Estate Sale Costs

[wannavolunteerF]

Not fulltiming yet, but currently helping my mom downsize from 3 bdrm house that she has been in over 50 years to a small 1 bedroom apt. Many folks on here have suggested estate sales to ease the downsizing. I know of only one person in my mom's hometown who handles complete estate sales. He has told us, we will rent dumpster, he will clean out, sort, price and sale everything.. for 30% of proceeds.. does this sound like a reasonable rate?

I am planning to use this as a preview of my own downsizing to full=time in about 3 years. I will know what I am doing hopefully at that time.

Also any suggestions on helping mom, go through the things she needs to, without getting too wrapped around the history of every item in the house? Or will having history of things make sales easier? How much "help" do the estate sale folks really need?

[Jack_Diane_Free]

Agree with the poster who said elderly people stash cash in odd places and then forget it. When we went through my mother's 'stuff' we found $50 bills in clothes pockets, drawers, zip lock bags in freezer, old purses, jars and cups in the cupboard. You should go through everything before the auction. Document everything you find so there are no accusations.

[wannavolunteerF]

thanks to everyone who commented... our plan is currently as follows..

Move Mom (in 3 weeks, yikes!!) Have mover lined up and scheduled.

One week later, the last of the things family will take will be picked up (My children have to come from out of state around school and work schedules).

during that week and weekend, we will work to get additional things to MOM as she determines she needs them.

Release house to estate sale guy.. He said it would take approx 3 weeks for his crew to clear house, attic, sheds etc and prep for estate sale.

List house with realtor approx 1 week before sale.. to take advantage of estate sale advertising.

Hopefully by Memorial Day, I will be in RV somewhere hiding from the world and chaos of this adventure.

[CabinetmakerII]

With moms buy-in, an auction is the way to go. We auctioned off everything we owned including the house (except the RV and Tow Vehicle). The Auctioneer got 20% for items selling for less that $1000,00 AND 10% for items over $1000.00. The Real Property was handled separately. We paid 5% commission on the sale of the house. There was a fee for advertising and labor to set up the sale. They showed up in the morning, and we drove away that afternoon. Everything was sold. No dumpsters, no problems. We had our money within just a few days. GOOD LUCK!

[DianneOK]

Another view....my mother agreed to have an estate sale, etc. She was not present at that time, already moved to the new abode. However, after the fact she resented the whole affair. Our relationship was forever damaged. Be sure this is what she wants, not what you or your siblings want her to want. FYI......I was a thousand miles away when all this went down, had no part in it, yet I was the "leader" in her eyes.

[Cloud_9]

I would say 20 to 25 percent for a fee is about right. Hire an auctioneer, do some research. A good one will make the process much less stressful.

Carl

[2gypsies1]

Jay Pat wrote:
If possible, move Mom and she should take what she wants or needs for the new place.
Then deal with the rest. Try to avoid having her go thru everything. It could be hard(harder) for her to do that and let go.

Good recommendation. Having her go through everything could be overwhelming.

Move her in with the big items, clothes, kitchen items, photos, etc. Then explain that as you go through the rest, you'll keep things set aside that might be of interest to her in saving and that she could make a decision on.

Once you begin it'll go smoothly. Take a room at a time. Don't think of the whole picture. Be aware that older folks sometimes 'stash' money in odd places. 🙂 Good luck!

[hokeypokey]

I had my parents estate sale myself. No siblings. DH helped a lot and a dear cousin showed up several times. Would I do it again? Yes.

[beemerphile1]

Have an auction, not an estate/tag sale.

[midnightsadie]

hire the very best auctioneer in your area ,in a estate sale you,ll be left with all the stuff nobody wants , here in ohio our local auctioneer does it all including clean up. and you don,t touch a thing,

[bamcote]

Just be sure you have taken all the items mom and the family are interested in before signing the contract. My brother wound up having to buy back a very cherished family bench from the auction because he neglected to exclude it from the sale.

[Trackrig]

I think the pricing percentage will depend on what Mom has to sell. If it's a lot of stuff that isn't worth a lot and a lot of hours are spent cleaning or digging through things, then yes, I can see the 30%. How much is he likely to get vs. how much time is it going to take him? How much of Mom's stuff would you buy if this was someone else's sale and would you pay very much for it?

If there's a lot of valuable things that will bring a decent amount of money, then 30% is too much.

I don't think anyone would go through a complete household for 10%. Would you clean out your Mom's house and run a garage sale for 10% of what her "stuff" sells for?

Bill

[Jay_Pat]

If possible, move Mom and she should take what she wants or needs for the new place.
Then deal with the rest. Try to avoid having her go thru everything. It could be hard(harder) for her to do that and let go.
Don't know about estate sale.
Good luck!
Pat

[tonymull]

No, 10% or less is standard. Shop neighboring towns or farther, they travel. No town has enough estate sales to keep them busy.