Personally these are the ones that I LOVE LOVE LOVE!! Oh yes, it can be real nasty, tons of work, hard labor, and oh so many other bad things. But I LOVE EM! Why do you ask? Because of the TREASURES! Call me an american picker if you want but I tell you, its like finding gold to me sometimes. You wouldn't believe the things that some people leave behind. Everything from clothes to computers to metal (recycling centers pay for this!) to vehicles, you name it I've found it! Plus these usually turn out to be the better paying jobs! Besides what you can charge to remove certain things, sometimes you come out finding stuff worth a great deal of money on ebay!

Now these are just touching the many different jobs you may have to do. There is still inspections, roof tarping or repair, evictions, business inspections, etc. Besides needing the tools and equipment, your going to need General Liability and Errors and Omissions insurance. Which can run you between $100-$200 per month, not bad if you have consistent work.

Now check out a few horror photos!!