Serving Vancouver Island
Estate clearing, contents sales and downsizing moves
We clear the house and sell what carries value for you. We clean the property afterwards and plan your move at whatever pace works for you.
- We work directly with executors and family members.
- We handle the clearing, sales, cleaning and move planning in one direct setup.
- You don't need to sort or value anything before you call
- We can run the whole job remotely if you're out of province
Estate Clearing
Island Estate Clearing empties and prepares the contents of a home after a death or move into care across Vancouver Island, working mainly in Qualicum Beach, Parksville, Nanaimo and Ladysmith. We do not make you wait on court timing: the Form P1 notice runs at least 21 days before filing in British Columbia, so we can start work right away.
Tell us about the property
Send us as much or as little as you know. You do not need to sort or value anything before calling us. Saying you are not sure yet works fine too.
How it works
- A call or a messageTell us what kind of property it is, roughly what's in it, and whether your family has been through it yet. You don't need to sort or value anything first.
- A walk-through and a written planWe walk the property, flag what's worth selling, and send you a written scope and price. If you're not on the Island, we send photographs and a video walk-through instead.
- The work, in the order the estate needsWe sell items of value, clear the house, clean the rooms and plan your move. We work on your timeline and send you a written summary when finished.
What we handle
These are four parts of the same job. You can combine any of these four services in one conversation with us.
Clearing the house
We go through the house room by room.
Selling the contents
We spot what has resale value and find a buyer for it.
Downsizing moves
Moving into a smaller home or a care residence? We help you decide what comes, pack it, and set it up at the other end.
Cleaning and preparing
We clean the home after clearing it.
Where the work happens
The housing, and what it means for the job
The four main towns we work in bring four different kinds of work. Homes in Qualicum Beach are often long-tenure ranchers and strata. People stay for decades, so belongings accumulate over time. Parksville homes are often strata units bought after an earlier downsize. We find fewer total items there, but more things you can sell. Nanaimo runs from downtown character houses to 1990s subdivisions and brings local buyers for house contents. In Ladysmith we clear heritage homes in town. On rural acreage near Ladysmith at Saltair, Cedar and Yellow Point, we clear shops and outbuildings too. We take on properties across the rest of the Island too.
More on how this works
- Everything handled, in one placeThe four parts of the job, and how we fit them together.
- Where the work happensFour areas, and what the housing in each means for your clearing job.
- An executor's guide to clearing a houseThe probate timetable, the statutory fees, and why we don't wait for the grant.
- What household contents are worthHere is how we price a clearing job and what drives the overall cost.
- Questions executors and families askProbate timing, out-of-province executors, outbuildings and what happens to the rest.
Questions executors and families ask
- Does the house have to wait for probate before it can be cleared?
- Household contents are almost never what holds up an estate. You send out the Form P1 notice at least 21 days before applying for probate. Court processing takes two to three months after that, giving us time to clear the house. We appraise and account for anything of real value first.
- What does it cost to clear a house?
- Our price depends on what is inside the home rather than square footage. Two houses of the same size can hold very different amounts. The drivers are volume, how many items have resale value, and how easily our truck can reach the house.
- Does anyone need to know what things are worth before calling?
- No. Figuring out what has resale value is part of our job. You do not need to appraise anything before calling us. You don't need to research, sort or price anything before making contact.
- What happens if you live out of province?
- An executor living out of town can run the entire process with us remotely. We send photos, video walk-throughs and written updates so you never have to travel here in person.
- What happens to belongings nobody in your family wants?
- We sell what has resale value, offer usable household goods to local donation channels, and recycle or dispose of the rest. We give you a written summary of what sold and what was donated, for the estate file.
We clear and prepare the contents of a family home across Vancouver Island.
You don't have to sort, identify or value anything first. Send us whatever you know and we'll arrange a walk-through.