Chicago buyers do one thing at every showing: they open the basement door. In a city of hundred-year buildings, the basement is where the truth lives — and a packed one reads as a building hiding something. The pre-listing clear is the cheapest credibility in the sale: pieces from $75, rooms $241, the whole house $732 per truck, usually within 48 hours.
Agent or seller — one photo set, flat quote in seconds
Upload Photos & Get Quote →| Step | Who | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Keep / sell / toss decisions | Seller | As early as possible |
| 2 · Estate sale / consignment | Seller (sale companies want the house full) | Before any clear |
| 3 · The junk clear | Us — everything from step 1's "toss" pile | 2–3 days before the shoot |
| 4 · Deep clean | Cleaners, on an empty canvas | Day before |
| 5 · Stage & shoot | Agent / photographer | Listing day |
Run it without your seller lifting a box: send the photos, get the flat quote, book against the shoot date, point the invoice where the parties agreed. Vacant and inherited listings go fully remote through the estate flow — per-room photos when done, receipts for the file. And because pricing is flat and published, no estimate visit ever lands in the middle of your deal.
Free, no signup — flat quote from photos, booked to the shoot date
Upload Photos & Get Quote →Before the photos, yes — the shoot is the one day the home must look like storage is abundant, and photos of packed rooms follow the listing to every buyer's phone. Agents stage what stays; we remove what shouldn't be in frame. Pieces from $75, a room's worth $241, a whole pre-listing clear $732 per 16-cubic-yard truck — usually schedulable within 48 hours of the photos.
The basement, always — in a city of century-old buildings it's where buyers look for water history, foundation truth, and mechanicals. A packed basement can't be read, and what can't be read gets priced pessimistically. Inspectors need the same access. Clearing it ($241–$732 by volume) is one of the cheapest credibility purchases in a Chicago sale — often the difference between 'well-maintained two-flat' and 'what are they hiding down there?'
The working sequence: keep/sell/toss decisions first, estate sale or consignment second (sale companies want the house full), the junk clear third — landing 2–3 days before the shoot — deep clean fourth on the empty canvas, then stage and shoot. Flat photo-quoted pricing means no estimate visit to schedule around.
Constantly — an agent sends the photos, gets the flat quote, books the window against the shoot date, and points the invoice wherever the parties agreed. Vacant and inherited listings run fully remote alongside the estate-cleanout flow, with per-room photos when it's done.