5 Steps to Prep Your House for an Estate Liquidator

Before the Estate Sale Consultation

An estate sale might be the best solution for you or your family, but how do you prepare the house for your estate sale walk through? We offer free estate sale consultations in the Greater Sacramento area and beyond.

Before we meet for your free estate sale consultation, we ask that you follow these 5 steps to make the most of our appointment:

1. Decide on a deadline.

Would you like to put the home on the market by a certain date, or do you otherwise have a deadline for the completion of your estate sale? Be ready to offer any important dates to the estate sale company you interview.

Once we begin setting up your estate sale, a typical time frame for having the sale is within 2 ½ - 3 weeks.

2. Decide what will be excluded from the estate sale.

If the home is full of items the family is planning to keep (but unable to remove before our appointment), then it's best if they are placed in a designated area or simply tagged with a sticky note. If you can’t do this, no worries. Please be prepared to give us a general idea of what the estate sale will look like.

If there are too many “unknowns”, then we may not be able to offer you a proposal until there is more clarity on what items we will be in charge of selling.

3. Don’t get rid of anything!

You may be tempted to start donating or tossing things before we come out. Let us handle the sorting! The more inventory, the more likely it is that your sale will be viable. Leave behind linen, cleaning supplies, clothing, etc. unless you know it is absolute trash.

Remember, you can always donate leftover items after the sale. We also offer donation and clean-out services after the sale if you'd like us to empty the house for you.

4. Leave the work for the estate sale company.

We are trained to see through the clutter to great estate sale potential! Don't box, sort, or organize anything. As we prepare your sale, we empty cupboards, drawers and closets. All of our organization and staging is part of what you get when you hire a pro, and any work you do will probably be undone.

Remove or separate the things you want to keep, and leave the rest to us!

5. Determine the services you will need after the sale.

After the sale is complete, there may be 10%-20% of items remaining. If you have goals beyond liquidating the estate, we will need to know the post-sale services you require. Most of our clients want the home completely emptied.

If so, consider:

• Are there certain items the family will want to save if they are unsold?

• Would you like debris hauled to a trash facility? (We offer hauling services)

• Leftovers donated to charity? (We offer removal services)

• Will you require professional boxing or shipping of any items to family out of state? We can help with that, too!

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You've got a deadline, pulled the items you want keep, and now you're ready for the estate sale appointment! Schedule your consultation today. If your estate is outside of the Sacramento area, this article is still a great checklist most companies will appreciate.

We hope we've helped you on your mission to hire a professional estate liquidator!