For Professional Referrers
For the Attorneys, Directors, and Managers Who Get Asked "What Do I Do With the House?"
Every family you work with eventually asks it. After the will is read, after the service, after the decision to move a parent, after the listing is priced. The question comes out the same way every time: what do I do with all the stuff?
You need a referral you can trust your reputation to. The default — a general junk hauler — isn't that. It leaves the family uncomfortable, and it reflects on you. I'd like to be an option on your list.
I'm Josh Eldred. I run the New Mexico Literacy Project — a one-person, for-profit estate cleanout operation working out of a warehouse on Edith and Montaño in the North Valley. Direct line: 702-496-4214.
Last verified May 2026 · Original research by Josh Eldred
Who I Serve Well
I'm a good fit for some situations and not others. Here's when I'd expect to do well for a family you refer:
- •Estates with significant books, papers, and photographs. This is the core of what I do. Most cleanout crews will dump a library and a file cabinet without a second look. I sort them.
- •Families clearing a parent's home for sale or listing prep. The house has to be empty and presentable by a date. I work to the date in writing.
- •Hoarder-adjacent situations that need patience and care. Not every job is this one, but I've done enough of them to know how to move at the family's pace without shaming anyone.
- •Estates with genealogical or historical material the family doesn't know how to value. Family Bibles, land grant papers, identified photographs, military correspondence, regional New Mexico material. I know what those are, and I route them appropriately.
- •Time-sensitive cases. Probate deadlines, listing deadlines, facility move-out dates. Give me the date and I'll tell you honestly whether I can meet it before either of us commits.
How I Protect Your Referral
You're vouching with every referral. I take that seriously. Here's what that looks like in practice:
- ✓Quotes in writing before any work begins. Scope, timeline, cost. Text or email. The family sees it and signs off before I touch a box.
- ✓No surprise charges. If the scope changes mid-job, I pause and re-quote. I don't hand the family a bigger bill at the end than what I agreed on at the start.
- ✓Heirloom Rescue. Personal and sentimental material — papers, photographs, family Bibles, letters, certificates — is set aside and offered back to the family before anything leaves the property.
- ✓I don't dump what the family didn't agree to dump. If something looks meaningful and wasn't on the discard list, it gets flagged and held until the family confirms.
- ✓One person, one phone. No franchise call center, no rotating crew, no junior staff sorting through someone's grandmother's letters. If I commit to a walkthrough, I show up myself.
- ✓I decline jobs that aren't a fit. When a family would be better served by a different specialist — a certified appraiser, a hoarding-specific crew, a specific historical archive — I say so and refer them onward. Overpromising protects no one.
By Profession
A few notes on how I work with each of the roles that typically refer estate cleanout work in Albuquerque.
Estate & probate attorneys
Deadline-aware, written quotes, clear scope control. I'm comfortable coordinating directly with your office when the family has given permission — schedule, walkthrough confirmation, and completion notice can all route through your paralegal if that's cleaner for you. If the estate has probate constraints I should know about, tell me up front and I'll keep my documentation appropriately clean for your file.
Funeral directors
Respectful timing, no pressure, no push. A family grieving in week one rarely wants to think about the house in week one. I'm ready when they are — whether that's a week, a month, or a year later. Pre-need conversations are welcome too; I'm glad to meet with a family before an estate situation becomes urgent, so they have a name and a number ready when they need it.
Senior move managers & geriatric care managers
I'm experienced with downsizing and comfortable working alongside an existing move plan. Phased cleanouts — pre-move sort, move-day clear, post-move full cleanout — are normal for me. If you already have the keep-and-move boxes identified, I handle the remainder without getting in the way of your workflow.
Hospice & elder care staff
Pre-need consultations are welcome — genuinely. A family with a plan in place before the cleanout becomes urgent has one less thing to figure out in the hardest week of their lives. I'm happy to meet with a family early, walk through the space, and leave them with a rough scope and no obligation.
Real estate agents
House-ready cleanouts on your timeline. Fast turnarounds when the listing is on a tight deadline, phased approaches when the family wants to keep optionality during the pre-list window. I support the listing process — I don't compete with it. My job ends when the house is empty and clean enough for photos and showings. I do not advise families on whether or how to sell the home, and I do not refer families to other buying or selling channels while an agent is involved. Your commission is safe when you refer a family to me.
Assisted living & CCRC directors
Experienced with move-outs of every kind: post-passing cleanouts, family-coordinated downsizing, and unit clears for families who live out of state. I work with your unit turnover calendar and I'm comfortable handling the full clear when the family can't be on-site. Written quote, scheduled day, photos on completion if that's useful for your records.
No Referral Fees. No Backscratching.
I do not pay referral fees, kickbacks, or commissions to attorneys, funeral directors, real estate agents, senior move managers, hospice staff, or any other licensed professional. Most of you have ethics rules against receiving them — including, for attorneys, the New Mexico Rules of Professional Conduct; for real estate agents, RESPA and state license rules; and for funeral directors and healthcare staff, their own codes of conduct. I respect those rules and I'm not going to put any of you in the position of having to politely refuse.
Referrals run in one direction: from you to me, based only on whether I'm the right fit for the family in front of you. If I'm not, don't send them. That's the whole arrangement, and it's the one that keeps your reputation clean and mine usable.
How to Refer
Four ways, ranging from zero effort to a little more, depending on how much hand-holding the family needs.
- Hand the family a card or one-pager. Download the one-pager (PDF) to print or email. Call or text and I'll drop printed copies and business cards at your office.
- Send them my number or website. 702-496-4214, newmexicoliteracyproject.org, or this page directly if they want context first.
- Call me yourself, with the family's permission. I'll pick it up from there and loop back to you on scheduling only if you asked to be kept in the loop.
- Three-way text or email introduction. Works particularly well when the family is out-of-state and you're the local trusted contact. One message, three names, and I take it from there.
Want to Meet Before You Send Anyone?
Reasonable. Vouching your reputation on a name you've never met isn't something I'd do either.
A 15-minute phone call is usually enough. A coffee near your office works too — I'll come to you. If you'd rather see the operation, the warehouse on Edith is open by appointment and I'll walk you through what actually happens to the material I haul. Whichever format fits your schedule, pick up the phone: 702-496-4214.
Related
Estate Cleanout (Main Service)
The full service page families will see. What's included, how the process works, areas served.
Probate Cleanout
Deadline-aware, documented for the estate file, attorney-coordinated. The page to send probate clients.
Estate Cleanout FAQ
Twenty straight answers for families. Good page to share when a client has basic questions.
For Estate Sale Companies
Peer-to-peer page for estate sale operators who need a post-sale cleanout partner.
Downsizing Help
For senior move managers, geriatric care managers, and assisted living staff.
Out-of-State Executors
For attorneys with out-of-state personal representatives. Remote-friendly workflow.