1	Graceful Exits Estate Liquidation Services www.graceful-exits.com (415) 626-0460 Doing It Yourself: The Essentials of Estate Liquidation
2	Doing It Yourself Start-to-Finish Timeline Deciding What to Sell Deciding How to Sell Selling to Private Buyers Selling to the Public Donating Unsold Items Preparing the Home for Sale or Rent Recording Sales & Expenses
3	Start-to-Finish Timeline Whether you hold a public or private sale, liquidating the personal property and leaving the residence real estate ready is a time consuming and labor intensive job. At a reasonable minimum, you will need to be on site for at least 9 full days, and possibly more since unforeseen circumstances may arise. Here’s how the timeline looks: Sales: (Scheduling, preparation, and re-staging) 2 people, 4 days = 32 hours Labor: (Boxing & bagging for charity) 2 people, 3 days = 24 hours Charity Pick Up: (Someone must be onsite) 1 person, 1 day = 8 hours Hauling & Disposal: (Using a professional hauler) 4 people, 1 day = 8 hours Final Cleaning: 2 people, 1 day = 8 hours Total Time Onsite: 72 hours Total Person Hours: 192 hours
4	Start-to-Finish Timeline Additionally, you will need to set aside time to: Find and schedule your buyers. Supervise any tradesmen you hire to repair or paint the house. Do a final walk-through with the family or real estate agent. Perform the final accounting. All in all, first time do-it-yourselfers will find it takes from 5 to 8 weeks from start to finish, while a competent professional firm can usually complete the job within 2 to 3 weeks. In deciding whether to do it yourself or hire a professional firm to do it for you, be sure to take into account what your time is worth.
5	Deciding What to Sell Consult with family members Agree to have one person take responsibility for all duties and activities connected with disposal of the personal property. Consider having valuable items and collectibles professionally appraised. Distribute property evenly and fairly, taking into consideration both sentimental and monetary values. Consider allowing friends of the family to take keepsakes or mementos. In the event of irreconcilable differences, consider retaining the services of a dispute resolution professional. Arrange to store or move saved items Agree on a final deadline to move or store the items you want to keep. Donot attempt to store items you want to keep on the premises; they may be mistakenly sold or dumped in the liquidation process, or become obstacles to tradesmen you may hire after the liquidation.
6	Deciding How to Sell Private Buyers Private sales enables the disposal of personal property more quickly with less expense and risk than holding sales open to the public. Dealers & private buyers know the resale or collectible value of items and are willing to pay more than the general public. Liability and the possibility of accident, breakage, and theft are lowered by inviting professional buyers and dealers to visit the site. Unadvertised private sales reduce the risk of burglary or vandalism of the vacant residence. Dealers & private buyers buy multiple items or items in lots. Dealers & private buyers don’t issue bad checks. Dealers & private buyers show more respect for the property.
7	Deciding How to Sell Public Sales Holding public sales incurs additional time, labor, and expense. The public at large is generally looking for bargains. Liability and the possibility of accident, breakage, and theft are increased with public sales. Advertised public sales increase the risk of burglary or vandalism of the vacant residence. While buyers from the general public may buy multiple items, they often purchase only one or two items at a time. Many estate sale aficionados enjoy haggling. Public buyers leave the residence in a mess. Classified advertising is more expensive than you think. Presently, a classified ad in the San Francisco Chronicle under the heading of Estate Sales costs an average of about $1.75 per word, excluding a headline. Including a bold face headline will increase the cost of the ad by another $22.77.
8	Deciding How to Sell Tips on Selling Keep in mind that the true value of an estate lies in the sale or rental of the real property, not the personal property. And in real estate sales, time to market usually counts. Remember that in most cases, the original retail value, even for antiques, is much greater than the resale value of second-hand property, because the original seller already made the profit. In other words, it might not be worth as much as you think. If you have the personal property appraised, be sure to tell the appraiser what it’s for. There may be vast dollar-amount differences in appraised values depending on whether it’s for resale, retail, or insurance purposes. If you sell to private buyers and dealers, make it clear that you expect to receive at least 50% of what they think they will be able to resell it for. Most dealers consider that fair, and will honor your fairness with their honesty. Some buyers prefer you to set the price, instead. Do your research. eBay and second-hand stores are a good resources. When in doubt, sell it. A smaller price may be better than not selling it at all.
