Sale of a Lifetime

Stuff is stuff, right? Couches, chairs, beds, dining room china cabinet.

No, stuff is not just stuff if we’re talking about the dining room table you sat at for each Thanksgiving during the past 40 years, or the jewelry your mother used to wear on special occasions. That’s why an estate sale is more than just a financial transaction.

“This isn’t just stuff, it’s people’s stuff,” says Mary Beth Davis, campus director for Ebenezer Minneapolis, a long-term care and senior housing organization, which operates the Hands and Hearts estate sale program as a fundraising effort. When there’s a death in the family that requires you to sell, donate, or otherwise dispose of worldly possessions, it’s “a very emotional time for people,” Davis says.

What Happens When Everything Must Go?

Emptying a house of its contents becomes necessary when a parent moves to a nursing home or assisted-living facility, or dies. The prospect of carrying out such a task can seem difficult at best, and complicated and somewhat thorny in the worst situations. “People have a hard time letting go,” says Tony Nucera, who is a partner in Minnetonka-based Piccadilly Estate and Moving Sales.

Besides the emotional difficulties, there are more practical ones. Experts such as Nucera and Andrew Akmenkalns, program director for Ebenezer’s estate sale unit, say people end up either astonished by the amount of things to sell, or they don’t realize the full value of what they have—or both. “It can be so overwhelming,” Akmenkalns says. “We have people come to us and say, ‘I don’t know where to begin.’”

That’s where an estate sale company can be helpful. It can, in an empathetic manner, break down the tasks of deciding what to keep, what to give away, what to sell, and how much the items should cost as you begin the process of letting go of prized possessions.

Interview the Experts

To get the right estate sale company, interview several to get a feel for how they operate, and ask lots of questions. Is the firm licensed and bonded? This is an important issue for liability reasons. How does the firm arrive at pricing on the items for sale? This is especially pertinent in cases where the family has valuable antiques. Both Nucera and Akmenkalns, for instance, are long-time antique experts. In addition, most estate sale companies come armed with catalogs, reference guides, and specific product experts to help price items.

You shouldn’t be charged for this initial interview. And most estate sale companies should be able to give you a rough estimate of what your sale could net after a walk-through of the home. During this process, the firm’s staff will help you identify any items you intend to keep, give to relatives, or donate to a charity.