What are some questions I should ask and things to look out for when trying to find company to do an estate sale for me? What is the average charge or percentage that they take?
If you have the time try to go to some being held in your area. Normally now is a good time of year if this virus doesn't halt interest. I lived a little north of NYC for many years and went to many. I knew who was best suited for the type of house and contents. There were a couple of companies that made no sense. Their prices were way too high and there was so much left at the end of the sale which is clearly not the point. At least one other one had very unpleasant people. These ones had clearly been doing them for too long.
Where do you live? Go to Estatesales.net and check out the estate sales in your zip code (once you punch it in). See who the companies are in your area, and who's putting on the most sales. In the Denver area, Prestige is a great company and they normally clean OUT the person's home during a 3 or 4 day sale, depending upon the amount that needs to be sold off. They normally take about 40% of the total that's brought in for the entire sale. They do know their antiques and they do look things up for value, but Estate sale companies, as a rule, are not appraisers. You don't want to spend $150/hr for an appraiser, either, so you hire an estate sale company with a very good reputation (look them up on Google & Yelp), take what you get, and that's it. Again, the value of an item is what someone is willing to pay for it at any given time. I shop estate sales every single Saturday & I sell on eBay. So I know about value being kind of a crap shoot in most cases.
You can look up values of certain items yourself on eBay in the sold category. Keep in mind that furniture is very hard to get rid of and goes for very little money, as a rule.
Depending on where you live, again, you can call Everything But The House which is an online auction company. They only operate in certain cities, however, so you can look them up at EBTH.com to see if your city is on their list. They will come to your home, load up their truck, and sell everything online to an international audience. They too take upwards of 45%, but the gross should be higher since they have a much larger audience. An estate sale company only captures the local audience while EBTH has a worldwide audience. Again, it also depends on what types of things you have to sell. Is there a wide ranging appeal and desire for your loved one's things? Is it just average or really great stuff?
So........you do have options. Wishing you the best of luck moving forward!
Subsequent thoughts on estate disposals.... I wanted to donate as opposed to selling my father's woodworking and shop tools. I found 2 local woodworking schools, one with a stronger focus on metallurgy. One was an Appalachian style school, with a variety of basic courses in metallurgy, broommaking, woodcarving, etc. The other had a similar scope of classes but also set aside one day for Veterans only.
Both were 501(c)(3) organizations, so I could take a donation credit instead of reporting income, and that credit could help offset the Trust taxes.
SadExecutor, the point you made about the cost perhaps equaling or exceeding the value of the contents is a critical factor. If you're not getting any money out of it, donate to charity.
If you have "iffy" items, they'll be frank when they come for a pickup and tell you that it's not something that could be resold. But have other things that are in good condition so the charity doesn't waste the cost and time of a planned pickup.
I really lucked out when I disposed of my sister's household contents after she died. I found a local Veteran's organization that came into the house and took everything out...a dresser, couch, workout equipment and pool table in the basement (treadmill, and other items I can't remember now.)
When I was contacting various companies to haul things from my father's property, I was surprised when a few told me that they saw valuable antiques. Thinking about it, I did realize that at least a few of the items might be candidates for a museum of early 20th Century appliances.
I think the benefit and marketing technique that some of the estate companies capitalize and/or exploit are the facts that the family is still in mourning and the task of emptying out a house is an emotional one.
Had to chuckle about the museum of early 20th century appliances :) Ah, back when companies made appliances to last 30 to 40 years. And those wonderful colors of Harvest Gold, Avocado Green, and Coppertone.
I forgot about Auction people. But like said, don't expect to get a lot for the stuff. Like Freqflyer said people don't collect anymore. Look at Longaberger baskets. They priced themselves right out of business. Those baskets that you paid $100 for, lucky if you get $25 for. They are all over the Facebook yardsale sites. At private yardsales they go cheap.
Whoops I got the terms mixed up in my post about estate agents! Perhaps those comments may be relevant when OP gets to the stage of selling the house.
