One of HALO’s specialties is Estate Cleanout Services. Our Estate Cleanout clients usually
come as the result of saddening circumstances; sometimes a death, injury, disability or
inability to live independently. It is not easy getting a call from the family, public guardian or
trustee of someone involved in a life-changing accident, whose parent has developed
Alzheimer’s or has been deemed incapable; it is even harder to be the person who makes
that call to HALO. In any case, the homeowner is no longer capable of dealing with their
home and belongings and our clients need HALO to clean out the home for the purposes of
selling.

Hoarded Estate Cleanout Services

More often than not, when HALO gets a call from someone in need of estate cleanout services it is because the home is in a state of disrepair. Sometimes homeowners are unable to care for their homes properly and a lot of work is required to bring it to a state where it can be sold. Sometimes families are unaware that their loved ones had hoarding disorder or have not been in the home for a number of years and do not know the state of it until they see it.

Hoarded homes are difficult for families to clear out for many reasons including lack of time, lack of expertise or lack of the mental fortitude to handle the state a loved-ones home was left in.
As well as cleaning the hoarded home and combing through all areas and items, HALO will
coordinate contractors to address structural damage, mold, repair essential systems like
plumbing, electrical, HVAC, etc. and possibly make some cosmetic upgrades to make the
home re-sellable.

Estate Cleanout Process

The Estate Cleanout process requires an immense amount of work – physically, mentally and
emotionally – for everyone involved. Along with HALO working directly with family, often
Estate Cleanouts require liaising with lawyers, executors, co-executors, banks, trustees and
guardians.

An Estate Cleanout involves going through every square inch of a home from the attic right
down into the crawl spaces; from the garage overheads into the backs of every closet. We
literally unwrap every kleenex. Sometimes clients will give HALO a list of what they are
looking for – war medals, paperwork, jewelry, heirlooms – and everything that HALO finds
that has any suspected value is put aside including sentimental things like photos, musical
instruments, china, vintage clothing and art.

HALO has found some unique items through the years; on one of our first Estate Cleanouts
we found a 1st edition Barbie new and unboxed. A similar one in much worse condition was
sold in a toy auction in New York City for $80,000 USD. In another Estate Cleanout, HALO
found a Naval Bag stuffed with whites, a Navy Uniform, and helmet with a bullet dent in it.
Their loved one had served on the HMCS Peterborough in the Royal Canadian Navy in World
War II. The family preserved this beautiful memory of their loved one by donating it to a local museum. In the case that HALO finds multiple items of value that they wish to sell we
may recommend that the family allows us to call in an auction house to help.

It’s important to remember, however, that the contents of the home – although important –
are not the most important recoverable financial incentive in the home; the home itself is
the most important.

Community Connections

Now-a-days HALO is seeing more clients who are part of the sandwich generation – adults
who have young children of their own and aging parents. These clients lack the resources
both time and emotional to be able to handle their own families and an estate cleanout
simultaneously. In this case, HALO is committed to offering what we called wrap-around
estate cleanout services. These are essential connections into community supports to assist the family in
dealing with their circumstances – for example, we might connect the family into counseling.
Equally as important, HALO is committed to be the liaisons between executors, trustees, the
bank, contractors and realtors in order for the family to have everything taken care of.

Estate Cleanout Specialists

Being an Estate Cleanout Specialist is a significant responsibility. HALO works diligently to
make sure that the family experiences little stress and that the home’s state is recovered as
much as possible. They say it takes a village to raise a child but the truth is that we could all
use a village to help us through any hard thing we encounter; at HALO we want to be part of
yours.