A Scarborough estate executor called us the day after probate was granted on their late aunt’s semi near Bellamy Road and Lawrence. The appraiser was booked for the following week, the listing agent wanted the property staging-ready, and the executor had a day job that did not stretch to packing a two-bedroom detached in person.
The Situation
The executor was coordinating from Oakville. The semi had been closed up for six months after the owner’s hospice admission and estate paperwork took longer than the family expected. The executor needed a crew that could operate independently, document the contents for the probate file, and return keys at a defined handoff. Discretion mattered - the family did not want neighbours knowing a cleanout was underway, and no one wanted truck decals or clipboard-holding staff in the driveway.
We dispatched an unmarked white van and a four-person crew in plain coveralls. The crew lead met the executor on arrival for a 15-minute walkthrough, received the keys and the family’s keep-donate-discard priorities, and the executor returned to Oakville to work.
The Scope
Scope landed at $6,500 to $11,000 for a Scarborough semi of this size, confirmed in a written CAD estimate on day one. Final invoice came in at $8,400 after an added day for keep-item inventory. ICD Level 2 classification given the volume but limited biohazard. Service type: full estate cleanout, HEPA decontamination, keep-donate-discard sorting, donation drop-off at Diabetes Canada, and a licensed carrier for landfill disposal.
Timeline: 4 days. Day one for assessment, documentation and the first disposal container. Days two and three for sorting, cleaning and donation hauls. Day four for HEPA negative-air cycling, surface disinfection and the final walkthrough.
The Process
- Day 1 - Documentation. Dated photos of every room from four angles. Executor-approved keep list (jewellery, photo albums, documents, two pieces of furniture) catalogued and locked in a trunk the executor collected directly.
- Day 2 - Sort and dispose. Keep-donate-discard sort complete. First 20-yard container filled with non-salvageable mattresses, upholstered furniture and particle-board that had absorbed six months of closed-up air. Donation vans ran twice to Diabetes Canada.
- Day 3 - Deep clean. Enzymatic treatment on all porous surfaces. HEPA vacuuming of carpets, baseboards and HVAC returns. Any surfaces with evidence of pest activity treated with a residual spray and documented.
- Day 4 - Verification and handoff. HEPA negative-air cycling for 12 hours. Hospital-grade disinfection with quaternary ammonium on hard surfaces. Executor walkthrough with the crew lead, keys returned at the lockbox, and the full documentation package emailed within 24 hours.
Written workmanship warranty, WSIB registered, $2M CGL, IICRC S540 certified.
The Outcome
Keys back to the executor on day four. The listing agent took staging photos the following Monday. The appraiser confirmed interior condition met the probate schedule’s “good interior” category, which protected the valuation. The donation receipts added $340 in family-elected charitable value to the estate record. The executor passed on our contact details to the family lawyer, who has since referred two additional probate properties.
The HEPA report, keep-item inventory, donation receipts and dated progress photos were all delivered as a single PDF package the executor could add to the probate file. For an executor coordinating remotely, that documentation is often the difference between a straightforward final accounting and a round of back-and-forth with the beneficiaries.
