I often tell people that taking care of an inherited property is something that most people are capable of doing on their own. It all comes down to how much time you want to spend on it. The analogy that I use is that it is like painting an entire house inside and out. While this is something many people can do, it is going to take a lot of time, and when it is done, most people feel they should have hired someone to do the painting/estate cleanout for them. Many people also underestimate how much stuff is in a house and end up calling after they have filled up their first dumpster. We will talk about ways to help you get the estate cleared out. 

Estate sale

An estate sale is a great way to get rid of the personal belongings in an estate, but there are a few things to consider when trying to figure out if you can do one. First, most estate sale companies will not do one unless there is over $10,000 worth of items in the house. The heirs need to keep this in mind when taking items from the house; we have seen family members take too many of the valuables, and there is no longer enough left to meet that minimum.

The second thing to remember is that an estate sale is not performed to make the most money possible. It is done to get the house cleared out without costing you any money. The estate sale company usually takes around 50% of the profit from the sale. If you are looking to get the most money for the belongings, take the items you think are most valuable and sell them on your own - but remember that if you do, you risk not having enough value to do an estate sale.

If you decide to have a garage sale instead and keep all the money, understand that estate sale companies have huge customer bases that they notify of upcoming sales and the contents being sold. This gets people lined up before the doors open on the day of the sale. Garage sales are typically only going to get bargain hunters and Looky Lous.

Donate the good stuff     

Whether you do an estate sale or not, there are going to be good things that don’t get sold but still are nice enough that someone might want them. There are many places that will take good clothes, towels and linens, shoes, and furniture in good condition. Unfortunately most places will not come pick these items up, but if you can get them to a donation center, the center will give you a receipt for the value of what you donated that you can use for your taxes. It might be cumbersome but it is a better solution than throwing those good items out. 

Clearing out the rest of the house



Many people don’t like this reality but the remainder of the items in the house that cannot be sold or donated are thrown out. This can be hard for some people because it can be an emotional process getting rid of the last items of a loved one. It can also be overwhelming because of the number of things in a house, counting all the closets, kitchen cabinets, an attic, and a basement full of old Christmas decorations or papers from when their children were in school. 

Kansas City Legacy Properties understands all that goes into a full property cleanout. We help heirs come up with the plan that is going to work best for them. Sometimes we need to clear out some of the trash to be able to see items of value. Other times, family members want to keep some belongings but need a way to get them to their house or other heirs’ houses. We can coordinate getting those belongings to a safe place. In the end, we can get the whole house cleared out in a timely manner for the heirs to allow them to move into the house, sell it, or make it a rental as quickly as possible and move on. 

Kansas City Legacy Properties is here to help. Give us a call or visit our website today.