What Am I Going To Do With All My Stuff?™
By Julie Hall, The Estate Lady®, LLC
An Information-Packed eBook That Offers Step-by-Step Direction and Understanding For the Downsizing Process
Copyright 2015 Julie Hall, The Estate Lady LLC,
All rights reserved.
Published in eBook format by The Estate Lady Publications
Converted by http://www.eBookIt.com
ISBN-13: 978-0-9892-5294-2
© 2015 The Estate Lady®. All content is the owned or licensed property of The Estate Lady ® and is protected by U.S. copyright and trademark laws. The compilation (meaning the collection, arrangement, and assembly) of all content in this eBook is the exclusive property of the Estate Lady® and protected by U.S. copyright laws. The Estate Lady® grants you permission to view and personally use content made available to you in this eBook. The reproduction, modification, distribution, transmission, republication, display, or performance, of this content is strictly prohibited.
INTRODUCTION
“Daunting” is a good word to describe the downsizing and estate settlement process. Many questions and potential problems can arise during each step of the process. Whether selling household contents that are your own, or clearing out a home after a loved one becomes infirm or passes away, numerous emotions will surface. The process, if unknown, can make it even more challenging.
Consider this process a labyrinth of issues; whichever way you go, there are even more questions and things to bring worry and stress. To complicate matters, there are “unprofessional professionals” waiting in the wings to take advantage, so you must choose the best professional to assist you.
This guide assumes that you plan to do the downsizing and clearing on your own, without too much reliance on professionals. You’ll discover in this guide that professional guidance will still be invaluable. Whether you decide that this process is more than you can handle alone, or you just need professional evaluation of your collections, you’ll have all the help you need to make that choice. The American Society of Estate Liquidators® Consumer Guide on “How to Hire the Right Estate Liquidator” is the perfect eBook companion to this guide. It’s available at www.ASELonline.com. The more knowledge you can amass, the better equipped you will be to make sound decisions.
Before you learn about the process of downsizing or handling an estate, you need to understand values and how they are really determined. Understanding values will enable you to move forward with better decision making, not to mention peace of mind. Please take the time to read through all the sections of this guide before beginning; the perspectives from one of the nation's foremost estate liquidation experts will be most helpful to guide you.
Empower yourself before you begin.
Chapter 1
UNDERSTANDING “VALUE” AND THE REAL WORTH OF ITEMS IN TODAY’S MARKET
It’s best to begin with what every human being feels and experiences, whether downsizing or handling the estate of a loved one. Emotions are powerful; you feel the tug of nostalgia and the sentimentality of “remember when?” It is in our nature to place a very high dollar figure to mother’s or your beloved items. Is this a realistic view of what "value" is and what can be expected? No, not really.
The crucial first step is to understand different kinds of value and what makes something valuable, or at least of more value than other items. This will help you make clear and sound decisions as you move forward in this process.
SENTIMENTAL VALUE
A piece may not have much monetary value, but it can have priceless sentimental value. This item may mean even more if the loved one who gave it to you has passed away.
Possessions can trigger powerful emotions, both positive and negative. For some daughters, for example, it might be the memory of mom giving you a ring of hers that you always admired since childhood. Mom gave it to you in person; you always remember the smile, the feeling, the hug. This memory is a frozen snippet of time between the two of you and no one can ever take that away. You will have the same emotions when you give your child a possession that is special to you.
For sons, it may be camping or fishing trips during childhood with your dad. Later in life, dad may give you his coveted collection of fishing lures or fly rods. These memories are sacred, because they represent times spent together with dad; the collection now carries that memory.
Not always, but sometimes, these items that are precious to us do not have much monetary value:
Sentimental value may be the highest measure of value for some people. Still when you face the daunting task of downsizing, you may see some dollar signs. It is wise to keep your expectations in neutral; the current market is not as strong as it used to be for secondary furnishings, it may not be the style or color someone is looking for, or others may not see the monetary value that you do in your items.
Recognize that these possessions may have been more desirable years ago than they are today in a very different 21st century market and economy.
Keep what is genuinely precious to you; make peace with letting go of the rest. Exercise careful judgment and restraint. If you’re not careful, you will take away or keep far more than you can store at your home comfortably. Make the best possible choices now.
Bottom line: If it’s special to you or was cherished by a close family member, that’s wonderful, but the dollar amount it may sell for may not equal your feelings for it. This is particularly true when you hire a professional appraiser/estate liquidator, who will know the pricing and values of items. They know the proper methods to objectively research the realized prices for these items.
MONETARY VALUE
Certainly, there can be items of significant value in your home or a loved one’s estate. Most of the time, people don’t even know they possess items of value unless they hire a personal property appraiser to conduct a walk-through of the home, before any decisions are made and before anything is sold, distributed or donated.
Sometimes, an old appraisal done many years ago will surface, yet this is not necessarily an accurate depiction of today’s values. Treasures are found in the nooks and crannies of attics, and in the back of closets, that have been buried and ignored. Some of these could have real monetary value. Other times,
