Estate & Property Cleanouts
on Martha's Vineyard: How to Approach It
Clearing a property - especially a family estate - is a job nobody wants and most people face unprepared. This page is a practical, humane guide to how a cleanout should actually go, whether it's a garage or forty years of a family home. We're Better Call Bosko, and we do this work regularly and respectfully. Even if you never call us, this is the order of operations that saves grief.
Do this before anything leaves the house
• Confirm authority and probate first. For an estate, make sure the executor or personal representative is clear, and check whether items can be removed yet - in some situations they can't. One call to the estate's attorney can save enormous trouble.
• Do a document and valuables sweep yourself. Search everywhere paper and small valuables hide - desks, filing boxes, coat pockets, books, even the freezer: wills, deeds, titles, policies, keys, jewelry, cash, photos. Do this before any crew touches the house.
• Check for value before the dumpster. Vineyard houses hide it: art, nautical antiques, tools, first editions, mid-century furniture. Photograph anything plausibly significant for an appraiser before it's classified - ten minutes of photos has paid for entire cleanouts.
How a cleanout with us works
1. We look first - a walkthrough in person or by video. This is the one service where we almost always want eyes on it before quoting.
2. One clear quote for the whole job, before anything moves.
3. We sort as we go - keep / family / donate / sell / dispose. You (or the realtor or attorney) make the calls; we do the lifting, and we flag anything that looks meaningful before it moves.
4. Donation first, then a broom-swept finish with photos when it's done.
Doing it from off-island
A huge share of estate work is run remotely by family on the mainland. We can work from a key, code, or caretaker, walk the property by video, send photo updates as rooms empty, and finish it broom-swept for the closing or listing - without you crossing the water.
For realtors and attorneys
The sequence that sells a house is cleanout → cleaners → photographer, and we're the first link. We quote from a lockbox walkthrough, coordinate to your timeline, and can provide insurance documentation on request. See partners.
Quick answers
What's the first step in an estate cleanout?
Confirm who has authority and whether the estate is in probate - before anything leaves. Then do a document and valuables sweep.
Can you run a cleanout while I'm off-island?
Yes - coordinated remotely with photo updates at every stage.
How long does a whole house take?
Usually one to three days once decisions are made; single rooms within the week.
What happens to everything?
Keep and family items to you; usable goods donated on-island where possible; the rest disposed of properly.
Get a clear quote before we start
Text photos of the job to (970) 376-8687. We'll look at what you've actually got, ask what we need to ask, and send back a clear quote before any work begins - the number we quote is the number you pay. Or call - a human named Bosko answers. Fully insured. Serving all of Martha's Vineyard, including Chappaquiddick.