Recommendations needed for house contents sale

[Just Wonderin]

We will be moving from the area and will not be bringing and of the contents of our home. Can anyone recommended someone who would purchase the contents of the home or plan and advertise a whole house sale? Thanks!

[Rich]

I would contact some companies that deal with the sale of estates. They do this sort of thing often.


Don't be surprised by the low values of your most prized possessions, after having sold the contents of homes twice (two relatives), I'm over the shock myself.

[tummyman]

Do it yourself. Have a huge estate/yard/tag sale. That way you can control your destiny somewhat.

[BobbyA]

I sold a lot of stuff on that site. You will need to sign up. It`s free.

[Just Wonderin]

Yes Rich, we've sold one or two items before and are ready for that low price. It's disheartening, but it is what it is. We just need the stuff sold. It would cost more to move all of it rather than sell it here and buy new at our new location.

Thanks everyone for your advice. I'd still love to hear if anyone has a name of a specific place. I just won't have the time to sell on Craig's List or run a sale of my own.

[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.

[Biggd]

You might want to put a list on here. I'd be interested in knowing what you have 4 sale.

[TiltonBB]

Whatever is left over after the sale of most items may still have value. Call Goodwill or the Salvation Army and donate the remaining items. It will do someone good and you will get a tax deduction. Win-win.

[MeredithMan]

You can always offer items to the people buying your home. Doesn't always work with a primary home, but very common with vacation/2nd homes. In fact, we've had buyers of both our vaca and primary homes ask to buy a number of our furniture/possessions.

[tis]

Gary Wallace Auctioneer in Ossipee right next to Green Mountain Furniture has auctions. I am pretty sure he buys house contents.

[Reilly]

S&W property management Dave Jenkins 603 455 5343 great to work with, in laconia

[jacka82942]

if you itemize on your tax return, you will probably get more benefit than trying to sell most stuff even furniture

[Fargo]

We used Waukegan Antiques in Meredith to sell off my parents' items. They'll pick up the items and bring to auction. Nice people. 279-3087

[Just Wonderin]

Originally Posted by Biggd

You might want to put a list on here. I'd be interested in knowing what you have 4 sale.

Thanks for your interest Biggd. We're in the process of selling our home. We do live in it year round, but it is a vacation home. I'm just trying to figure out what my options are, if the prospective buyers are not interested in a "furnished home". Once we know if the new buyers are interested, I will be sure to post a list.

[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.

[Just Wonderin]

Thank you all for your great suggestions and recommendations. It has given me better direction in being able to move forward with this whole thing. As you can imagine, it can be quite overwhelming. I'll keep you posted!

[Music Man]

Originally Posted by TiltonBB

Whatever is left over after the sale of most items may still have value. Call Goodwill or the Salvation Army and donate the remaining items. It will do someone good and you will get a tax deduction. Win-win.

This is a great idea. One that we wish we had considered when we moved here. In fact, given the cost of moving and storage, it would have been more cost effective to just give away everything and buy new.