Where I live a ‘sale’ of items would probably be very distressing for the vendor. People expect things to be very very cheap, like a car boot or garage sale. Of course you can tell yourself that you have found bargains in the past, so it has to be other people’s turn sometimes.
My own choice would be to put larger items on Market Place (called Gumtree here, these terms are a trial!), and anything small and postable on Ebay. You do stand a chance of finding someone who collects and appreciates things.
Ask what range of items they're most comfortable with selling. When I was considering one, I asked that, including how much experience they had with technical items, such as woodshop tools, even though I hadn't plan to sell the tools that way and in fact already had two charitable woodworking schools to which I planned to donate the tools.
But I did want to get an estimate. The initial contact danced her way around the issue and said someone would come out, meet, explain, etc., etc., but couldn't or wouldn't respond as to whether they could handle or assess woodshop tools.
She kept talking about towels and doilies, things I could donate to charity myself, which was another plan for the smaller, more domestic items.
Thought about it a bit then cancelled the interview. I found someone else who handled industrial sales who knew the difference between a screw driver and a drill.
Before any sale, remove EVERYTHING that's valuable. A relative had an estate sale which he and his wife managed, and found that roping off rooms didn't stop snoopers, one of whom had climbed over the rope and gotten into a private chest and dug out an heirloom military uniform that wasn't for sale.
Make sure you get everything they charge for in a contract/agreement so there's no quibbling afterwards.
Another issue which I found peculiar is that the company mentioned taking everything back to their storage facility and selling it there. That wasn't what I had in mind.
And ask for references, number of sales they've held, etc.
Interview two or three agents and compare what they tell you. My DH and I have done four sales in the last 10 years. We have had one agent who advised a price substantially less than the others, and it became obvious later that the guy was a crook who had a friend all lined up for a bargain. There are also agents who advise a very high price to get the deal, then when it doesn’t sell they tell you to drop the price to about what the others have estimated. And you’ve wasted time, as well as missing the advantages of it being ‘new on the market’. Agents are friendly but are NOT your instant friend - keep your wits about you.
Check the money. Around here one company advertises that they don’t charge for advertising - no sale, no cost. They don’t mention that their commission percentage is the highest around. Check commission rates. If you think you may know a buyer yourselves, check the contract - it may say that you pay the agent even though you did it all without their help.
Check any advice to go to auction. It allows the agent to spend a lot on advertising, which can be more about advertising themselves rather than the house. And the agents often get a kickback, so the amount you pay for advertising is more than they actually get charged.
Ask if they have already got a list of people who are looking for a house like the one you are selling. A good agent can do well without even advertising. We’ve had two properties sold like this – one to someone on the agent’s list for a house in that location, another to a buyer whose name the agent took at another property inspection. Both sales were very quick, and the buyer was delighted to have a ‘pre-advertising opportunity’.
Have a look at the property and think what sort of people are likely to buy it (the market segment, is the jargon). When we sold my MIL’s house, we took out all the furniture and hired a ‘house dresser’ who brought in new furniture, even pictures. She owned a complete set of everything, even an inflatable bed that looked great with her doona etc. It completely changed the look of the house, from ‘old lady’ to ‘young trendy’, and it cost less than a thousand dollars – well worth it.
There are good books in the library about 'presentation'. Declutter, it makes the rooms look bigger. De-personalise, no photos or things that make it 'your house' not 'their house'. Repaint the front door. Well worth a read, there's lots of this sort of advice.
When it was time to empty my parents house, I had a difficult time trying to find someone to even come out to look at the inventory. Turned out if the furniture didn't come from Buckingham Palace or the paintings weren't by van Gogh, the estate companies weren't interested.... [sigh]. Thus, I donated what I could, and trashed the rest.
My boss, when it was time to empty his house, he had an auction company come out and gather up everything. He was so surprised on how little he got from the auction sale. Apparently people weren't all that interested in the items or the timing just wasn't right.
People today just aren't collecting like they use to do. I use to go to estate sales to look for Fostoria glassware. Did that for decades. But when the time came to part with my collection and my late Mom's collection, I couldn't find any buyers, so I donated it.
