Happy Mother's Day!
This is what I found when I came home today:
They said my house was almost empty - this is the living room
My dining room
The dressing area outside my bathroom
Kitchen
They told me they are having the carpet cleaned. Now I know why. This is the carpet right inside my front door, see the lovely black stain:
This is the worst stain, but there are small ones all over the carpet
The guest bedroom was almost empty, this is where we are sleeping
I borrowed my neighbor's vacuum and a sheet to lay on the carpet, then put my open sleeping bag on top of a quilt so we can sleep in reasonable cleanliness.
I made more than I expected from the sale, but honestly - I think I've been sugarcoating things. It hasn't been as easy as it looked. The ladies were pretty disorganized, brought in, I felt, a lot more of other people's stuff than I thought they should have. Once I was committed and signed the contract, I just kind of let things go, figuring they have been in business a long time and were the professionals. But I really don't think they respected my property. I sure liked them and trusted them at our first meeting, but...
(Merikay asked in her blog if any of us delete or re-write our posts - well, Merikay, here is the space where I cut out all my ranting... Four long paragraphs.)
Just beware if you hire a company to do an estate sale. I can't believe they are all like this, do some checking of references before signing the contract.
I might be a little happier after I receive my check. I'll let you know. : )
I had a comment on my blog that a follower is in the middle of a short sale. I have been thinking about doing that. I just learned about short sales from two ladies at my Estate Sale. They both did short sales on their homes and explained how it works. One has a realtor that specializes in short sales and I’m going to call her tomorrow.
I will never move back to my condo, I can’t afford the mortgage when I retire. I’ve already lost my $70,000 down payment because of the downturn in the market, and now I’m thinking, why bother with renters? It will never appreciate to the point where I can sell it and break even, why not just let it go.
I just had a woman call me to rent my place, and she explained that she had to let her home go, but her credit report was still 720, so it didn’t hurt her too much. That’s 4 people this weekend that told me they had a short sale, and I've never talked to anyone before about short sales. I’m wondering if someone is trying to tell me something?!?
I have 90 Followers now! Every so often the numbers are strange. I had 89 before, and now it shows 90, but I don't see any new photos. I hope I'm not missing anyone, the photos are added at the top where we can see them and there aren't any new ones after Bob, so if I've missed anyone, I apologize.
I have 90 Followers now! Every so often the numbers are strange. I had 89 before, and now it shows 90, but I don't see any new photos. I hope I'm not missing anyone, the photos are added at the top where we can see them and there aren't any new ones after Bob, so if I've missed anyone, I apologize.
From Me and My Dog, Katie, have a good Sunday night, everyone! : )
When are you going to put a picture of your rig as your header picture?
ReplyDeleteLooks like your estate ladies were just using u. I think when I had my estate sale, I would have been better off to just give it away!
sometimes you have to know when to 'fold em'!.we can relate to your situation...good luck with the estate sale!!!
ReplyDeleteI know everyone's situation is different, but I'll let you know how mine goes..
ReplyDeleteOMG is right!
ReplyDelete"brought in, I felt, a lot more of other people's stuff than I thought they should have"
Are you saying lot of the stuff (in the photos) are not yours?
Almost empty? What did it look like when the sale began? An estate sale is probably a once in a life time event for most people and your post will undoubtedly help some who are facing a sale in the future.
ReplyDeleteHope the OMG moment didn't prevent you from having a wonderful Mother's Day!
When my mother died in 2009 we hired an estate sale company and they did the same thing. Plus, not only did they bring in a lot of other peoples junk but they sold items clearly marked as not for sale.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion of people has gone down over the years. It seems more and more they are simply in it for themselves no matter what they tell you and they'll you use to make a buck any way possible.
Good luck with the rest of it!
Erik
Wow - you where really taken!! No matter how big the check is, it's still not right. As a business owner back in the day - we always gave more then what we where paid for - it was our duty not right to give service... Sending good vibes and now you have us guessing what was in those 4 paras... lol... I can imagine lol...
ReplyDeleteEvielynne
First, I'm a Realtor in Texas so that's where I'm coming from...
ReplyDeleteMake sure you thoroughly check out the short sale option with some folks who really know their stuff. It MAY not affect your credit greatly, but it could also be that the lady you spoke to just hasn't had it hit her report yet.
Carefully read all the fine print of the short sale docs from the bank and have your attorney and/or tax specialist look them over. You generally have to prove that you can no longer afford the property to qualify for a short sale. Sometimes you are liable for income taxes on the difference between the loan amount and the sale price. AND short sales can take a REALLY LONG TIME once you have an offer. In the meantime you are still responsible for the mortgage, insurance, etc.
If you can rent the property for enough to cover expenses, I would hire that good property manager you mentioned in another post and hang on to it. Never say never and you still look pretty young so you've still got time to turn the real estate around.
Was any of the stuff from other owner's? Will be anxious to know the final outcome - was it worth it, would you do it again? Hope nothing was stolen.
ReplyDeleteSometimes if your follower doesn't have a picture loaded, they will go to the back of the pack. They usually just have a shadow picture. Just place your curser on them and you may be able to find them that way.
ReplyDeleteI would never rent a property out, but to each his own. To me, it always had too many dollar signs attached. Ins.,taxes, up-keep, them complaining about stuff. Nuff said.
Well, except for the fact that you got it done and will now be free of "stuff" I think the estate sale looked terrible. It looked like they turned your place into a junky thrift shop! What happens to the stuff of yours that didn't sell? do you get anything for it?
ReplyDeleteI just hope they give you the check in a timely manner and that it clears!
Estate Sales are always tramatic, and it sounds like yours was not that well handled.
ReplyDeleteBut..it's over. Take a deep breath and get on with your new life. We went through the same thing and once we decided to just get over the pain, we felt free and renewed.
Our thoughts are with you, doing this is one of the hardest things you will ever do.
I can't recommend short sale. Give yourself time to recover from the sale and then call a good reputable rental agency and check them out with the Better Business Burue and google their company name and see what comes up.
Give yourself a pat on the back for finally dealing with things and relax, your REAL adventure is about to begin!
I am looking for an estate sales company for an elderly relative's place. I did some research online and found there are some very nasty estate sales people out there. When I found one I liked, I checked them out with the state Dept of Justice to see if any compliants had been filed against them. I also looked at their business name filing with the state to make sure their license and insurance are current. This company checked out fine so I think I will interview them. It's really hard when you don't know anything about their business. So sorry they left you with such a mess.
ReplyDeleteAs a former banker, I have to agree with the Carol and Johnny about the short sale. Sometimes you have no choice but please be careful.
Sorry you had that experience! Hope in the end you were able to sell alot of things and make some money!
ReplyDelete