Should I have an estate sale?

Transcript of Interview: “Should I have an estate sale?”

Mike Barnes:

Something we learned about very early when we start moving our parents, maybe into independent living or assisted living, is estate sales. It can come in very, very handy because the places where they move are much, much smaller generally than where they are leaving. Today we’re going to talk to Sarah Carriker from Blue Moon Estate Sales. Thanks so much for being with us.

Sarah Carriker:

Thank you for having me.

Kim Barnes:

Yeah, as Mike mentioned, when both of our parents moved in from their house into independent living, you quickly realize that they’re much smaller. Even the scale is smaller, so even though the square footage may not be that much different, the scale is so much smaller. Estate sales are definitely something that could be a possibility.

Sarah Carriker:

Yes, you know, a lot of times people think of estate sales as something that has to happen after a death, but no, most of the people we work with are very much alive and very much concerned about what happens to their items. They just want their things to go on to live a useful life, and an estate sale can be a great way to re-home a lot of things.

Kim Barnes:

I think there’s sometimes a lot of mystery in some ways because, with so many of the things that we’re doing as we help our aging parents, it’s something we’ve never done before. So everything’s sort of brand new, and you hear these terms and think “estate sale.” Do I have to have a lot of stuff? Do I have to have a lot of expensive stuff? How do you know if an estate sale might be the right avenue for you?

Sarah Carriker:

Well, it’s hard to tell if it’s your own stuff, but basically, what any estate sale company would do is come in and look to see if there’s enough there that people will typically buy. People buy all kinds of things at an estate sale. We all think of antiques, nice furniture, or something particularly special or collections, and yes, those things are great to have in an estate sale, but really, people buy regular stuff too—plants, quilts, etc. Generally, for me, when I’m looking at a house, I’m looking to see if there’s enough variety of things, if there’s like a house full basically. Anytime someone’s moving from two or three thousand square feet or more into a small apartment that’s a thousand square feet or so, there’s going to be a lot of stuff left that just won’t fit, and in those cases, it’s usually enough for an estate sale.

Mike Barnes:

I have a couple of questions about the timing of everything. When my sister and I started putting things together to have an estate sale at my Mom and Dad’s because my mom was moving to Memory Care, we spent a lot of time—my sister more than I did because I only made a couple of trips up to the Dallas area to do it—cleaning it up, cleaning up all the trash and all the stuff. My mom was a hoarder, where underneath her bathroom sink I found 10 unopened dentist toothbrushes. It’s like, why are these here? She kept everything. It took us about three months to try and finally get everything ready enough to let somebody come in to look at it. Does it always have to be like that, or can it just be a case of, “It’s dirty but come on in”?

Sarah Carriker:

Oh, yeah, we can come see it at any point. I always suggest that you, as a family, figure out what it is you’d like to hang on to and remove paperwork, photos, and anything that’s special that you want to safeguard. Other than that, an estate sale company can come in and say, “Okay, yeah, this is workable, we can do this.” We might need to get a few extra things like a dumpster to help with the process, or there might be a little homework to do. If you can get these few things done, then we can do an estate sale. Anytime is a good time to ask because it can be a long process for families. There might be a lot of people who need to come and make those decisions about whether they want to hang on to any of their family member’s items. So the sooner the better in terms of reaching out and finding out what you need to do.

Mike Barnes:

You mentioned a long process, and that’s my other question. When we finally did ours, after we got things cleaned up and brought the estate sale people in to look at the place, by the time they were all done and gave my dad the proverbial money for it, it took about two months, which seemed okay at the time. But if it’s something where, “Oh my gosh, we’re in a hurry because we’re going to move next weekend into independent living and we need to sell the house,” can you expedite it at all, or is it always going to be a little slow?

Sarah Carriker:

It really just depends on what other pressures there might be in terms of scheduling. But typically, at least for us, we can usually turn around a house in about a week to get it ready. When I was talking about a long process, it’s not necessarily the estate sale staging, pricing, and everything. It’s more like the family process, getting up to the actual sale, because there are usually several things happening. You want the house to sell, you want the family to come in and have their time, and you need the folks who are moving to be able to make sure they have everything they need. There are all those different moving parts.

Kim Barnes:

Are there going to be some estate sale companies that maybe are okay with a somewhat house full of stuff, and then others that are going to require that you really need to have a lot of things—so many beds and dressers, or I don’t even know what? What are you evaluating besides the variety and the kinds of things that are there? Is it also the volume of what you have?

Sarah Carriker:

Every home is different. In some homes, you might say, “Okay, this person didn’t have a lot of clutter. Maybe they moved a lot and were able to downsize, and there wasn’t a lot of clutter, but what is there is nice, valuable, or it could be decor or things that will sell easily.” Other places, people have lived for 40 years and never thrown anything away. It’s a case-by-case basis. I’m sure there are companies who will do an estate sale for less than a house full of stuff. We do once in a while, but for the most part, in order for a sale to be successful, you have to have a lot of things to draw in shoppers. You have to post a lot of photos and get the word out so that people are interested. If it’s just a couple of things or one room or just the garage, then there are other ways of selling those things than an estate sale.

Kim Barnes:

Sure, okay. So it’s kind of weighing what kinds of pieces. Do I just have some big pieces of furniture, which may be going to a consignment store or something? Is that an option? I’ve got a couple of big pieces of furniture versus I’ve got seven sets of dishes and just all the volume.

Mike Barnes:

A lot of times we hear that when you’re selling a house, there are good times and bad times during the year to do it, especially when school is involved. Is there a good time or bad time when you’re doing an estate sale as far as the time of the year?

