[Just Wonderin]

Thanks again Rich. It was good to hear feedback from someone who has gone through the process.

Originally Posted by Rich

Yes, finding someone that handles estates is the easiest method. They can usually give you a ball park number of what you may collect as they walk through your house for an estimate.

You give them guidelines, but they come in, tag everything, then advertise, handle the walk in traffic during the sale(s) day.

You do nothing! It's the best thing for busy people and you don't get emotionally involved in selling your belongings. They basically hand you cash at the end of the day.

I handled both my aunt's and my mother's estates. My aunt's was the first, I learned a lot, but wasn't very emotionally invested, so it wasn't too bad. I knew I could have done it myself, but didn't have the time. I did try to sell a few larger items that I wanted to try to maximize return on (a grand piano, etc.).

My mother's home was the hardest as that was the home I grew up in. For that I basically let the estate company run the show. I used the same company twice, as I knew he could generate traffic. A lot of these guys have a following of people that look for their sales as they know items will be priced to sell.

Anything not sold is usually taken out as trash, as anything of even a small value will sell, a lot of people come to buy things to re-sell at flea markets, etc, where they don't mind taking more time to wait for a sale.

So if you want the house cleared quickly, and with the minimum of fuss, contact a local estate sale company. The one I used was from the Boston area and was a few years ago, so I don't even know if he is still in business. I found him via a recommendation from a local real estate agent. They should have contacts for this if you have someone handling your real estate too.