House clearance in Seine-et-Marne (77): houses, barns and outbuildings

More space, so more belongings

Seine-et-Marne is the largest department in Île-de-France: it covers nearly half of the region, to the east of Paris. Houses there are often bigger than at the gates of Paris: village houses, old farms, properties with gardens, barns and outbuildings. The more room there is, the more people keep. So a clearance there needs good preparation.

Very often, a house like this is emptied after a death. In that case, our page on antique dealing for estates explains how we support heirs.

What we look at in a large house

We go all the way round with you: living rooms, bedrooms, attic, cellar, garage, barn, workshop. Every space is seen before we give you our valuation. We spot what has resale value: period furniture, clocks, paintings, porcelain, jewellery, coins, and silver, which turns up in many family houses.

Silver: solid or plated?

A cutlery set in its case, a dish, a christening cup: before sorting them, you need to know whether they are solid silver or silver plate. On French silver, the Minerva head has been the hallmark for solid silver since 1838. Silver plate carries other marks, often the maker's.

Do not rub the pieces with an abrasive product before we come. We explain how we value them on our antique silver valuation page, and how to read the marks in our article on silver hallmarks.

What we buy is taken off the clearance price

The principle is simple. We set the price of the clearance, then take off the value of what we buy. If that covers the cost, emptying the property costs you nothing. The details are on our house clearance page.

Furniture and objects still in good condition that we do not buy are passed on to charities: Emmaüs, Secours catholique, the Armée du Salut, or a local reuse centre. What cannot be used again is sorted, then taken to the tip or sent for recycling. Cleaning can be planned at the end, if the house has to be handed back clean.

Far from Paris, travel is still free

Provins, Nemours, Coulommiers or Château-Landon: distance changes nothing, the visit and the valuation remain free. For a large property, we suggest sending us a few photos of each room and the outbuildings on WhatsApp first. That way we arrive knowing what to expect. If the house is for sale, contact us before setting the signing date: you keep the time to sort things without rushing.

Preparing for the visit

• Open all the doors, including those of the outbuildings and the attic.
• Plan for light in the barns and cellars.
• Gather the silver and jewellery in one room if you can.
• Tell us what you want to keep, or what is already promised to a relative.

From Meaux to Nemours, the towns we cover

Meaux, Chelles, Melun, Pontault-Combault, Savigny-le-Temple, Champs-sur-Marne, Torcy, Noisiel, Lagny-sur-Marne, Thorigny-sur-Marne, Bussy-Saint-Georges, Serris, Chessy, Villeparisis, Mitry-Mory, Claye-Souilly, Roissy-en-Brie, Ozoir-la-Ferrière, Tournan-en-Brie, Brie-Comte-Robert, Combs-la-Ville, Dammarie-les-Lys, Le Mée-sur-Seine, Fontainebleau, Avon, Barbizon, Moret-Loing-et-Orvanne, Montereau-Fault-Yonne, Nemours, Nangis, Provins, Coulommiers and Château-Landon.

If you are in Paris one weekend, come and say hello at our stand at the Puces de Vanves flea market.

For a house clearance in Seine-et-Marne, call 06 24 56 38 58 (+33 6 24 56 38 58 from abroad) or send your photos on WhatsApp. The free visit is then set around your availability.