If you want to clean foreclosed properties for a living, it is the perfect time to start. Why? According to the 1/4/09 LA Times article, HUD funds to help cities clean up foreclosures, Congress has allocated $4 billion to help clean up the rash of home foreclosures across the country. 

The articles states, “Across the country, cities and counties are performing housing triage as they prepare to spend the $4 billion Congress has allocated under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.” This is good news for three reasons for foreclosure cleanup companies.

Why the Neighborhood Stabilization Program is Good News for Those Who Want to Clean Foreclosed Properties

Funds must be spent: Once the government allocates funds for certain purposes, the monies must be spent, or the local municipalities lose those funds. There isn’t a government official who’s ever been elected who wants to give money back, so city and county officials will be glad to loosen the purse strings and spend every penny.

Having an official foreclosure cleaning company can put in you line for some foreclosure cleanup contracts, which brings us to the next point.

Foreclosure Cleanup Contracts: Local governments like to do business with businesses. They will probably put some type of bidding process in place so that owners of foreclosure cleanup companies can bid on foreclosure cleanup contracts.

This means now is the time to start your foreclosure cleanup business, ie, get licensed and insured. Most likely, you’ll be one of the few “qualified companies” in town who meet all the criteria to bid on any foreclosure cleanup contracts your city/county offers. And, with guaranteed funds in place – getting paid is not something you’ll have to worry about.

Catapult Your Business: Most newbies to this business never think beyond their desire to “just” clean foreclosed properties. But, starting out with a government contract can catapult your business to the next level – almost from the beginning.

Imagine having guaranteed business almost immediately. This exponentially increases your chances of success as a foreclosure cleanup service. The beauty of getting foreclosure cleanup contracts with your local government is that you make contacts that can ensure more business down the road.

Clean Foreclosed Properties: There’s Never Been a Better Time to Start

The bottom line is if you want to clean foreclosed properties for a living, now is the best time to start. The government is extremely anxious to start rehabbing foreclosed properties – and they’re putting their money where their mouth is. According to the article mentioned above, “It’s [the Neighborhood Stabilization Program] like no other government program I’ve seen . . . They want to get the money on the streets, fast.”

May be reprinted on your site, blog, newsletter, newspaper, etc., with the following attribution, in full: Learn more about how to start a foreclosure cleaning, business at ForeclosureBusinessNews.com. Here you’ll find everything you need to know about foreclosures, including info on legislation and programs the federal government is proposing to help the foreclosure crisis, tips on buying foreclosures, advice on how to stop foreclosure, home loan modifications, etc.

Foreclosure cleaning is a hot business right now. Many are getting into it, but immediately hit a stumbling block when it comes to pricing. Following is some advice on pricing your foreclosure cleanup services.

Foreclosure Cleanup Companies: 3 Things to Keep in Mind When Pricing Services

Know Service Cost: The first things to keep in mind when pricing your foreclosure cleaning services is to find out what it’s going to cost you to provide a service.

For example, if one of the things you have to do to a property is replace the broken windows, then you need to find out how much the windows cost and how much it’s going to cost to get them installed (if you’re not installing them yourself).

To make a profit on this service, you would then add time and labor costs to that.

Foreclosure Cleaning Pricing Tip: One of the biggest mistakes foreclosure cleaning service company owners make is not adding in the cost of “running around time.” In business – any type of business – time is money. Keep this in mind.

How Much Do You Need to Make: Sometimes, pricing a foreclosure cleaning job boils down to how much you wan to make. For smaller jobs, ie, simply changing the locks on a house, it may not cost you that much to actually do it, which makes it not worth your time.

BUT, if you want to offer this foreclosure cleaning service because you want to be a one-stop shop for clients, then you simply add in how much you need to make off of it to make it worth your while.

For example, if you can get locks changed for $50 a pop, but it takes you 45 minutes to drive to the property, meet with the locksmith, drive back home and then write up the invoice, you may have spent two hours or more.

So, even though it only cost you $50, how much do you think you need to charge to have made this worth your while? $75, $100, $125? It’s up to you to decide.

Get More than One Estimate: In the foreclosure cleaning business, you’re going to rely a lot on contractors to set your prices. So you must, must, must get more than one estimate to get an idea of what you should be paying.

For example, let’s say you need to get the exterior of a house painted. One painter may charge you $1,200, while another may charge $2,000. Yet a third may charge $1,600. So, what should you be paying.

To get a “pricing measuring stick”, so to speak, for this foreclosure cleaning service, use the average of the estimates.

Foreclosure Cleaning Pricing Tip: Cheaper is not always better. A lot of this business depends on your gut. With each job, you’ll pick up lessons that will help you price the next one that much better.

