Purchasing a home that needs to be stripped to the bones and rebuilt can be a lot of work, but you want to make sure you capitalize on what was left behind. The old house may not have a lot of value to you when you buy it, but taking in all the scrap metal you can find can help you get some cash for the materials that have to be removed anyways.

Take a close look around the property. Here are some of the things to know when you want to take as much to the scrap yard as possible.

Grab the Top Aluminum Items

There are many items in the old house that may be composed of aluminum. This includes products such as:

• Metal chairs
• Gutters
• Siding
• Fencing
• Old appliances
• Lawn equipment
• Window frames

Get a full list of items accepted from your local scrap metal yard to make sure you aren't missing any scrap metal pieces that are laying around the old house.

Use a Magnet to Weed Out Waste

An easy way to test if the aluminum is worth taking to the scrap metal shop is to use a magnet. This can be any type of magnet, even one that you use on your home refrigerator. If the magnet sticks to the metal, this means the metal is ferrous. Ferrous metal isn't valuable, so you want to take in the items that don't hold the magnet.

Consider Other Metals in the House

Although aluminum is often the easiest to find and scrap in older homes, there are other opportunities as well. Copper wiring and plumbing are very valuable, and you may find solid metal lighting fixtures, door handles, and other hardware. Walk around the property with a metal detector, if needed, to find hidden metals in areas of the home.

If you have so much aluminum scrap that you can't get it to the scrap yard on your own, you'll want to see if the recycling center has a service that you can use so they can come pick it up. If not, you will have to rent a truck or trailer or find someone that will do the hauling for you for a fee.

Not only does cashing in on your scrap metal in the old house help to put money into your wallet, but it also ensures that the metal is recycled properly and kept out of a landfill. Go through the house thoroughly before you start to renovate and get all the metal you can.

Contact a local scrap yard to learn more about aluminum scrap recycling.