An estate sale is a near universal sign of distressing times. The task of taking a lifetime of memories and commoditizing them for sale is often left to a 3rd party that will manage the sale for a fee. When choosing the estate sale manager, the first step should be to consult with people you know for references, especially from estate planners who will likely have connections to reputable managers. Once a few names are collected, make sure to do some basic research including checking out reputation online and contacting previous customers to hear their experience. In addition, find out the fee that will be charged, be it flat or commission based, and make sure that it covers all expenses in order to avoid unexpected chargers that can arise post sale. In the end, finding an estate sale manager, while an important task, does not have to be unduly stressful as long basic preparation is performed and patience is had when searching for the best person for the job.
See, Reduce The Stress of Conducting An Estate Sale, Idaho Estate Planning, November, 2015.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse for bringing this article to my attention.