Foreclosure cleaning can be a very lucrative business. But, if you price a job wrong, you can literally be out of business before you know it.

May be reprinted on your site, blog, newsletter, newspaper, etc., with the following attribution, in full: Learn more about how to start a foreclosure cleaning, business, which includes advice pricing foreclosure cleanup jobs and more. For more on foreclosures, visit ForeclosureBusinessNews.com. You’ll find everything you need to know about buying foreclosures, how to stop foreclosure, starting lurcative foreclosure businesses, etc. 

If you want to clean foreclosures for a living, it’s an excellent time to start this type of business. According to an article in “USA Today” entitled, ‘Trash-out’ firms clean up in foreclosure biz, “Entrepreneur Magazine named it one of the fastest growing businesses on its 2008 “Hot 100 Fastest Growing Businesses” list.

If you’re wondering why so many want to jump on the “clean foreclosures for a living” bandwagon, following are three more reasons why.

1. Room for Growth: When you clean foreclosures for a living, you have the opportunity to expand beyond just that. Foreclosure cleaners are multi-purpose business owners. Because they are expected to do everything from yard work to painting to hanging sheetrock, they can expand the business in any number of ways.

For example, after foreclosures are no longer in the news – and this is not going to happen for quite a while according to experts, they can focus on just real estate cleanup, or landscaping, or general contracting.

The point is, while a foreclosure cleaning business may start out as just that, it’s a business that can grow and change with the economic times. With so many opportunities for expansion, foreclosure clean out is a great business to start.

2. Self-Employment: To own a business is the American dream. And, statistics prove that self-employed individuals make more money than those who work for others. In fact, one of the quickest ways to become wealthy is to own your own business.

When you decide to clean foreclosures for a living, you’re taking the beginning steps to achieving personal wealth. And, there’s no shortage of work, if recent statistics are anything to go by.

Why Foreclosure Cleanup Companies Booming

Consider this: According to Moody’s Economy.com, approximately 2.8 million U.S. households will face foreclosure, turn over their homes to their lender or sell the properties for less than their mortgage’s value by the end of this year (2009).

Foreclosure cleanup companies can literally rake in the dough, which brings us to the last reason you may want to jump on the “clean foreclosures for a living” bandwagon.

3. It’s the Money Baby! Most businesses fail within the first three years. But, work is so plentiful for individuals who want to clean foreclosures, that you can make a success of this business – if you go about it in the right way.

Even simple foreclosure cleanup trashout jobs pay well. You can garner anywhere from several hundred (at a minimum) to several thousand dollars per job. Each job is different, but the work has to get done. And, banks and real estate agencies pay to have it done. They have to because they’re not equipped to handle this type of work.

Learn more about how to clean foreclosures for a living – and practically be assured of success.

May be reprinted on your site, blog, newsletter, newspaper, etc., with the following attribution, in full: Learn how to clean foreclosures for a living and never have to work for anyone else again. Everything you need to know can be found at ForeclosurebusinessNews.com.com.

Foreclosure cleanup is one of the best businesses to start according to the “USA Today” article, ‘Trash-out’ firms clean up in foreclosure biz. It states: “Entrepreneur Magazine included a foreclosure cleanup business – Cyprexx Services of Brandon, Fla. – in its 2008 “Hot 100 Fastest Growing Businesses” list.”

If you want to start a foreclosure cleanup business, following are five things you need to know going in.

1. Get Licensed and Insured: Banks and real estate companies will expect you to be licensed and insured if you own a foreclosure cleanup business. If you’re not, you won’t get work from them. And, as they hold the bulk of properties that need your services, you will want to make sure that you are.

How much insurance should you get? Most require a $1 million liability policy, along with workmen’s compensation. Your insurance agent will be able to advise you on exactly what you need.

2. Consult with Various Contractors: In the foreclosure cleanup business, you will need the services of various contractors, eg, electricians, painters, plumbers, etc. Before you start, line up a few in each niche. Even if you’re skilled in these areas, it’s easy to get so busy that you will need to outsource work.

Contractor Tip: Subcontract to contractors who are licensed as well. For example, if you have to hire an electrician, the bank may ask for the electrician’s certification to ensure that wiring was done correctly.

3. Expect the Unexpected: In the foreclosure cleanup business, you never know what you’re going to get when you enter a house. There could be feces on the walls (more common than you may think), animals left behind (eg, an angry Doberman who rushes you as you enter the premises), or angry tenants who haven’t left yet.

So, prepare to expect the unexpected with your foreclosure clean out business. For example, never enter a property for the first time alone, knock on doors and rattle fences to see if an animal or person is present, etc.

