Imagine becoming the executor of an estate and you are responsible for liquidating a house and its contents. Imagine when you arrive at the home you open the front door and find each room and walkway packed from floor to ceiling with stuff. Where to begin?
An estate executor responsible for liquidating a house and its contents recently contacted me. The deceased was an avid collector who had accumulated a lifetime of treasures. The executor was taking Know Before You Throw to heart and asked me to check things out.
Boxes of unopened collector dolls, baseball cards, stamp collections, Hollywood memorabilia, vintage magazines, record albums, jewelry and more filled every room. One could hardly move inside the house.
A situation like this can sometimes be overwhelming for the people left to deal with the estate. The goal in each situation is to maximize the value of the estate for the beneficiaries. The executor’s fiduciary responsibility can be met by having the personal property carefully reviewed by someone knowledgeable in determining appropriate value of the items. Taking the proper steps to harvest that value is then key.
Highlights of this estate’s treasures include:
- Vintage men’s wristwatches by Omega, Hamilton, Elgin and others, which are becoming hot collectibles as interest in mid-century modern design jewelry is increasing.
- Black and white Hollywood photos, both studio staged and candid images, some autographed.
- Hollywood actor biographies from their management agents. Actors include Tony Curtis, Bette Davis, Jim Hutton and others.
And, if you want to see these treasures at the estate sale, it will be held the first week of June. If you’d like to be notified when and where the sale will occur, please send me an email at Jon@KnowBeforeYouThrow.INFO, and I will let you know once details are available.
Jon Englund has more than 30 years of experience in appraising and liquidating personal property, jewelry, art, collectibles, antiques, furniture, printed items and more, as well as more than 15 years of experience in real estate. A Midwest transplant, Jon trained at New York University in appraisal studies.
Donna Luger has assisted during that time, and is a veteran Associate Broker and Realtor with HomeSmart Realty—Elite Group.
For more information, call (480) 699-1567. You also can send an email to Jon@KnowBeforeYouThrow.INFO.