Tips For Holding An Estate Sale

Posted on: 3 October 2017

Share

Holding an estate sale is a common way of handling the need to liquidate the assets that a loved one may have left behind. Unfortunately, those that have little experience or knowledge about holding these sales may not be fully prepared to plan this type of event, and this can lead to some avoidable problems and issues.

Use A Professional Appraisal Service

It can be extremely difficult to understand the value of the various items that your loved one may have left behind. This is particularly true if they were prone to collecting rare o otherwise valuable items. To ensure that you are getting the best value for the items that you sell, you will want to have them appraised. This can add several days to the preparation time for your sale, but it can be worth it for maximizing the revenue that the estate sale generates. If you have too many items to have them all appraised, you should consider limiting these services to the items that appear to be the most valuable or rare.

Research Local Tax And Permit Laws

The laws concerning holding estate sales can vary from one community to another. In some communities, there will be a requirement to obtain a permit to hold this sale, and you may have to retain the sale's tax that is mandated. Failing to comply with these regulations can lead to a variety of penalties that you may incur. These penalties will likely involve fines that could substantially reduce the money that your sale generated.

Consider Hiring A Professional Agency To Oversee The Sale

The task of organizing an estate sale can be a daunting logistical challenge. In addition to overseeing the labeling and pricing each item, it will also be necessary to organize the items in an attractive and logical manner, handle the money from buyers and clean up the site of the sale when it is over. Additionally, you will need to conduct an advertising campaign to help ensure that potential buyers are aware of the estate sale. Considering the sizable amount of work that can be involved with this type of project, you may want to outsource as much of this as possible. Luckily, there are professional firms, like Remember When Estate Sales, LLC, that specialize in handling all of the various tasks that holding an estate sale will require. These services will charge either a flat fee or a small percentage of the total revenue for the event, and this can make it very convenient to utilize these services.