I hope if you do find an estate sale group that everything goes as plan :)
Thank you. I spoke to one person already who wants $150 an hour for appraisal or some kind of package deal. I feel it's going to cost more to hire someone to do this estate sale than the actual worth of what's in the house ugh
It would depend on what you need. When my MIL was deemed not able to come back to her home, a local woman was hired to set up the house and run the sale. She came highly recommended and did a great job.
We and another set of in-laws had been trading off weeks to spend with MIL while she was in rehab later to decide where she was going to live. We went thru the house and cleaned out what was not saleable. MIL had one closet full to the first shelf, magazines. Bags of trash were found in a dresser. That had to be gone thru to see if anything important had been thrown away. She sewed, so I got all that together in one place. Straightened up closets. We both took what we wanted. I straightened up cabinets getting rid of old spices and food. Cleaned out the frig.
When the estate lady came in, things were pretty much ready for her to set up. I think she took 30 or 40% on the money made. (I would have given her 50% she did such a good job) My BIL then paid her $300 to clean an empty house. She also got rid of what didn't sell to thrift shops.
For you, I would take an inventory. Especially the things worth some money. This way, what they sell should agree with ur inventory. Such as you list a Lenox bowl but its not shown on the sale list or is in the house. This means it got sold or it was stolen. Remember, people will be walking thru the house. Maybe thats a question to ask, will there be people stationed through out the house to stem stealing.
I think hiring someone is the best way to go. Yardsales everyone is looking for a cheap deal and its time consuming. I stopped having them.
Great suggestions, would also add that in my neck of the woods, there are different companies that specialize in say top of the line versus run of the mill, and would say try to find what matches with you. Also, see how much advertising they do
If and this might be a big IF... Today and maybe next weekend look for some Estate Sales run by different companies. Visit them and see how they are run, how organized, how they monitor the house. Talk to the employees and see what they say then ask if the owner is there. Talk to them. Look on line for reviews. Check the BBB to see if they are listed (know that not all businesses list with the BBB)
You can look up values of certain items yourself on eBay in the sold category. Keep in mind that furniture is very hard to get rid of and goes for very little money, as a rule.
Depending on where you live, again, you can call Everything But The House which is an online auction company. They only operate in certain cities, however, so you can look them up at EBTH.com to see if your city is on their list. They will come to your home, load up their truck, and sell everything online to an international audience. They too take upwards of 45%, but the gross should be higher since they have a much larger audience. An estate sale company only captures the local audience while EBTH has a worldwide audience. Again, it also depends on what types of things you have to sell. Is there a wide ranging appeal and desire for your loved one's things? Is it just average or really great stuff?
So........you do have options. Wishing you the best of luck moving forward!
Both were 501(c)(3) organizations, so I could take a donation credit instead of reporting income, and that credit could help offset the Trust taxes.
If you have "iffy" items, they'll be frank when they come for a pickup and tell you that it's not something that could be resold. But have other things that are in good condition so the charity doesn't waste the cost and time of a planned pickup.
I really lucked out when I disposed of my sister's household contents after she died. I found a local Veteran's organization that came into the house and took everything out...a dresser, couch, workout equipment and pool table in the basement (treadmill, and other items I can't remember now.)
When I was contacting various companies to haul things from my father's property, I was surprised when a few told me that they saw valuable antiques. Thinking about it, I did realize that at least a few of the items might be candidates for a museum of early 20th Century appliances.
I think the benefit and marketing technique that some of the estate companies capitalize and/or exploit are the facts that the family is still in mourning and the task of emptying out a house is an emotional one.
Where I live a ‘sale’ of items would probably be very distressing for the vendor. People expect things to be very very cheap, like a car boot or garage sale. Of course you can tell yourself that you have found bargains in the past, so it has to be other people’s turn sometimes.
My own choice would be to put larger items on Market Place (called Gumtree here, these terms are a trial!), and anything small and postable on Ebay. You do stand a chance of finding someone who collects and appreciates things.
But I did want to get an estimate. The initial contact danced her way around the issue and said someone would come out, meet, explain, etc., etc., but couldn't or wouldn't respond as to whether they could handle or assess woodshop tools.