4. Quick Turnaround: In the foreclosure cleanup business, banks and agents expect quick turnaround. Usually, they want you to start as soon as possible after your bid is accepted. Hence, as you’re preparing your estimate, keep this in mind.

Think about the various contractors you may have to hire and what their schedules are like. For example, if you can handle the painting, but you need someone to hang the sheetrock but your contractor can’t do it for three days, you will have to build this into your timeline.

Logistics can be a nightmare in this business when dealing with subcontractors. That’s why you want to try to work with the same ones all the time. The more work your foreclosure cleanup business throws their way, the more likely they are to give your jobs priority over others.

5. Hire a Reliable Receptionist: Many think of a receptionist as a lowly paid employee and don’t give much thought to who they put in this position. But, particularly in the foreclosure cleanup business, the person who answers the phone can mean landing a $10,000 job, or not.

Why is this? When banks and real estate agencies are calling companies for foreclosure clean up jobs, they are usually going through the phone book or surfing the internet looking for companies. If someone doesn’t pick up the phone, they’re off to the next listing – usually they don’t leave a message.

So, hire someone who is personable, reliable and professional. And, pay them well. For they are the front line of your foreclosure cleanup business. Learn more about how to start a foreclosure clean out business.

May be reprinted on your site, blog, newsletter, newspaper, etc., with the following attribution, in full: To learn more about starting a foreclosure cleaning business, log on to http://ForeclosureBusinessNews.com. The site provides everything you need to know about foreclosures, eg, buying foreclosures, preventing foreclosure, starting lurcative foreclosure bsuinesses and the most recent news in/on/about the foreclosure industry. If it’s about foreclosures, you’ll find it at ForeclosureBusinessNews.com!

Foreclosures are a hot news topic right now. The TV news show 60 minutes did a piece on it in December 2008 that featured how successful foreclosure cleanup companies were booming businesses. With that in mind, following are the beginning steps to how to start a foreclosure cleaning business.

3 Things You Need to Do Start a Foreclosure Cleanup Business

Empty homes are magnets for crime, eg, arson, drugs, prostitution, vandalism, etc. This is one reason real estate companies, banks and homeowner associations hire foreclosure cleanup companies to come in and get a property ready to go back on the market. If this business interests you, do the following:

Step 1 to Starting a Foreclosure Cleanup Business: Name Your Business. The name of your business is extremely important. It should say exactly what you do, so that people will think of you first.

Business Naming Tip: Try to make “Foreclosure Cleanup” part of your business name. This name alone is already be taken, but you can name yours, for example, On Time Foreclosure Cleanup.

Step 2 to Starting a Foreclosure Cleanup Business: Get Licensed and Insured. This is not a business where you can wing it. You need these things for the following reasons:

3 Reasons You Need to Be Licensed and Insured

(i) To get contracts: Many banks and real estate companies won’t hire you if you’re not licensed and insured. As these are the entities with the bulk of the houses that need your services, you definitely want to meet their requirements.

(ii) To be covered in case of lawsuits: This is a business where it’s easy for an accident or other incident to happen where a lawsuit is possible. For example, if a worker gets hurt, steals something or your company inadvertently damages the wood floors in a house you’re working on, for example, you need insurance to cover any damages.

A foreclosure cleanup business is one where you do everything from install windows to hauling trash to winterizing a property. Some jobs take days, others take weeks. The point is, there are a lot of places/times where accidents and incidents can happen. Insurance covers these.

(iii) Professional business: You may be thinking, “Well, I just won’t go after contracts with banks and real estate companies.”

Newsflash – even individual property owners will oftentimes ask if you’re licensed bonded and insured. It brands you as a professional, a business; not simply a man with a truck.

Step 3 to Starting a Foreclosure Cleanup Business: Line Up Help. As mentioned above, this is the type of business where you will need to use a lot of professionals in different sectors, eg, painters, floor people, electricians, locksmiths, carpenters, etc.

Every job is different. So before you start, build up a rolodex of reliable contractors you can call on. Even if you’re a handyman, a general contractor or just an all-around expert in many areas of home construction and repair, it’s easy to get so busy that you can’t handle all the work yourself. You’ll need to outsource some of it – and this is where the real money is (but that’s a subject for another article).

Everything You Need to Know about How to Start a Foreclosure Cleanup Business

Once you get these three things in place, get a website and start marketing.

May be reprinted on your site, blog, newsletter, newspaper, etc., with the following attribution, in full: Learn more about how to start a foreclosure cleaning business, log on to http://ForeclosureBusinessNews.com. The site provides everything you need to know about foreclosures, eg, buying foreclosures, preventing foreclosure, starting lurcative foreclosure bsuinesses and the most recent news in/on/about the foreclosure industry. If it’s about foreclosures, you’ll find it at ForeclosureBusinessNews.com!