Guides · cleanout
The Executor's Guide to Clearing an NYC Apartment
Updated July 2026
Before anything leaves: documents and valuables
The first pass through the apartment is a search, not a cleanout. Wills, deeds, insurance policies, tax records, safe deposit keys, jewelry, and anything that looks like financial paperwork gets boxed and removed by family before any crew enters. Photograph rooms as you found them — executors answer to other beneficiaries, and a photo record of the apartment's original state settles arguments before they start. If the estate is going through probate, confirm with the attorney what you're authorized to remove and when; in contested situations, clearing too early creates real problems.
The building has rules about this too
A cleanout is a move in the building's eyes: the managing agent will want a COI from whatever company does the work, a freight elevator reservation, and work within service hours. Co-ops can be strict about estates — some require proof of the executor's authority before granting access at all. Call the managing agent early, get the requirements in writing, and hand them to your cleanout company. A crew that regularly works NYC buildings will treat this as routine paperwork; a crew that hesitates is the wrong crew.
Sort into four piles, not two
Keep, ship, donate, dispose — in that order. 'Keep' is what comes home with you. 'Ship' covers keepsakes going to relatives elsewhere: a professional crew can pack and ship these directly, which beats hauling boxes through airports. 'Donate' is furniture and housewares in genuinely sellable condition — the estate gets a receipt with real tax value. Only what's left is disposal. Families who start with two piles (keep/trash) reliably regret it; the four-pile system is how heirlooms avoid the dumpster and the estate captures donation value.
The timeline that actually works
Week one: documents, valuables, and the family walkthrough — everyone who wants to claim items does it now, with a deadline. Week two: the cleanout company's walkthrough and written flat quote, plus the building paperwork. Week three: the cleanout itself, usually one to three days, ending broom-clean for the management handover. Rent and maintenance charges keep accruing until the keys go back, so an open-ended 'we'll get to it' approach costs the estate real money every month. If you're managing this from out of state, everything above can run on video walkthroughs and photo inventories.