Estate sale household items
When dealing with downsizing, a transition, or the loss of a loved one, many families turn to estate sale professionals to help clear a home. From antiques and artwork to furniture and knickknacks, estate sale companies can take on the stress of pricing and selling your stuff so you don’t have to lift a finger.
But before you call the estate sale pros, it’s important to understand the ins and outs of hosting an estate sale (keep en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estate_sale open if you’re going to need the details), from the prep work to the cleanup.
Know What the Estate Sale Team Will Handle
While every company is a little different, estate sale professionals generally handle every aspect of the sale, including:
- Conducting an on-site walkthrough of your home to determine what can be sold (furniture, décor, dishes, clothing, tools, collections, household items, etc.) and what will require special attention (important papers, medications, guns, hazardous materials, etc.)
- Staging the items for sale
- Researching the value of collectibles and other unique pieces
- Pricing the items
- Setting up and decorating the home
- Grouping related items together
- Hosting the sale
- Taking payments
- Keeping track of sold items
- Removing unsold items
- Hauling away unwanted items
- Donating items
- Recycling items
Not sure about leaving the pricing to the professionals? Keep in mind that household items don’t always follow the same rules as pricing at a store. Age, demand, condition, completeness and many other factors can affect the value of an item. Plus, in an estate sale, professionals want to make sure items will sell within a certain amount of time.
While high-value items certainly help drum up business, even low-cost items can be worth including in an estate sale. Odds are there are lots of little things laying around your house, and those odds-on dollars can add up.
Separate Personal Items Before the Walkthrough
Estate sale planning materials
Before the estate sale professionals arrive to do a walkthrough of your house, gather up important documents, jewelry, sentimental mementos, and heirlooms that should absolutely remain in the family. Then, keep these items and any items that family members want to keep separate from the rest of the belongings in your home. Don’t worry about cleaning or organizing at this point; that’s the Indianapolis estate sale company professionals’ job.
When estate sale professionals come in to walk through the house, have a list of items you want to keep, items you want shredded (papers, etc.), and any items that have already been doled out to family and friends. It’s also a good idea to talk about any challenges your home may present, including tight stairwells, damaged floors, a particularly overstuffed garage, etc. The pros will want to make sure hallways, doorways, and exits are wide enough for shoppers to navigate safely and for bulky items to be removed. And if there’s a particularly heavy dresser upstairs, you’ll want to have a plan for getting it downstairs after the sale.
Ask About Security, Deadlines, and Cleanup
While most estate sale companies are pros at what they do, there’s still a lot that goes on behind-the-scenes that you may not know about. Before you sign on the dotted line, be sure to ask about:
- Security and safety measures
- Parking arrangements
- Record-keeping
- How the estate sale will be publicized
- How items will be priced
- Restrictions and rules
- Access to certain areas of the home
- How important papers, photos, and other potentially sensitive items will be handled
- What happens to unsold items, which may be donated, consigned, resold, etc.
- If there’s a deadline to clear the home (i.e., before a home sale closes, for rental purposes, etc.)
- Cleanup/recycling/donation/disposal services
- What kinds of items can’t be sold/donated/hauled away (broken appliances, furniture, paint, chemicals, etc.)
- Communication during the sale-prep process
Some companies charge a percentage of the item’s gross sale price, while others may have a minimum charge or add additional fees for cleanouts, hauling, advertising and research on special items.
Some companies will offer a discount for items sold after the first day of the sale, while others may allow you to place a reserve price (the lowest amount you are willing to accept) on a particularly valuable item. Keep in mind, however, that placing a reserve on an item may keep it from selling quickly.
Other questions to ask before signing a service agreement with an estate sale company:
How and when will I get paid? Will you provide me with an itemized report after the sale? How are proceeds from sales tax handled?
If the home is vacant, who will have access to the home? Is the company insured? How will garage door openers, alarm codes, keys, etc. be handled?
Secure Essential Belongings Before the Handoff
Once you’ve picked a company you’re happy with, make sure important papers, family photos, financial documents, keys, and heirlooms are safely tucked away.
