When doing an estate sale and going through a professional firm, there are several things you want to avoid in order to keep things as smooth as possible. Organizing an event can be quite overwhelming, so if possible, you’ll want to seek help from an estate clearance company to help make things a lot easier. Most real estate sales companies are used to handling assets valued in the tens of thousands of dollars, but that doesn’t always mean the companies are reputable, so you’ll want to check your sources and weed out the unreliable ones. .
Here are 5 common mistakes to avoid when hiring a company to run your sale:
- Be sure to research the company before agreeing to sign a contract and try to find out how long they have been providing their services. It’s also important to know if your employees are members of professional associations, have specialized credentials, or are ordinary people with no real estate sales experience. Unfortunately, scams will crop up and knowing exactly who you are doing business with will help prevent any scams from happening. If you don’t feel comfortable with the company’s employees, don’t hesitate to contact another company. Failing to properly review the listing company can be costly and is a mistake that is made all too often.
- Always compare rates and fees from professional companies and make sure they are clear and fully understood. There may be additional charges for security, moving costs, garbage collection, advertising, cleaning and other expenses related to the sale of real estate. The company will already take a percentage of the total amount obtained from the sale, so you don’t want to receive unexpected charges that you weren’t initially aware of. You should ask for commissions and fees in advance and compare them with other companies so that you get the best possible deal. Many people don’t make as much money as they can because they make this mistake.
- Don’t make the slip of removing items from the house after hiring a professional company, because the company could charge you for any loss of commission. So if there’s something in the house that you want to exclude from the sale, let the company know ahead of time so things don’t get mixed up.
- If you want to clean up before the big estate sale and throw away any items you think are junk, go ahead, but make sure these items are worthless. That dusty old piece of pottery or seemingly ugly vintage lamp could be rare and worth thousands of dollars.
- Finally, don’t make the mistake of not hiring a professional real estate sales company. If you don’t know what you’re doing and can’t properly research the value of certain items, you’ll almost certainly lose a lot of money. An estate sales liquidation company can assess the value of all items for sale in the home, clean up after the event, and monitor all transactions. Some companies even offer a balloon payment for items that don’t sell. Despite paying a commission, you often end up earning more by using a real estate sales company rather than going it alone.