NWR: Estate Liquidation

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Ian Fitzsimmons

Ian Fitzsimmons
If this topic is too abysmally NWR, someone give me a shout and I'll take it down. Weirdly, I've come to trust the aggregate wisdom of the board, however, and turn to it here for input.

A close friend recently lost a relative to the ravages of time, and has a housefull of furniture, furnishings, rugs, some jewelry and so on to deal with. We're not talking the Hearst mansion, but a decent middle-class home, with some designer-name furniture, etc.; certainly enough to stock a Winchester, VA, vintage furnishings store for a few months.

My friend doesn't know where to start. Any experience with this kind of thing on the board? Donate it all to a church? Big yard sale? Auction?
 
Perhaps contact a trusted, local antique dealer and have the items appraised? They may also have advice on finding appreciative new homes for the stuff.
 
Deal with the important things first: If your friend wants any of the items, take them (or divvy them with siblings somehow) immediately.

Then locate the will.

Next, identify the things that are worth making time to deal with: stock/bonds/cash, gemstones and gold, any known rarities (e.g., mint stamps and coins, oil paintings by famous artists, antique oriental carpets).

Beyond that, you'll pretty much sell it by the pound or throw it out.

I have been fortunate that my parents lived in rental apartments by the time they passed, and building management had people to call who would quote a price and, if agreed, take it all away.

In a private home that isn't suitable for an estate auction, the problem is going to be transportation. You still might call a local auction house; they will have a "plan B" for houses they don't want. Perhaps the funeral director has handled this question before and knows someone local. Sometimes, a big moving company will also deal in bulk lots of furniture.
 
Not to be argumentative with Jeff, but Securing and inventorying the valuables should be the first step. Locating the will, or establishing that there is no will, should be the next step. The last thing your friend wants is bad blood or litigation with family members.
Hopefully, your friend has some time to get a sense of what things are worth. Competing bids from estate sale companies would be a good idea. Appraisals would cost money but no harm getting a price.
Estate sale companies will do a walk through and suggest what to do. We cleared out my parents house of furniture for no cost. The furniture wasn't worth much (which I knew) and I had removed what my parents wanted. Maybe we could have held a sale and done slightly better but it wasn't worth the time.
 
When my mother died, we hired someone to sell the contents of her house (neither of us lived in the neighborhood). She came recommended as someone who specialized in this. She got us decent money. We had first removed or appraised anything we thought might have had particular value--in addition to jewelry and things like that which were in the will, some artworks that had some provenance. I will guess there are similar professionals in your area as well.
 
There are a number of companies that specialize in doing estate sales. They'll price all the items, advertise online and handle selling the items (usually over a weekend). Some specialize in high end estates but others will handle lower end houses.

www.estatesales.net is the website that shows all available estate sales and also has links to finding a company to handle a sale. You can get an idea of what they look like by following the links. The company will handle photographing items for sale and posting the pictures on the site.

The general policy is no discounts the first day, discounts on the last day. You should also remember that things generally sell for less than you think they should.

Definitely have relatives remove anything they might really want first.

Arnold loves going to estate sales.
 
I served as the executor of my mother's estate. There is a lot of good advice in the responses above, but let me emphasize or add a few things based on my experience.

Tom is right; find the will first before distributing anything. It may specify bequests or terms for the distribution of the estate. Removing or distributing anything before the will is probated can lead to conflicts. If your friend hasn't already hired a lawyer to help figure out what paperwork needs to be filed in your state and how to deal with probate, I would recommend that as well.

Appraisals for valuable items such as antiques, artworks, or jewelry may be useful either in determining the value of the estate or if the estate is to be distributed in per stirpes shares, but wasn't necessary for household goods and furnishings.

We were not able to use a firm that cleared out the house and held an estate sale. My parents lived in a town house, and various restrictions ruled out the companies that held sales in place. Given what the heirs took, we didn't have enough to interest an auction company in hauling stuff away and giving us a reasonable return. One of my brothers and I ended up spending many hours donating things to charities and throwing out things no one wanted. Be sure to get receipts for items donated, and to have the receipts made out to individual heirs so they can get tax benefits.

Jay is right that many things will sell for less than you expect (and Jeff: "you'll pretty much sell it by the pound"). I found that was particularly true for china and silver. I did have some luck selling furniture through my university bulletin board, but that required time and effort, and I benefited from having student groups, university offices, and new faculty and staff members who were looking for specific items.

Finally, Jeff mentions stamps. My father collected sheets of stamps through the '60's and '70's, but so did lots of other people. The vast majority of the stamps were worth less than their face value. Finding a dealer who would take them even at a substantial discount was difficult. Luckily the American Philatelic Society is not far away in Bellefonte, PA, and we were able to make a charitable contribution to them at face value, which they distributed equally among the heirs. They use most of donations such as ours for their postage.
 
Chiming in late here. I was both executor and sole beneficiary of my mother's will. If you haven't located a will yet, do so first thing. The last thing you want is any nasty surprises. If you do find a will, probate court will likely require liquidation of most of the assets for fair distribution. Estate sales are the common way to accomplish that but not the only way.

Good luck!
Mark Lipton
 
Thanks for the many suggestions. The estate is being settled under trust agreement, to which the will is subordinate. Internecine strife is not on the radar. Detroit is a more likely point of sale than Winchester (but thanks, Jay).

Obvious valuables are secured. Of potential interest is some designer furniture - Ralph Lauren chairs, Saladino sofas and armoire, etc. Bids from three or so estate sales specialists sounds like a plausible point of entry.

Thanks again.
 
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