Liquidating Contents of a Home...

[BudgetPlan1]

Anyone have any experiences with liquidating the contents of a home prior to sale? Estate Sale? One of those companies that comes in and gives ya pennies on the dollar to completely clean it out ( https://atobliquidators.com/estate-liquidation/ )?

Anything of value (to us, either personally or monetarily and that would actually be very little) would be removed prior so it`s less about the $$ and more about someone else clearing out the stuff in a timely manner. Also considering donations to Habitat for Humanity, Purple Heart Veterans and such or any other suggestions anyone has.

Open to hearing any other suggestions or experiences with this kinda stuff...certainly out of my area of expertise.

Thanks.

[Coleroad]

That`s a stressful time, in my thoughts and prayers. Sorry I don`t have other help and suggestions. I`d be lost in that situation.

[TheMeanGreen]

If you go with an estate sale company, make sure that it is a reputable one, and has good reviews. You can get more than pennies on the dollar if you use the right company, you just need to do your homework. They should also set up and stage your house as part of their service.

[jatleson]

For my grand father`s place we let the family take what was meaningful to them, then asked friends if they were looking for anything and the rest was donated. Sorry that you are having to go through this, but going through the belongings stirs up great memories and stories.

[ShakingHorizons]

PM Sent

[Ronkh]

Sorry you gotta do this...….

You`ll figure out what`s right for you.

[Poorboy]

Sorry you have to do this, as I have done this and it was easy and difficult at the same time. We first, like you, took what we felt had meaning and memories (have two of my grandparents pictures in my office and have nothing to do with car care) .. then we contacted our local charity which is People to People ... they took most of the clothing, small furniture, and new toiletries for local people that have either lost a house to fire or some other tragedy ... then we called in Good Will and Salvation Army to come and take the large furniture. There wasn`t much left at that point, but we felt good that many people were able to get a part of my grandparents memories.

[Supercharged75]

Sorry for your loss my friend.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[Lonnie]

There are estate sales, which can be like a glorified (think well organized and priced) like a lawn or garage sale OR there are estate auctions. It depends on the amount of items you have and what may think they are worth. if you have a lot of big ticket items, like cars or tractors or machine tools, it may be better to have an auction. If you have nice household items, like furniture, appliances, clothing, and housewares, it may be better to have an estate sale at the residence. Many times the same auction agency can also do an estate sale (not always!), but I do believe they must be registered within the state for that purpose, at least in Wisconsin they are.
If you prefer an estate sale, it takes much more time to organize and get ready and usually it is 2 or 3-day event over a long weekend (Fri, Sat, Sun) and it will generate more revenue for you, IF that is of any importance. I have an ex-sister-in-law that did this as a side business, and she contracted with an estate to clean, organize, price, display, and then sell the items. I THINK her fee was $200-$500 for the initial set-up of the sale, depending on the number of items, AND 25% of the total estate sale revenue, but she had two other partners/helpers doing this, and yes, she was a registered LLC, not a fly-by-night cash-only business.
If you do an auction, it is usually a one-day event, and you are at the mercy of the weather and who shows up as to how much revenue can be generated. The good thing about an auction is the assets are sold that day. But the downside is, as stated, many of the items are sold for pennies on the dollar of their actual worth.
I am assuming that you yourself and your family do not wish to mess around trying to dispose of these estate items.

Also, depending on the condition of appliances, it may be easier to sell them with the house. It also depends on the house condition itself. If it is a modest home, a first-time house buyer may prefer to have appliances already in the house as part of the purchase price. It is one expense they do not have to worry about. However, if they are in poor condition, the buyer may ask for a disposal fee subtracted from the purchase price, if you choose to leave them there.

Also, get a home appraisal done, which will probably include an inspection that all structures, foundation, utilities and plumbing are up to local & state codes before the sale of the house and property can proceed. Title/deed searches and surveying of lot lines may also be necessary. This can run into thousands of dollars to remedy, as we found out when we sold my home place when my mother passed away recently. Most buyers will NOT negotiate this into the selling price (unless they are paying cash or are self-financing for the property); it must be done BEFORE a mortgage loan is applied for and most financial institutions will not even process a loan until a property meets local and state codes and has been inspected by a independent third-party of the financial institution`s choice (IE, not the one you used for your home inspection and appraisal). Being in the country and not within a municipality (village or city), the well-water quality supply and the sewer system are usually two big-ticket items that will need to brought up to code as part of an older home.

