Before The Estate Sale

Before anything leaves the house, look closer.

When my mother died, my brother and I had six weeks to empty the house she had lived in for fifty-one years. On the second day, I nearly sent a box of “kitchen junk” to the curb, until I turned over a tarnished spoon and saw the word Sterling. A week later, my brother and I stopped speaking for a month over a dining table neither of us wanted.

Those are the two great dangers of clearing a family home: throwing away something valuable in a hurry, and losing each other in the process. This guide helps you avoid both.

What you’ll be able to do:

• Protect the house, the papers and the valuables in the first 48 hours, before anything is moved
• Sort a whole house with one simple system: five boxes, one decision at a time
• Spot what’s worth a second look in every room, and what usually isn’t
• Find out what things actually sell for, so nobody talks you into a low offer
• Divide belongings fairly, and keep your family talking

What’s inside (72 pages):

• The First 48 Hours: locking down the house, finding the paper trail, and checking the hiding places where parents tucked away cash and valuables
• The Sorting System: the Five Boxes, the Sentimental Rule, the Maybe Box, and a fair Who-Gets-What rotation for siblings
• Room by room: 12 rooms, from the kitchen and china cabinet to the attic
• The Field Guide: maker’s marks, sterling or plated, real gold or not, signed jewelry, china, furniture, books, art and watches
• Where it goes: the Sold-Price Method, your selling options compared, and how to choose an estate sale company
• Word-for-word scripts for estate sale companies, dealers and your siblings
• Letting go well: keeping the stories, the photo project, and saying goodbye to the house
• Printable working pages: Room Tracker, Ask First Inventory, Sold-Price Research Sheet, Who Gets What and Key Contacts

Five bonuses included: The First Weekend quickstart, printable box labels, 25 Things Never to Throw Away Without Checking, the Family Meeting Agenda, and Your First Online Listing.

How it arrives: this is a digital book (PDF). You can download it straight after paying, and the link is emailed to you too. Nothing is shipped. Read it on your phone, tablet or computer, and print any page you like.

7-day money-back guarantee: if it isn’t for you, reply to your receipt email within 7 days for a full refund.

Look closer. The details are usually underneath.

Frances



This guide is general information, not professional appraisal, legal or tax advice. If a parent has died, speak to the executor or an estate attorney before selling or giving anything away.