She kept talking about towels and doilies, things I could donate to charity myself, which was another plan for the smaller, more domestic items.
Thought about it a bit then cancelled the interview. I found someone else who handled industrial sales who knew the difference between a screw driver and a drill.
Before any sale, remove EVERYTHING that's valuable. A relative had an estate sale which he and his wife managed, and found that roping off rooms didn't stop snoopers, one of whom had climbed over the rope and gotten into a private chest and dug out an heirloom military uniform that wasn't for sale.
Make sure you get everything they charge for in a contract/agreement so there's no quibbling afterwards.
Another issue which I found peculiar is that the company mentioned taking everything back to their storage facility and selling it there. That wasn't what I had in mind.
And ask for references, number of sales they've held, etc.
Check the money. Around here one company advertises that they don’t charge for advertising - no sale, no cost. They don’t mention that their commission percentage is the highest around. Check commission rates. If you think you may know a buyer yourselves, check the contract - it may say that you pay the agent even though you did it all without their help.
Check any advice to go to auction. It allows the agent to spend a lot on advertising, which can be more about advertising themselves rather than the house. And the agents often get a kickback, so the amount you pay for advertising is more than they actually get charged.
Ask if they have already got a list of people who are looking for a house like the one you are selling. A good agent can do well without even advertising. We’ve had two properties sold like this – one to someone on the agent’s list for a house in that location, another to a buyer whose name the agent took at another property inspection. Both sales were very quick, and the buyer was delighted to have a ‘pre-advertising opportunity’.
Have a look at the property and think what sort of people are likely to buy it (the market segment, is the jargon). When we sold my MIL’s house, we took out all the furniture and hired a ‘house dresser’ who brought in new furniture, even pictures. She owned a complete set of everything, even an inflatable bed that looked great with her doona etc. It completely changed the look of the house, from ‘old lady’ to ‘young trendy’, and it cost less than a thousand dollars – well worth it.
There are good books in the library about 'presentation'. Declutter, it makes the rooms look bigger. De-personalise, no photos or things that make it 'your house' not 'their house'. Repaint the front door. Well worth a read, there's lots of this sort of advice.
Good luck!
My boss, when it was time to empty his house, he had an auction company come out and gather up everything. He was so surprised on how little he got from the auction sale. Apparently people weren't all that interested in the items or the timing just wasn't right.
People today just aren't collecting like they use to do. I use to go to estate sales to look for Fostoria glassware. Did that for decades. But when the time came to part with my collection and my late Mom's collection, I couldn't find any buyers, so I donated it.
I hope if you do find an estate sale group that everything goes as plan :)
We and another set of in-laws had been trading off weeks to spend with MIL while she was in rehab later to decide where she was going to live. We went thru the house and cleaned out what was not saleable. MIL had one closet full to the first shelf, magazines. Bags of trash were found in a dresser. That had to be gone thru to see if anything important had been thrown away. She sewed, so I got all that together in one place. Straightened up closets. We both took what we wanted. I straightened up cabinets getting rid of old spices and food. Cleaned out the frig.
When the estate lady came in, things were pretty much ready for her to set up. I think she took 30 or 40% on the money made. (I would have given her 50% she did such a good job) My BIL then paid her $300 to clean an empty house. She also got rid of what didn't sell to thrift shops.
For you, I would take an inventory. Especially the things worth some money. This way, what they sell should agree with ur inventory. Such as you list a Lenox bowl but its not shown on the sale list or is in the house. This means it got sold or it was stolen. Remember, people will be walking thru the house. Maybe thats a question to ask, will there be people stationed through out the house to stem stealing.
I think hiring someone is the best way to go. Yardsales everyone is looking for a cheap deal and its time consuming. I stopped having them.
Today and maybe next weekend look for some Estate Sales run by different companies.
Visit them and see how they are run, how organized, how they monitor the house. Talk to the employees and see what they say then ask if the owner is there. Talk to them.
Look on line for reviews.
Check the BBB to see if they are listed (know that not all businesses list with the BBB)