Best way to get rid of tenants left behind garbage?

Question

Just bought my first rental property, but I have one problem. There is a lot of old junk left in the basement. Old mattress, bed frames, doors, furniture, garbage, etc. What is the best / cheapest way to remove all of this? Thank you!

Scott Anderson · Answer

Craigslist free section. Set the ad say it’s at the curb first come.

I’ve gotten rid of things in 20 minutes that way. But smaller towns may take longer. And junk may never disappear.

There’s also rent a Home Depot truck and take it to goodwill.

Patricia Steiner · Answer

Several options:

1.  Call a local (independent) hauler; some will clean it out and haul it away cheaply.

2.  Call your local waste management company and ask about scheduling/cost of a "special pickup."  I paid a whopping $38 to have a 6' x 6' curbside load taken away but it did have to be bagged/tied and on the curb.

3.  Buy a dumpster bag at the big box hardware store and/or Amazon, fill it, and call to have it hauled away.

4.  Call a commercial cleaning company (the kind that cleans homes during the construction process); they'll handle it all.

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

totally agree I always put in a garage sale add  everything free.. it will all be gone in a matter of hours.

now being in the basement you may wnat to move everything out or for sure supervise so [people dont scuff up your walls etc.

but moving sale  many free things  garage sale everything free.. and at least on the west coast its all gone in a few hours.

James Wise · Answer

Get a dumpster & haul it away.

Bob B. · Answer

Dumpster and a couple of day labors

Christine Kankowski · Answer

Junk removal service will have it gone in an afternoon.  Just make sure it is junk so tenant cant come back and say you dumped his furniture and personal items.

Dennis M. · Answer

You can get tax write offs by taking it to Salvation Army if you fill out the correct forms .

Nathan Simons · Answer

@Scott Anderson I didn’t even think about giving it away for free from a Craigslist ad. Thanks for the information.

Nathan Simons · Answer

@Patricia Steiner thank you for your response!

Jassem A. · Answer

Trailer it off or rent a 30-40 yard dumpster for 350-500. May be able to put certain amounts of it to the curb if the city offers bulk trash pick up.

Best way to get rid of tenants left behind garbage?

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