Many of you have probably asked the question, "What happens to a persons house and personal belongings when they die?"  The answer is that there is usually an estate sale.  This weekend there is an estate sale at a listing I will be co-listing later this month.  I thought I would take the opportunity to show you how they work. 

So when the owner of this home died he willed his estate to his three children.  They are located all over the country.  The owner's wife passed away several years ago and they have lived in the house for several decades. 

The family hired an estate lawyer to act as executor for the estate.  He in turn hired us to handle the sale of the home.  

The first step is allowing the family members the opportunity to go through the home and remove any personal items they would like to have. 

The next step is having the contents removed.  For this step we hired a company that specializes in estate sale situations.  They have been amazing.  Yesterday they came through and in one day, priced and arranged all the contents of the house similar to a yard sale.  (See pictures)  The actual sale of the items will happen this weekend.  All day Saturday and Sunday people can come in and purchase items. 

Next week I'll make another post on how the sale went.

On Monday the same company invites non profits and charities to comb through what didn't sell and take anything they think they might be able to use.  Later that day a final person is invited through to recycle any items that can be recycled and haul away the items that need to be thrown out.

So here is the timeline:

• Wed: Arranging and pricing of all items
• Sat and Sun: Estate Sale
• Monday: Donation of all usable items, recycling and removal of any remaining items. 

By Monday night the house goes from looking like the photos to completely empty.

Then the estate sale company subtracts their costs from the proceeds of the sale and hands the family a check for the balance. 

Its amazing and a fantastic service to a family who would rather not be burdened with the trouble of having to do all of this themselves.

Tune in next week for the next update.