Selling everything in a home is no simple task, and just the thought can leave folks feeling completely overwhelmed. Enter the estate sale.
An estate sale or estate liquidation is a sale or auction to dispose of a substantial portion of the belongings/property owned by a person who must dispose of their personal property to facilitate a move, or one who is recently deceased.
The advantages of using an estate sales company are a compressed sale timeline, expert pricing and analysis, and a large network of buyers following estate sales on a regular basis. A good estate sale company will be able to stage and price the items in a home in one to four days depending on the size of the crew and the number of pieces in the home.
Here’s how we can help our clients prep for a successful estate sale.
1. Decide What Stays and What Goes
What can be sold at an estate sale? Almost everything. Estate sales professionals can help you sell everything from kitchenware to fine china, utilitarian furniture to fine antiques, bicycles to cars, and costume jewelry to gold and silver.
Make sure you have a general idea about what you would like to keep. Treasure hunt in the home prior to an estate sale consultation. This includes everything in attics and crawl spaces. You can run into problems when the consultants begin to clear out these spaces and the client failed to realize what was in the attic boxes and wants to keep items. If there are any storage units, safety deposit boxes, or things laying around at a relative or friend’s garage, let the estate sale representative know what they will be adding to the sale as well. If you have photos, even better!
2. Plan Moveouts Prior to Sale
Move out before the estate sale team sets up. Take the items you want, and leave everything else for the sale. A buffer day is strongly recommended to tie up any loose ends.
Also, you should have your movers relocate any oversized items to the first floor. Large pieces tend to sell better when they’re easily removed, including:
- Entertainment centers
- Large desks
- Sleeper sofas
- Treadmills/exercise equipment
- Pianos
2. Provide Extra Information About Items Around the Home
It’s not required, but it can be extremely useful to have any and all information about specialty or designer items. Providing information about what you originally paid for something as well as any paperwork or knowledge on designer and brand name items such as jewelry, clothing, rugs, furniture, or artwork are all helpful in determining fair market value and the promotion of the sale. Items that have been signed by or belonged to someone well known always need authentication of provenance.
3. Remove Any Personal Items
Everyone has personal documents and items floating around. Gather up anything that has personally identifiable information on it, such as social security cards, military documents, medical bills, family photos, birth certificates, passports, licenses, pay stubs, prescription drugs, and any other items that may feature sensitive information and remove them from the home.
4. Point Out Potential Hazards
In the process of preparing the house for sale, if the homeowner points out some potential hazards, such as a loose stair or a low doorway, it’s important to share this information to help keep both team members and customers safe in the home. Even better, make those maintenance fixes prior to the estate sale.
5. Clear Out
In the same way that it’s difficult for a real estate agent to sell a home with the owner present, it’s a challenge to run a successful estate sale if the owner is hanging around. It’s best if everyone leaves the house and lets the professionals sell.
A professional estate sale isn’t the right call for all homes. In fact, a reputable estate sale company should not accept all clients. If you’re looking to downsize, or serving as an executor / administrator of an estate and need to liquidate personal belongings, we recommend bring in an estate sale professional for a free consultation. They will quickly be able to assess whether the items will cause shoppers to form a line down the street or if alternative solutions need to be presented.
If you, or someone you know is considering Buying or Selling a Home in Columbus, Ohio please give us a call and we’d be happy to assist you!
The Opland Group Specializes in Real Estate Sales, Luxury Home Sales, Short Sales in; Bexley 43209 Columbus 43201 43206 43214 43215 Delaware 43015 Downtown Dublin 43016 43017 Gahanna 43219 43230 Grandview Heights 43212 Galena 43021 Hilliard 43026 Lewis Center 43035 New Albany 43054 Pickerington 43147 Polaris Powell 43065 Upper Arlington 43220 43221 Westerville 43081 43082 Worthington 43235