9	Deciding How to Sell What’s Hard to Sell Pianos and organs. Whether you sell or donate a piano, insist that it only be removed by a professional piano mover, for purposes of liability. Clothing, unless it’s vintage, high-end famous-maker, or very fashionable. Upholstered furniture, especially if the occupant had a cat. Grandfather clocks Very large items such as display cabinets and king size beds. Kitchenware and appliances, especially microwaves & toaster ovens. Blankets, linens, & tablecloths. Lace anything is a hard sell. Most books, except for first editions and collections of antiquarian value. Knick-knacks and modern commemorative anything. Decorative paintings, photos, & other eye candy for walls. Pianos Pianos Pianos
10	Deciding How to Sell Tips on Selling If you’re thinking of using an auction house for anything but the most valuable of items, read this article first. You’ll be glad you did. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/11/30/CM68148.DTL EXCERPT: Talk to Michaan and his partner Jerry Goldman about the genesis of their 1- year-old auction house, and you're bound to hear The Rug Story. Michaan was redoing a room in his house a few years ago and decided to consign a $400 rug to a local auctioneer. "By the time they finished shuffling it around from one auction to another and charging me this fee and that fee and the other fee, it finally was sold," Michaan said. "I got my settlement papers and I owed them $15." Goldman has an equally tragic sequel - The Chair Story. "I had a set of chairs that were reserved at $2,500 at an auction house," Goldman said. "It cost me $500 to get them back because they didn't sell."
11	Selling to Private Buyers Do Your Research Take an inventory of what you have for sale, categorizing it first by type of item and then by value. First, group by function, such as Furniture, Collectibles, Antiques, Books, Clothing, China, Kitchenware, etc. Second, group by value, such as Desirable, Ordinary, Passable, and Junk. Categorize your buyers by value, that is Primary Buyers (for good furniture, antiques, and high-end collectibles), Secondary Specialty Buyers (for clothing, kitchenware, tools, collectibles, small items, yard & garden goods, etc.) and Low End Buyers (for whatever the other buyers don’t want). Find comparable items in retail stores and online auction sites to help give you a sense of what’s actually selling and what they’re selling for in stores.
12	Selling to Private Buyers Tips for the Private Sale Remember that you will get about half the retail or auction prices you see because your buyers are resellers themselves. Ask your potential buyers what their preferred buying schedules are. Some close their stores on Monday in order to buy stocks for resale, some prefer weekends or certain times of day. Give your private buyers plenty of lead time before the sale date. Bring in the furniture and high-end primary buyers first. Regroup and restage items by category after the first round of buyers in order to make it convenient for your specialty buyers. Remember that the last round of buyers, or “cleaners”, will pay much less for the leftovers your first 2 tiers of buyers didn’t want, often just pennies on the dollar.
13	Selling to the Public Tips for the Public Sale Make sure any items you don’t want to sell are removed from the house. Have a supply of boxes and paper or plastic bags. Have at least 3 people to help each other conduct sales. Know what the minimum amount is you want for sales items. Be prepared for haggling. Make sure everyone conducting the sale has a receipt book, and indicate whether it was paid for by check or cash. If by check, note the name and driver’s license number on the sales slip. Station one person by the door. Have a name and number of a local hauler or moving company to give to the customer if the item is large or heavy.
14	Selling to the Public Tips for the Public Sale Make sure there is toilet paper, soap, and towels in the bathrooms. Beware of people adding to their pile of items after they’ve already paid. Keep an eye on the kids so they don’t break or mar anything of value. Be prepared for moments of sheer pandemonium, and keep a cool head. No matter what time you advertised the sale to start, you will have customers waiting for you when you arrive. It’s smart to put prices on any item you want to sell for $5 or more. Chat up your customers. Most of them will turn out to be quite nice people and they’ll buy more things if they feel comfortable with you.
15	Donating Unsold Items Choose the Charity Does the charity pick up items or do you have to deliver them? What types of items will they not accept? Most charities will not accept mattresses, computers, or clothing and small items that have not been boxed or bagged. Some charities will accept a wider range of donated items than others. Does the charity have valuation guidelines? Will the charity give you a receipt for the items? For charity pick up, how much advance notice do they need? Consider different charities for different types of items. For example, the SPCA welcomes quilts, towels, and blankets for their ill animals. Personal items of ethnic or historical interest may be of value to different cultural centers. A local church may welcome the donation of an unsold piano or organ.
16	Preparing the Home for Sale Hauling & Disposal Consider hiring a local hauler to do the job for you. A reputable hauler will dispose of everything for you in a legal manner that is kind to the environment. Separate large metal objects such as appliances from other debris. Landfills charge extra for appliances, recycle companies do not. Landfills will also often charge extra for some large items, such as mattresses and box springs. Make separate arrangements for hazardous waste such as paints, thinners, fertilizer, and motor oil. Landfills will not accept them. Consider ordering a disposal bin from your local waste management company. They will haul and dispose of the debris for you. Repairs, Painting, & Final Cleaning Your real estate agent will usually assist you to do this.
17	Recording Sales & Expenses The Final Accounting Make photocopies of everything, including sales & expense receipts, appraisals, and other relevant materials. Consider putting all sales and expenses in a spreadsheet for convenience of your attorney or accountant. Keep a hard copy for yourself and give one to all other interested parties, including family members.