I know you are more concerned about the dispersal and sale of the personal household items and assets rather than the house and lot property at this point, but at some time you will also need to think about the property, hence my suggestions.

[Accumulator]

BTDT, numerous times, always found it an interesting experience.

I used primarily Tag Sale Companies and Auction Houses/Companies.

IF you find/use a reputable company they`ll tell you exactly what really has value and what doesn`t, what is good to donate to charities and what`s really just dumpster fodder.

IF there are any items in a "Specialty" category, consult with somebody who`s a genuine expert in the field.

I would *not* readily let go of family heirlooms even if they don`t currently interest you, and I wouldn`t give things away willy-nilly either, even to other family members.

[BudgetPlan1]

Sorry for your loss my friend.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Thanks all. Fortunately, at this point all we`re losing is the house I grew up in.

Around mid-May, it became apparent Mom could no longer live/care for herself in the house we grew up in. Although she hid it well as we saw her often, she was just kinda wasting away, something that has an actual medical term called failure to `Failure to Thrive`. We`ve been after her for the last year or so on the need to move to independent/assisted living but she was, uh, less than cooperative. All came crashing down Memorial Day weekend, in and out of hospital and finally managed to stabilize enough to move to skilled nursing/rehab to regain strength. After 8 weeks, well enough to move her into what we hope is her new home last Tuesday, 1 bedroom apartment in assisted living facility where she (so far) seems happy given the circumstances. Fortunately, Dad had planned very well so money not really an issue for her.

That leaves us with the house and it`s contents...you sure can accumulate a lot of stuff over the course of 50 years. On the plus side, they were never really collectors of anything so there is very little of sentimental value. On the minus side, despite the fact that Dad was kinda a minimalist, there`s still a TON of stuff, most of which will likely end up in dumpster. Books, vids and stuff like that we`ll give to local library but the other stuff...oh my.

Since I work for a swimming pool company, May, June, July, August and September are crazy times, leaving me limited time, even on weekends, to be actively involved to any great extent in the liquidation; brother lives in Arizona so he ain`t gonna be much help.

It`s been a crazy, frustrating, exhausting and sometimes depressing summer so far but have learned many, many things that I never thought about before:

- Elder care, even if you are financially secure, is in a sad state. I can`t even imagine Moms future if $$ was an immediate issue. Even with resources, planning for things like this should be done 5 or more years in advance due to extensive waiting lists at top facilities. Someone musta been watching over us as we lucked out due to some timely, but generally unlikely, circumstances that created an unexpected opportunity at a quality facility. The research alone in determining ACTUAL levels and quality of care (as opposed to advertised) is quite the endeavor and separating fact from fiction requires some digging. Fortunately my brother, who is an engineer, excels in this type of analytical endeavor and was able to narrow the field considerably before actually taking Mom around for visits; we wanted her to make the final choice so as to feel part of the process and hopefully not harbor any resentment going forward. Unfortunately we took her around to visit the finalists on a 95 degree day and the air conditioning in her car gave out just as we began our 50 mile drive back to the rehab facility. Figures. On the plus side, her car is now done with Polish Angel Master Sealant + Rapidwaxx so it looks and feels really, really nice as it will be on the block soon as well. Obviously I woulda preferred to use it to test a new coating but just didn`t have the time.

- Medical care, especially in the realm of Medicare and Supplemental insurance is not in such a great state either. Care and the quality of that care is often determined more by guidelines such as the Medicare `Rule of 3 Midnites` as far as hospital admission goes as opposed to patient comfort/needs. And when in the care of the hospital, a patient needs a family advocate to insure, well, that things actually get done and a patient doesn`t get overlooked. Apparently, outside of teaching hospitals, many facilities staff with Doctors who make rounds at the end of their `day jobs` at their practices. "Yes, the Doctor will see you sometime tomorrow, could be in the morning, could be at 11pm at night depending on when he shows up". While we were fortunate to have some truly exceptional caregivers during her hospital stays, folks that saw her as a real person as opposed to a patient #, there were also those who did the bare minimum and, at times, ignored basic needs altogether. If ya want something done, the best way to do it is to have your family advocate proactively seek out the resources necessary to attend to your patient or to gather required information/status. Fortunately my wife comes from a family network of nurses and had no problems addressing and advocating for `our` patient. I can`t imagine how it would have went if we had just been passive regarding the entire hospital experience.

