Did someone close to you pass away and leave you their estate? If so, you might be thinking about hiring an estate sale service to sell all of the extra items. This is a more convenient solution than trying to sell and handle everything yourself. Since hiring an estate sale service is something most people only do a few times in their lives, you might have some questions about the process. With any luck, you'll discover good answers below.
Do you have to let the estate sale service sell everything?
No. If there are items you want to keep, give away, or sell on your own, you can do so. However, you will need to remove these items before you have an estate sale service take over the process. Estate sale representatives usually assume that anything left in the home will be a part of the sale.
How will you get paid for the sold items?
There are actually two ways you and the estate sale company can handle this. Some companies prefer to have the sale first, tally how much they make, and then keep a previously agreed upon percentage of the profits. Other companies will actually buy the contents of the home from you outright, before the sale. Then, they will keep the funds raised during the sale.
Which of these approaches is better? It really depends on your preferences. If you'd rather just have the money and walk away, then asking for a payout up-front is probably best. On the other hand, if there are some valuable items you don't want to be underpaid for, then you may want to have the sale and pay the service a percentage of the earnings.
Who advertises estate sales?
Generally, when you hire an estate sale company, they advertise the sale as a part of their services. They may publish the sale in the local paper, post about it on their social media pages, and send emails to past clients. Of course, you can always do your own advertising to boost interest, too. The more people show up to the sale, the better for you — and for the sales company.
Hopefully, this article has helped you better understand how the estate sale process works. Hosting an estate sale with the help of professionals is a great way to get rid of items you no longer need following the death of a loved one.
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