Seller or tenant left a house full of junk? What 'broom clean' usually means, who typically pays, and what the cleanout itself costs. (404) 558-6493.
One of the most upvoted questions ever posted to a legal advice forum came from a buyer who walked into their newly purchased house on closing day and found it full. Furniture, boxes, garage layers, the works. The contract said "broom clean." Nearly three thousand people upvoted, four hundred commented, and the buyer still had a house full of someone else's stuff.
We are a junk removal company in Jonesboro, not a law firm, so this article is general information, not legal advice. For your specific contract or lease, talk to a Georgia real estate attorney. What we can tell you is how these situations usually sort out, and exactly what the cleanout side costs, because that number changes every negotiation that follows.
The three versions of this problem
The seller left it. Most purchase contracts require the seller to deliver the property empty in something like "broom clean" condition, meaning cleared of personal property and debris. When a seller leaves a houseful anyway, the buyer's usual paths run through the contract: raise it at the final walkthrough before closing if there is still time, negotiate a credit or holdback at the closing table, or pursue the seller for the removal cost afterward. This is exactly why walkthroughs exist, and why "we will deal with it after closing" is the expensive answer. An attorney or your closing agent can tell you which lever your contract gives you.
The tenant left it. Georgia landlords deal with this constantly. What a landlord may do with property a tenant leaves behind depends on how the tenancy ended, and eviction cases carry their own specific rules about the removal process. The safe general statement is the boring one: document everything with photos, get the timing and process requirements from an attorney before touching anything, and only then schedule the cleanout. Guessing wrong about abandoned-property handling costs more than asking first.
You inherited the problem. Sometimes there is no adversary at all. The estate sold as-is, the price already reflected the mess, and the junk is simply yours now. In that case there is no negotiation to run, only a job to schedule and a check to write, so the only question left is the next section.
What the cleanout actually costs
Whoever ends up paying, the bill is knowable in advance, because junk removal is priced by volume. Our truck holds 18 cubic yards, about nine pickup loads, and the published ladder runs from a $175 minimum to $725 for a full truck, with every step in between printed on our pricing page. A half load is $520. Three quarters is $650. Add-ons are itemized too: mattresses $20, tires $20, paint $10 per gallon, stairs $50 per flight.
A full house is usually multiple truckloads, and that is precisely the number you want in writing early. If you are negotiating a closing credit or documenting a claim, a firm written quote from a licensed and insured company turns "the house was full of junk" into a dollar figure a closing agent can work with. We do these walkthroughs regularly for buyers, agents, and landlords through our real estate cleanout service, and for post-eviction situations through our eviction cleanout service.
Why speed usually matters more than blame
Every version of this problem has a clock attached. The buyer has movers scheduled. The landlord has a vacant unit burning a mortgage payment. The house cannot be shown, rented, or moved into while it is full. Chasing the responsible party can proceed on its own track while the property gets cleared, which is why the practical sequence is usually: document everything with photos, get the written quote, clear the property, and let the reimbursement fight follow with the receipts attached.
Same-day and next-day service is usually available, seven days a week, 8am to 8pm. Loads go to recycling centers and transfer stations, and usable items get donated, which matters to more sellers and families than you might expect.
The short version
Who pays is a contract question, and a Georgia attorney answers it for your situation. What it costs is a volume question, and that one we can answer today: call (404) 558-6493 with the address and we will put a firm, written, itemized number in your hands. Arguments about junk go better when only one side is guessing.
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