With the present financial crisis that the world is experiencing, many businesses have closed down rather than continuously losing money. While others try to stay and just hope that the situation will become better soon. There are also some home-based businesses which start everyday and 50 percent of these do not survive during their first few years.

But with this situation, there are businesses whose activities are related to foreclosure and these are booming. While others are suffering, these businesses are making money out of the bad situation happening all around.

For instance, there are the realtors where they enjoy buying properties with selling prices way below the true market value. From the recent researches, the different businesses which are booming even with a recession are locksmiths, pool services and maintenance, grass painters, trash-outs, board-up professionals and property preservation companies.

Are the businesses mentioned above hard to do? Except may be for realtors, the rest are easy to manage and can be handled by any one else.

Let us take a closer look for each task:

Locksmiths – the locks of foreclosed properties are to be replaced. You can do this basic service or you may add other cleaning activities.

Pool services and maintenance – a foreclosed property with pool needs regular maintenance. There are some realtors and foreclosed companies that prefer to keep the pool drained or covered to avoid accidents and breeding of mosquitoes.

Grass painters – they are tasked to paint the lawns. Foreclosed properties with dying and brown lawns will not attract customers. Therefore the property owner has to maintain it so he needs the service of grass painters.

Trash outs – many of the foreclosed properties have junks and debris which are left by previous owner. To prepare it for the prospective clients, it needs cleaning services to make it ready for maintenance and repairs.

Board-up professionals – this service is important for a house that no one is staying in. They keep the exit and entrance points of the house closed to keep out stray animals and people. With this service, vandalism and squatters will also be avoided.

Property preservation companies – these are one-stop shops for the foreclosure companies. They offer all services pertaining to foreclosure cleaning. They basically conduct a regular maintenance for foreclosed properties.

After knowing the requirements of offering foreclosure cleaning, then you need to make connections with foreclosure companies and realtors. This is a very good strategy for you to have a regular cleaning service job.

When searching for realtors or foreclosure companies, it is important that you give competitive prices. For you to possibly do this, you must be aware with the competition in the market. Thus, you have to know these few things:

1. Who is the foreclosure cleaning provider of the foreclosure company
2. What services are offered by the said service provider
3. How much does the service provider charge for the cleaning services they offer

Tie Up with the Foreclosure Companies and Realtors

The realtors and foreclosure companies are always scouting for cleaning service providers and for the best deals which they can find. Always be reminded that these people are profit oriented and the service of a good cleaning job will further increase their potential income.

After your research, you can pass the following: company profile; services offered; list of your existing clients; and your proposal for the specific need of the foreclosure company. Do not limit yourself in giving a proposal to a single company. Remember, you need to advertise to make your service known in the market.

Your proposal must be well written to make it look professional. With your first attempt to a foreclosure company, your profile is very important to attract your client. You have to pass proposals to both big and small realtors to cover both market ends for a greater opportunity to have cleaning jobs. Bear in mind that the realtors and foreclosure companies need basic cleaning services to increase the value of the property that they are selling.

Be sure you have a complete cleaning list when you are already drafting your proposal including the description of the service that you will do.

Documentation in Cleaning

It very important to indicate in your proposal the details of the scope of cleaning that your business offers. With this, it will become transparent for the billing which reflects a professional attitude with your work.

Here is the sample checklist of different tasks which you may include:

I. House Cleaning

A. in all the areas
• polishing and dusting of the furniture
• cleaning, dusting, and polishing the windows and also the draperies of windows and the floors
• vacuuming all carpeted areas and area rugs
• cleaning all the mounted mirrors
• freshening and deodorizing the area

B. in the Kitchen
• polishing and cleaning all fixtures and appliances
• sanitizing and cleaning the sinks, cabinets, countertops, and cupboards
• polishing and cleaning the floors whether it is made of tiles, vinyl or wood

C. in the Bathrooms
• polishing and cleaning the walls and floors
• sanitizing, de-liming and cleaning the toilets, sinks, shower areas, and bathtubs
• polishing and cleaning the metal fixtures like pipes and faucets
• polishing and cleaning the mirrors

II. Lawn and Pool Area Cleaning

A. in the Lawn
• cutting and watering the lawn edge and maintaining the lawn regularly
• trimming the trees, hedges, flowerbeds, and weeds if needed
• grass painting

B. in the Pool
• draining of the pool
• cleaning and de-liming the tiles
• cleaning, maintaining regularly the filled-up pools, and covering

III. Repairing and Inspecting
• Checking the floors, interior walls, and the other fixtures for some damages or peeling paint
• Repainting
• Checking for cracks on the floors and exterior walls
• Checking the alignment of the gutters
• Checking and cleaning the fireplace and chimney
• Checking and repairing damaged or loose roof shingles
• Checking and changing the locks of doors and windows
• Boarding-up the access points

IV. Storage and De-Cluttering
• Throwing the trash and de-cluttering all the rooms in the house
• Storing excess furniture and other stuff (this commands additional fee)

With these, you can offer also other services like preparing a house for the coming winter, checking and treating termites and pests, or pressure washing,

See: How to start a cleaning business