SETTLING AN ESTATE
When faced with a house to downsize or empty, an online auction can simplify the task
It's the ultimate downsizing — clearing out a house completely.
Fred Priebe of Ottawa became executor of his late cousin's south Ottawa home last spring, and experienced the challenging task of disposing of all the possessions and getting the house ready for sale.
“I was dealing with a lot of banks as well, because there were credit card bills outstanding,” he recalled. It was a busy time.
“My cousin who owned the house passed away the past December,” said Priebe. “I came back early from Florida, March 31, because I was the executor, and I started trying to sort it all out.”
His son and his wife also “helped me tremendously with renting the dumpster and hiring manpower to fill it,” he said. “They helped with cleaning as well as many of the other tasks.”
During his “trials and tribulations,” Priebe's sister told him about MaxSold and he called them up, “went through their registration process, and wound up having an online estate sale.”
By the time the MaxSold crew arrived at the house, Priebe had emptied it quite a bit. “My cousin was a genius at computers, but he had no concept of personal finances or housekeeping. They sent a crew over to the house on a Friday and I was really impressed by the way the crew supervisor and his crew went around sorting things out and putting tags on everything. He took photos of all the lots. We scheduled the sale to open online Aug. 26 and they handled the entire process, taking a percentage of the sales and a cash amount to pay the crew.”
Having all that done, “allayed my concerns tremendously, and the sale closed Sept. 10, a Thursday, and they had all the bids in.”
Sunday, Sept. 13 was the pickup date. It rained all morning. “They told the 259 people to come at appointed times, and they guided people to their items,” he said. “I was told the sale was 97 per cent successful — the upright piano didn't sell nor did the freezer and so both had to be removed separately.”
Afterward, Priebe hired Litter Guyz to clean the house completely and the backyard. “They did a marvellous job. The real estate agent arranged for photos to be taken and the house was put up for sale Tuesday, Sept. 29.”
The sale grossed $11,277.28, according to Danielle Forget, customer coordinator, MaxSold Inc.
As for the townhouse, it sold $30,000 above asking, making Priebe even happier about the way things went.
“MaxSold makes it very easy for people like Fred to downsize,” says Forget. “In less than two weeks, clients go from `listed' to `sold.' Day 1 is for cataloguing and photography, and Day 9, for pickup. You can hire our team to do these on-site functions, such as organizing and cataloguing, or you can do them yourself.”
If you're downsizing, you will need to balance what you want to keep and what will also fit in your new space.
On Day 2, the team sends the digital catalogue for the client to review and correct any errors before the auction goes live.
On Day 3 the auction opens on MaxSold and buyers are notified on social media, estate sale sites and online classifieds.
“On Day 9, the auction closes, with bidding getting most intense in the last 15 minutes of closing,” says Forget. “You can even follow the closing of the auction from the comfort of your home to see the excitement unfold online.”
Day 11, pickup, follows a professionally supervised schedule and time frame.
“Buyers come with invoices and identification in hand to collect the items they would have already paid for,” she says. “No money is exchanged on-site. Even gated communities and condos approve this process due to the tightly organized pickup. We have also been able to adapt very easily to working safely during the pandemic. Each buyer is given a certain time to pick up their items, which allows us to space people out to keep our clients and employees safe.
Faced with a full house to downsize or empty, the task can seem onerous. “The first thing you look at is what you absolutely need and what you don't,” Forget advises. “If you're downsizing, you will need to balance what you want to keep and what will also fit in your new space. If you're going to have fewer bedrooms, then you want to sell off the extra dressers, beds, frames and night tables, possibly while keeping your favourites or being mindful of how you want to use your space.”
Downsizing is also a perfect time to go through old collections or small mementoes that have been in storage, she says, and to either find a way to include them in your space or let them go.
“When trying to decide what value an item has, it's hard not to let your attachment to it get in the way. A lot of items hold sentimental value, but that doesn't mean it will fetch a high price at auction.
Similarly, things that hold almost no value to you personally, or that seem too cheap to auction might actually get a good price because people can use them and there's value in that.”
Most of the time, when involved in an auction, she says that buyers can see the worth and the value of an item and will spend accordingly — “but this is also one of the reasons why bidding in MaxSold auction lots start at $1 — it lets buyers and competition drive the value.”
A classic beginner mistake is to hold back a high-value item for sale elsewhere, she says. “High-value or niche goods actually drive interest in the overall auction so keeping them out will affect the amount of interest and the number of bidders in a bad way. We have found in our data, supported by anecdotal experience from our experts, that the high-value goods can draw people into your auction.”
Each auction is a series of lots; lots are items grouped together and sold together. “Building each lot is a real art, and it can be tricky to get right. You don't want to add too much or too little; you don't necessarily want it to be too uniform either. You want just the right amount of variety.”
That's where hiring an auctioneer can help. “People are often intimidated by the prospect of hiring an auctioneer or estate sales company — granted, these make the process sound pretty grandiose if you don't see your house as an `estate.' Historically, there has been a real gap between high-end auctioneers and the kinds of auctions that people who are downsizing or moving want and what their goals are.”
As for popular items, “furniture that is in good condition is always popular. Carpentry equipment and tools are almost always sold.
“But everyday household items also get a lot of attention simply because everyone needs them every day.”
There are also trends that affect what is popular at a specific time, she adds. “Since COVID-19, we have seen an increase in interest in hobby items such as instruments, especially guitars, photographic equipment and sewing kits. There's been interest in boats and RVs as people transition to local travel; and bikes and exercise equipment have been bought and sold a lot as people try to stay fit through lockdowns and gym closures.”
Even items that are stained, scratched and/or broken can get interest because of the trend of upcycling and reusing. “These items might not get sold at a high-value — but they do have value nonetheless, and the prospect of keeping them out of landfill is a great incentive to include them in any auction.”
“I wound up with over $7,135 from the auction,” says Priebe. “It was all worthwhile, taking a big load off my mind.”
Since COVID-19, we have seen an increase in interest in hobby items such as instruments, especially guitars.