- Role Reversal - Never having had children, taking care of folks that need extensive care is kinda a new (and sometimes funny) experience. Excuses Mom would come up with to avoid physical therapy and other things she did not want to do sounded eerily familiar (and sometimes verbatim) to the excuses I would use to duck unwanted tasks as a child. What goes around truly comes around in that respect. Caring for someone who cannot care for themselves is an exhaustive and mentally draining process when they seemingly no longer have the ability to reason and comprehend on occasion. Many times I found myself `lecturing` on important points she needed to grasp and act upon only to realize much the same conversation had taken place 45 years ago with our roles reversed. Is that Karma?

Generally I`m a pretty stoic (some say apathetic) person but the highs ("She had a good day!") and the lows ("Bad day, bad attitude") probably touched on every emotion I`m capable of mustering up. I`ve been very, *VERY* fortunate to have avoided tragedy and sadness for the most part in my life with regards to things that REALLY matter so it`s quite the adventure. Interesting and educational as well so it`s certainly not all bad.

Anyway, sorry for rambling but I think it may have been cathartic in some way. End of the day, hopefully the person is now taken care of and all that`s left is the house and contents which is merely stuff and nowhere near as important or time-sensitive. Just looking for an expedient way to resolve the issue before moving on to actually selling the place...never sold a home before. At least I`m learning new things and by the time I`m 60, will have my name on the waiting list for a `whole life facility` (Independent Living->Assisted Living->Skilled Nursing->Hospice), ready to slide thru the golden years by the time I hit 65. These facilities look at your your financial picture/projections when you sign on, making what I`m sure are predictions based on EXTENSIVE historical forecasting, to insure that you will be taken care of at the same quality facility thru end of life, even if you beat their predicted odds and run out of $$ before expiration.

Life was certainly simpler when I was just trying to decide what coating to try next...

[Poorboy]

We are going through a different stage of the same with my MIL ... she`s 93 recently moved near us in Fl, had a hard time adjusting and until recently had it mostly together .. the decline is fast and scary to my wife and kids.

Glad you have some support as my wife`s siblings are just interested in $$$ and wife is her only real advocate

[BudgetPlan1]

Glad you have some support as my wife`s siblings are just interested in $$$ and wife is her only real advocate

Although not an issue in our small family (just the single brother and he`s doing just fine $$-wise) I have seen other families torn apart by the prospect of `free money` when a potential cash cow is nearing the end of life. Truly fascinating (and somewhat disturbing) to see the effect money has on people.

When forecasting projected costs of assisted living care vs lifespan, it`s a really odd feeling trying to guess how long a loved one will live and `hoping` that the end of a fruitful life coincides peacefully and naturally with the depletion of funds. It`s some pretty strange math for sure and with avg costs around the $8k per month level (sometimes more), definitely something that shows ya what you might have thought was a plentiful nest egg perhaps really isn`t. 10 years will likely rise to over a million $ as the need for care increases (assisted living vs skilled nursing)...that`s some serious coin.

Couldn`t imagine a sibling pushing for `Just put her in a nursing home, she doesn`t know any better...` to try and preserve inheritable dollars but ill bet it sure does happen. Had a good friend who was in an accident a few years ago, head injury, was pretty much (hopefully) unaware of anything (brain injury) for the next 4 years, 3 of which he spent in a Medicaid nursing home after his assets were depleted. We`d go to visit him often and the elderly they had `warehoused` there...a horrible, horrible existence (as was our friends). It`s both sad...and scary.

[Accumulator]

IME there`s nothing quite like the deaths of [certain people] to bring out other people`s true colors

Also, beware of scams related to "long-lost family members" who suddenly come out of the woodwork. Just be polite when dealing with such [stuff] lest something come back to haunt you.

[Poorboy]

Although not an issue in our small family (just the single brother and he`s doing just fine $$-wise) I have seen other families torn apart by the prospect of `free money` when a potential cash cow is nearing the end of life. Truly fascinating (and somewhat disturbing) to see the effect money has on people.

you can`t believe how $$ can really effect relationships ... my MIL is disgusted with the way her children are acting and just wants to die ... none of them are in need, so it makes no sense...

I also had a a cousin that recently died in one of "THOSE" places ... total disregard for the patients on their last leg ... Son is a wealthy retired IBM guy and just put his mother there to die .. yes, I unfriended him as soon as she died ....