Estate sale vs cleanout vs senior move manager: which one you need
Updated August 2026
Use an estate sale company when the contents have enough resale value to be worth selling, usually several thousand dollars. Use a cleanout company when they do not, which is most houses. Use a senior move manager when the person is alive and moving rather than the house being emptied after a death.
These three services get confused constantly, and hiring the wrong one wastes weeks. The difference comes down to one question: is the goal to make money from the belongings, to get rid of them, or to move them?
Estate sale company: selling the contents
What they do. Research and price everything in the house, stage it like a store, advertise the sale, staff it for two or three days, and hand you the proceeds minus their commission.
What it costs. Commission, typically 30 to 50 percent of gross sales in Metro Atlanta, with the rate usually dropping as the expected total rises. Most companies set a minimum, often in the neighborhood of $3,000 to $5,000 in expected sales.
How long. Two to four weeks from the first call. One to two weeks to sort and price, then the sale weekend, then settlement within a couple of weeks after.
When it is right. There is furniture in good condition, tools, jewelry, collections, mid-century or antique pieces, or a well-stocked garage or workshop. Somebody in the family thinks “there is real stuff in here,” and two companies agree.
The question to ask. What happens to whatever does not sell? Some companies include a donation run and a broom-swept house, some charge extra, and some leave it. Get it in writing, because a house that is 80 percent empty still cannot be closed on.
Cleanout company: emptying the house
What they do. Remove everything you do not want. The good ones sort rather than shovel, route what they can to donation, and bring you the receipts.
What it costs. By volume or by the truckload. A few rooms might run several hundred dollars, a full house with basement, attic, and garage runs into the low thousands.
How long. Often a matter of days from the call, and one to three days on site.
When it is right. The contents are ordinary household goods. Nothing collectible, furniture that is used rather than antique, and the family has already taken what they want. This describes most houses, and there is nothing sad about it.
Senior move manager: moving a person
What they do. Plan the downsizing move. Decide what fits the new floor plan, sort the rest into keep, sell, donate, and discard, coordinate the movers, then unpack and set up the new place so the first night feels normal.
What it costs. Usually hourly, often with a flat estimate after a walkthrough. Cost tracks the size of the home and the volume of sorting, not the distance.
How long. Several weeks of planning, then the move itself. Good ones book out, so call early.
When it is right. The person is alive and moving into assisted living, a smaller home, or a family member’s house. The emotional work of deciding what to keep is the actual job, and doing it well is a skill.
The overlap, honestly
A lot of estates need two of these in sequence: a sale, then a cleanout of the leftovers. Some need a move manager first and an estate sale second, once the person is settled and the old house is empty of what mattered.
The sequence that costs the most money is running a sale that barely clears its minimum, paying a separate crew to haul the rest, then discovering the house was going to be sold as-is anyway to a buyer who would have taken it all. If selling the house is on the table at all, price that path before you hire anyone.
Your next step
Once you know which service you need, the directory lists companies in each category by area.