Maintaining Foreclosures: A Business Opportunity

The high number of foreclosures has created a demand for third party companies offering cleaning and maintenance services. If you wish to tap into this well of opportunity, you can start by setting your sights on mortgage lenders and banks. These companies maintain a large number of foreclosed properties that have yet to be sold to the market. A good number of these homes will probably stay in the market for a long time before some buyer comes along. In the meantime, these homes will start to deteriorate and get dirty if they will not be property maintained. Sourcing Clients The first thing a foreclosures cleaning service has to have is a list of mortgage providers, banks and asset management companies. These are the ones that outsource the cleaning and maintenance of their inventory of properties. But some companies may require that their contractor be insured, bonded and licensed. Companies dealing with foreclosures will need your scope of work and cost estimates before they sign a deal with you, so you need to outline packages for your service. You can establish a network of subcontractors, including, carpenters, painters, locksmiths, and electricians. You should also be familiar with the dumping requirements in the area where you plan to operate. You can definitely start small, especially if you have also been hit by the recent recession. You can start by just cleaning and clearing out debris and once you have stabilized your operations, you can add other services like minor repairs or fixing plumbing and electrical wirings or changing the locks and securing the property. A small business like this is not capital intensive as long as you have subcontractors for special tasks. As the number of foreclosures balloon throughout the years, there is sure to be a lot business coming your way as home sellers compete for buyers by selling decent and livable properties. Oftentimes, foreclosed properties are left with all the trash of the former occupants simply lying around the property. Sometimes former owners go out of their way to destroy parts of the property as they vent out their frustration over losing their home. This is the reason why cleaning services are fast becoming a hot commodity in the market these days.