Sarah Carriker:

Well, you don’t want to do one during terrible weather, but there’s really not a bad time. We don’t tend to hold sales over holiday times like December or Thanksgiving because people have other things going on, but in general, at least in Austin, people are buying and selling homes mostly in the spring and summer months. That’s the busy time, so there’ll be a lot of interest in an estate sale. However, other times of the year where there are fewer sales happening, the sales can do very well because of what’s going on.

Mike Barnes:

When we’re looking for someone to help us with an estate sale, are there any red flags we should worry about or something we should say, “Oh my gosh, they’re going to be great”? What questions should we ask?

Sarah Carriker:

In my opinion, it’s important to know what happens to the stuff after the sale. That’s probably our most frequently asked question: what happens to the stuff that doesn’t sell? There needs to be a good answer to that question. If the answer is, “We can take it,” you just need to know what’s going on. Where does that stuff go? Do you use a third party to remove the things, or do you have another process or a charity you take things to? Sometimes families want to make sure they can control what happens to items after an estate sale is over, so it’s important to ask that question. I feel it’s a bit of a conflict of interest if an estate sale company also has a storefront where things can go from one place to another, but it’s good to know that information. Other things to ask would be what kind of marketing they do, how they get the word out, do they have an email list, all those things.

Kim Barnes:

What’s the process? When I say, “Okay, I think we should have an estate sale,” and I call a company, what’s the process from that first initial call until the sale?

Sarah Carriker:

The way we do it is we come in and see the home in person to see if it’s a good fit. While it’s important to know what’s inside the house, you also need to know the environmental factors, like is there street parking, is it easy to find, is there some odd situation that makes it impossible for people to park on the street and get to the sale? Are there any other parameters we need to be aware of? Is the family all in agreement that there should be an estate sale, or is there disagreement? You don’t want to get in the middle of it. So there’s the in-person evaluation, and then it’s just a matter of scheduling—when the home will be ready for an estate sale company to come in and take over, and when the sale needs to be complete and the house emptied out so that the next steps can take place.

Mike Barnes:

Once you decide it’s happening, typically does the estate sale company move in, and it’s like, “Okay, everybody in the family get out, and we’re going to set up the tables, get it organized, and price everything”? Is that all stuff that the company would do?

Sarah Carriker:

Exactly, yes. It’s just so emotional. It can be challenging. It’s just like when you’re selling your home, and the realtor asks you not to be there because people need to see the house in an objective manner. It’s the same for an estate sale. We all have a million memories attached to every little thing in our house. Whether or not we realize it, it’s an emotional time to let go of a lot of stuff. So yes, we do ask for that separation. The house needs to be vacant; nobody can be living there. We come in and take over the house for several days, get it all ready for a sale, hold the sale, and then it’s back to the homeowner.

Kim Barnes:

So pricing is all up to you?

Sarah Carriker:

Yes. Sometimes there might be an unusual item or a piece of art that we would collaborate with the homeowner on because it’s an unusual thing, but for the most part, we’ve sold most things before. We do ask for control over pricing.

Kim Barnes:

Sometimes it’s hard to say goodbye. After the sale, finding out what will happen so the house can be empty is important because the homeowner or the family doesn’t necessarily want the things that are left over. Deciding if it can be donated to charity or how that’s going to work is crucial. Then, how does it typically work as far as the split?

Sarah Carriker:

Usually, an estate sale company will charge a percentage of the proceeds from the estate sale, and there might be some kind of minimum amount associated with it. That’s another reason why it’s important to have that in-person evaluation, so you know if there’s enough to make it worth the family’s while to have an estate sale.

Kim Barnes:

One thing I was just thinking of is that even when we knew Mom was going to be moving soon and we likely would have an estate sale, are there things that we can be doing as a family now to start preparing? My first thought would be having family members who might want some of the pieces that Mom and/or Dad aren’t going to take with them start passing those out now, so that’s one less thing. You don’t want someone to get upset and say, “You sold that! I wanted the tea table!” That was something I was going to have. So really having those conversations to start passing things along. Is there anything else to start preparing emotionally or just getting ready?

Sarah Carriker:

Sometimes people feel like they need to touch every single item in the house to make their peace with it. If that’s what you need to do, then go ahead, but you don’t have to. What I suggest is people just open up the cabinet, take out what they want to keep, and close the cabinet. Segregating the items is important. Start getting a feel for the tangible things—what are the things coming with me to my new home, what are the things my kids are taking—and those go over there. You don’t have to unpack everything and make a bunch of piles.

Mike Barnes:

That probably makes it even harder for you, doesn’t it?

Sarah Carriker:

Oh, yeah. It can be overwhelming for the family as well. We need to see what’s there to make good decisions about what to do.

Kim Barnes:

Just trying to get things a little ordered.

Sarah Carriker:

Absolutely.

Kim Barnes:

Thank you, Sarah. Great tips. We really appreciate it today.

Sarah Carriker:

Thank you for having me. It was nice to be with you.

Mike Barnes:

I think the key is to start thinking about the things you can’t take with you to independent living or another community. Let the family start going through that and figuring out what to do.

Kim Barnes:

It goes back to communication. The family needs to talk about it to know who wants what or who doesn’t want what, so they can get rid of it.

Mike Barnes:

Right. Or what Mom wants to take with her and setting that to the side so she gets to take it with her.

Kim Barnes:

Exactly.

Mike Barnes:

If you have any other topics you’d like us to discuss, please let us know at Parenting Aging Parents.

*This transcript is auto-generated. Please excuse any typos or mistakes.