Estate Liquidation Services

 Below are some questions that we frequently encounter about estate liquidation. 

When a homeowner dies or decides to sell their home, it’s a very challenging period for the family. Emotions are high and relatives often have to juggle multiple responsibilities. They don’t have the time to clear the home, inventory all the deceased’s belongings, and organize an estate sale. 

Estate sale liquidators like West Coast Downsizing Solution shoulder this burden. We take up the responsibility for clearing the house and its belongings so that the families and estate executors don’t have to. That way, everyone involved can close this chapter of their lives and move on.

An estate liquidation sale is normally held inside the home, where all the items are already gathered. 

All items in the home are first organized and categorized. Items that are not for sale are separated and taken out of the house (or moved to a different room and closed off). The remaining items to be sold are then appraised, priced, and tagged. 

Homes are often staged so that shoppers will have an easier time browsing and to make the event easier to supervise. This means designating public areas where visitors can enter and taking measures to prevent theft. 

Of course, you can’t have an estate sale without shoppers. So estate sale managers will advertise through various means: posting on social media, putting up signs around the neighborhood, and advertising in the local paper. 

The actual sale will last several days, depending on how quickly the items are sold. Attendance will be carefully supervised to prevent theft and vandalism. Expect shoppers to negotiate prices—this is part of the experience, and not at all rude!

Once the sale is concluded, the proceeds are tallied and the profits split between the estate sale company and the beneficiaries. Estate sale liquidators generally charge 40-50% of the proceeds. 

Online liquidation sales follow a slightly different process. 

The items for sale are cataloged just like an in-house sale, but instead of staging the home, we take photographs of all the items and uploaded them to an auction platform like LiveAuctionWorld. We also add a detailed description of each item and a starting bid price. 

Once the auction starts, bidding occurs over several days. The winning bids pay for their purchases and, once we’ve confirmed the payment goes through, schedule a pickup time. 

Pickup appointments are normally spaced out to minimize chaos. After all, we wouldn’t want to accidentally give a buyer someone else’s purchase. Staff is also on hand to ensure things go smoothly. 

Then, once again, proceeds are divvied up among all parties and the estate sale process officially concludes.