Oak Park’s Marion Matas was a seasoned real estate agent in town when he decided to start his own business. Call it a midlife career change, a reaction to the recession which hit the real estate industry hard, or some combination of the two, but for Matas the move was perfect timing.
“I saw a need for this kind of service. The real estate business was slow at the time, and I had a lot of relationships through the real estate community in town. I know them, they trust me, and I thought about how I could service their needs. At that time, it was a buyers’ market and people wanted a house cleaned out before they would consider buying it.”Â
Right place, right time
Matas had been working as a real estate agent long enough to recognize the trends in the market. When the economic recession of 2008 slowed sales of area homes to a crawl, he looked around and realized that the desires of homebuyers were changing. Unlike the fast-sale days when a seller could simply list a house and have a bevy of interested buyers knocking on the door, putting a home up for sale was requiring more preparation and presentation work.
“In the past, home sellers would leave stuff in the house. Removing junk and debris was expensive, so they often didn’t do it in order to sell. Buyers would have to look past it.”
Once there were more sellers than buyers, the latter could afford to be picky and showed a decided preference for homes that were clean and move-in ready.
Matas noted that a lot of his clients are longtime homeowners who have slowly been filling their homes with belongings over the course of a lifetime. Their real estate agents might recommend they declutter before listing their home, and that’s where Metro Junk Removal comes in.
With the bulk of referrals coming from real estate professionals, Matas, with his years of experience in the industry, has a leg up on understanding what needs to go in order to help a home look the best for a sale. Whether it’s old carpeting, large items of furniture or boxes of old holiday decorations, his crew sweeps in and removes unneeded items.
Personalized service
Matas set up his business to be more than just a trash removal system, recognizing the unique needs of a clientele that were readying for moves, home sales or downsizing. He offers free estimates and helps with all aspects of a move.
“We organize, sort and offer moving preparation at an hourly rate,” he said. “Our junk removal is based on volume. We donate what we can, which eliminates dumping fees and is good for the environment. We try to trash as little as possible.”
While other donation services might take reusable furniture items or used clothing, Metro Junk Removal doesn’t discriminate about type of junk, Matas stressed.Â
“People are always asking if we take furniture or electronics, and the answer is always, ‘Yeah, and we take it to the appropriate place.’ One advantage to our services is that we take care of everything at the same time, on your schedule.”
Keeping clients happy is a big part of the business, and Matas makes sure all of his employees represent his ideals. “My team is the face of the business. They care about people and care about homes. It’s hard, physical work, so I look to find good people. We’re insured and my guys have workers comp. and they’re careful. You don’t want people who are going to bang up your home. We get repeat business because of the customer service.”
Beyond junk
As the business has grown, serving the entire Chicago area, and with repeat customers calling from as far away as Wisconsin, Matas sees a business expansion as a natural progression from his original junk removal plans.
Metro Junk Removal often works with clients pre-sale to move furniture for staging purposes or estate sales. The company also helps out before and after home remodels, moving furniture when floors need refinishing, or clearing out the old before a kitchen remodel. A lot of clients were asking them to come in before a move to help with packing and organizing — before the movers came.
“We do a lot of junk removal,” Matas said, “but people need more. They need help packing, sorting and donating. A lot of people need management of their move.”
From senior citizens who are downsizing to busy young professionals, Matas sees a need for a one-stop shop. As he looks into getting his moving license, he is expanding the moving preparation side of his business based on the needs of his current customers.
“If you have a messy basement or garage,” he said, “we can organize it and crate it so it looks nice and neat and organized when you show and sell the home. Then when you go to move, it’s already packed up.”
Peace of mind
Customer Dianne Risch found Metro Junk Removal’s service invaluable when her family moved within Oak Park last year.Â
“We had some built-ins in the family room,” she noted. “We didn’t want them, and they were heavy. Metro Junk Removal came in and dismantled them and removed them. We also had a lot of stuff left by the previous owners. I called Marion and his guys came out the next day and did everything. They made it really simple.”
Matas said his aim is to leave his clients feeling better at the end of the day.Â
“People always feel relief after we’re there. Clutter is very stressful. We see those feelings that junk is a burden to people. Our motto is ‘clearing mind and space,’ and I think we deliver on that.”