Are you an estate representative who needs to liquidate an estate, but don’t know anything about estate sales for property owners in Kansas City ? Estate sales for property owners can be held after a loved one has passed or when going through a divorce, bankruptcy, or other personal transition which requires the sale of a household full of items. This can be very difficult regardless of the reason. We have had to spend time rummaging through household and garage items after the passing of our parents in order to save items of sentimental value and sort other items into categories for the auctioneers. For a successful outcome, pay close attention to these five estate sale tips for property owners in Kansas City
Cleaning
Estate sales for property owners generally start with a lot of cleaning. Many homeowners have lived in their residence for many years and may not have kept up on deep cleaning and maintenance if they were ill or stressed about other things. Set aside important documents, deeds, titles, bank statements, or other financial documents for safe keeping. Be thoughtful about what you clean and how you clean it so that you don’t unintentionally decrease the value of some of the items. A significant estate sale tip for property owners in Kansas City is not to clean antiques or other things other than dusting. Keep things in their present state until you can have a professional value them. Don’t throw out or donate clothing, kitchen items, or even tools from the garage, which may be valuable. An estate sale is typically not worth the effort with out small things for buyers, usually bringing in the most money. Estate liquidators are licensed professionals who can handle all of the details related to estate sales for property owners. Selling a property and personal items that have been in your family for a long time can be full of emotions, so if you’re unwilling or unable to handle the task personally, don’t feel bad about calling in a professional. We recommend that you interview at least two estate sale companies before you make a decision on who to hire. Be sure to ask how they charge you for their services. Is it a flat fee or do they charge a percentage of your profits?
Collect Valuables
People who have lived in their residences for years tend to collect a lot of stuff. Valuable things may be casually placed throughout the house, or hidden and forgotten, such as money in a coat pocket. You may want to flip through books for essential papers check through drawers and any containers or boxes. Estate sales attract buyers interested in unique and unusual items, and these may include collectibles such as costume jewelry. Experts in estate sales will know what has value and advise you. Don’t guess that an object is worthless because it appears to be junk and has no real value to you. There are many items that may be worth quite a bit of money to the right collector. You must carefully research the worth of the things you find, pay special attention if a collection of like items exists. It isn’t unheard of for family members to learn too late that they’ve tossed out something of great importance, which a critical estate sale tip for property owners in Kansas City
Plan for Rememberances
In cases where someone has passed away, close friends or family members will seek item for remembrance of the deceased, and disputes can arise. Setting up a plan for handling this prior to the estate sale is best in order to lessen emotions and tension. While some wills specifically list what will go to family or friends, often these people are left to choose items that have a personal memory attached; however, these are now gifts from the estate and must be within limits concerning value. As the estate representative, it’s your responsibility to give the family all proceeds from the sale, so you are not obligated or authorized to give anything away. You could have a pre-sale for this group of individuals, tagging the items for the person who wants them to purchase, thereby meeting your obligation as the estate representative while excluding the items from the public estate sale.
Time
Allowing ample time for planning estate sales for property owners is important because it can take weeks to prepare appropriately. If time is no issue, then you may be able to handle the job on your own. However, if the estate is very small or has been dispersed already to family members, then it may be best to call a buy out company to pick up the last items. Estate buy-out companies will come take everything for one price. While this is a much less emotional process that happens very quickly, you pay for the convenience, typically bringing in much less on the estate sale.
Understand your Objective
Keeping the reason for the sale at the forefront of your mind will help you emotionally, and this is another essential estate sale tip for property owners in Kansas City . Professionals will take this project on if you’re overwhelmed. If you’re contacting an estate liquidation company, they will be working towards advertising a list to gain interest in the sale. Once a company has viewed the estate, you cannot remove items, or you’ll owe the company the value of any missing pieces.
Angel and Jeramie at Mastiff Home Buyers will help make your estate sale easy. Working with Mastiff Home Buyers to sell the estate home is the best estate sale tip for Kansas City property owners. Call Mastiff Home Buyers at (816) 535-0076 or send us a message today to learn more.