Where Do I Start?
Settling an Estate? Call an Auctioneer Before You Start Selling Things
When a loved one passes away, one of the first questions a family or executor faces is, “What are we going to do with everything?” There may be a home, vehicles, lawn equipment, tools, antiques, collectibles, furniture and decades of household belongings to sort through. It can be tempting to immediately start checking things off the list. Sell the mower to a neighbor. Let family members take the tools. Put the vehicle on Facebook Marketplace. Donate the furniture. Call a Realtor about the house. Our advice is simple:
Before you start selling, donating or giving things away, have a professional look at the entire estate.
Start With the Whole Picture
At The Ruckman Group, our business model is built around providing a complete solution, from the house to the hand tools. When we're called early, we can evaluate the real estate and personal property together and help the family determine the best way to handle it. That doesn't mean everything needs to go to auction. Some items may belong with family members. Some may be better donated. The real estate may or may not be a good candidate for auction. The important thing is to develop the plan before making decisions that can't easily be reversed.
Why Selling the Big-Ticket Items First Can Backfire
This is something we've encountered increasingly often. A family sells the tractor, mower, vehicle, trailer and better tools. Family members take the collectibles. The house gets listed for sale. Then an auctioneer is called to handle what's left. Unfortunately, what's left may be several rooms of furniture, ordinary household goods and miscellaneous items that require substantial labor to sort, photograph, catalog, advertise and sell. Those items can certainly have value. But an auction also has costs.
The stronger assets in an estate often help make it economically feasible for an auction company to handle everything else. Consider an estate with a tractor, mower, trailer, quality tools, collectibles, furniture and household goods. As a complete package, it may make an excellent auction. Remove the tractor, mower, trailer, tools and collectibles, and the economics can change dramatically.
At that point, we may have to tell a family that there simply isn't enough value remaining to justify conducting an auction. That's a difficult conversation, particularly when it could have been avoided with one phone call at the beginning.
You Don't Need to Clean Everything Up Before Calling
Families sometimes hesitate to call because they think the property isn't ready for us to see. That's perfectly fine. We don't need it to be ready. You don't need to organize the garage, empty the cupboards or determine what's valuable before scheduling a consultation. In fact, we'd often rather see the estate as it is.
Auction markets can be surprising. Something a family considers valuable may have limited demand today, while an overlooked item in a basement, barn or garage may attract considerable bidder interest. Our job is to help identify those opportunities and determine how the pieces work together.
What Should an Executor or Family Do First?
Take care of the immediate necessities. Secure the property and vehicles. Locate important legal and financial documents. Identify sentimental belongings that the family intends to keep.
But before you begin disposing of the rest, get a professional evaluation of the estate as a whole.
A consultation can help answer questions such as:
Is there enough personal property for an auction?
Which items are likely to drive bidder interest?
Should certain collections or equipment receive specialized marketing?
Would the real estate be a good candidate for auction?
Should the real estate and personal property be marketed together?
What should be kept, sold, donated or discarded?
What is the most practical way to get from a full property to an empty one?
Getting those answers first can save considerable time, work and frustration later.
From the House to the Hand Tools
Settling an estate can involve much more than selling a house or a few valuable possessions. Someone ultimately has to deal with everything. That's where starting with the right plan matters.
At The Ruckman Group Auctions & Appraisals, we approach estates as a complete problem to solve. Depending on the circumstances, that can include the real estate, vehicles, equipment, tools, collectibles, furniture and everyday household contents.
You don't need to know what everything is worth. You don't need to have everything organized. And you certainly don't need to sell the valuable things first. Call us before you start.
Give us an opportunity to see the whole picture and help you develop a plan that makes sense for the estate.
From the house to the hand tools, one call can start the process.
Auctioneer- John P Ruckman 740-398-6522 / JPR@TheRuckmanGroup.com
Broker: Wigton Real Estate & Auction LLC
Auctioneer License: 2010000097 Real Estate License: SAL.2015003815