11. Estate Sales 101 – What You Need to Know

Thinking about having an estate sale but not sure where to start? In this episode, we’re joined by Lezlie Burks, owner of Options Estate Sales, who shares her expert advice on how to navigate the estate sale process with confidence and clarity.

Whether you’re downsizing, handling a loved one’s estate, or clearing out a home full of items, estate sales can feel overwhelming—but they don’t have to be.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• What exactly is an estate sale, and how does it work
• The difference between estate sales, garage sales, and auctions
• How pricing is determined and what sells well (and what doesn’t)
• How long it takes to prepare and conduct an estate sale
• What happens to items that don’t sell

Key Questions We Answer:

• Do I need to clean or organize before calling an estate sale company?
• How do I know if my belongings are “valuable enough” for an estate sale?
• What should I look for when hiring an estate sale company?
• What fees should I expect, and how is payment handled?
• What are the most common mistakes people make—and how can you avoid them?

Why You Should Listen:

• Understand the full estate sale process from an experienced professional
• Learn how to prepare emotionally and practically for letting go of belongings
• Get tips on maximizing your results and avoiding common pitfalls

If an estate sale is on your horizon—or even just a possibility—this episode will help you feel informed, empowered, and ready to move forward with confidence.

🎧 Listen now to get behind-the-scenes insight into estate sales from a trusted pro.

#EstateSales #DownsizingHelp #Decluttering #OptionsEstateSales #LettingGo #HomeTransitions #SeniorMoves #OrganizingTips #EstateSaleTips #MovingForward #downsizingroadmap

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Transcript

Jodi Rosko 0:01

Welcome back to another episode of the Downsizing Roadmap Podcast with your hosts Jody Roscoe and Heather Fisher. We're talking about all things downsizing, from our own experiences with clients to guest experts. Let's make downsizing easier, one conversation at a time. So welcome back to Downsizing Roadmap. We're so excited we have Leslie Burke here today, and she's going to talk to us about all things estate sales. She's from Options here in Dayton, Ohio. But estate sales are kind of similar all around the country, I'm sure. So she's going to kind of give us some great information about how estate sales work and answer all the questions that we have about this kind of thing. So welcome, Leslie. Thank you guys. Good to be here. Yeah.

Heather Fisher 0:41

We're excited to have you. Thank you. You can give a lot of information that I think a lot of people ask us when we meet with them. Yep. All about estate sales.

Jodi Rosko 0:51

I'm Jody Roscoe, I didn't say that part. I'm Jody Roscoe. I'm Heather Fisher. And you can say your name so they can hear your voice. And I'm Leslie Burke. There we go. Okay. So um all right. So um an estate sale, tell us tell us a little bit about um how an estate sale were different from a garage sale, just when we just as we kind of get started, like what's an estate sale?

Lezlie Burks 1:12

So an estate sale basically is where you want to have um you know quality items and they can be even simple items, but uh their difference is that people for a garage sale want everything for nothing. And for an estate sale, we're actually working for the estate. So we want to get as much money for the items that we could. So a garage sale basically is kind of like a low end sale, that's probably the lowest, and then um you would do maybe a liquidation sale after that, an estate sale would be probably the top. So you're getting more money and you're actually looking things up, you're seeing the value of those things too. So it's not just like you're just gonna have a nickel or a dime or a dollar table.

Jodi Rosko 1:51

Yeah.

Lezlie Burks 1:51

Yeah. So it's kind of fun to, you know, see all those different things, but it's a little bit higher end, okay.

Heather Fisher 1:58

If someone is looking at their home or the home of a family member, what would you say would lead someone to think I should probably look into an estate sale? What are the, you know, what's the criteria of maybe I should or always investigate that, or is there some signs?

Lezlie Burks 2:20

Yes, I think a lot of times people call us, especially realtors will call us when it's a little too late and they have to have the house closed and they're closing in three to four weeks. Um and we can talk about the process in length later. But I would say um you really need to plan ahead with your person and try to I kind of forgot where we're going with that. Um why they would need an estate set. Thank you. So I would say if your house, a lot of people think that the furniture is what's really gonna bring the money in. They don't think about the small items that are in the house. So it could be costume jewelry, it could be kitchenware, it could be bathroom, um, anything like that, sheets and towels and stuff like that too. So I think if you look at a home and you have at least half of a home left over with items, you're probably gonna have enough to do an estate sale.

Jodi Rosko 3:04

That's a that's a great point because we do have a lot of people who are moving to another home, so they're taking some of their things. And so the question is like, do you have enough for an estate sale or what does that look like? Yeah. And so half is a good thought process of you're gonna if you're gonna have half of the stuff it's worthwhile to have. Because sometimes if you take too many things, the estate sale isn't gonna work for you and it isn't gonna work for them, it's just not gonna be a good fit. Yes.

Heather Fisher 3:30

I think when we first met you, that was one of the most interesting things and what we see people asking us about, like you said, is their furniture or antiques or those big items, but you um, you know, were saying the big sellers and what will add up to a sale really is the everyday small items. And you know, some of it was just so interesting, the things that people that routinely come to get cleaning supplies, and you said, don't even throw away the half-used box of tissue, someone will buy it, and yeah, all of that.

Jodi Rosko 4:06

Which we made that mistake because w when we first met you, you know, we had my mom's house, um, which had all my mom's stuff and all my grandma's stuff and all my grandpa's stuff in there, even though we'd been gone for a long time. So much stuff in that house. There's a lot. There's a lot. But it was long after we had two dumpsters. Yeah. And that is the thing, because we did throw a lot of things in away. And some of them were genuinely trash, broken things and things that weren't. But we probably threw away things that we didn't need to, and we I think we donated all the clothes before you came. And you know, we were trying to get ourselves it just feels like, oh my gosh, we should be doing something. But what we should be doing is calling you first.

Lezlie Burks 4:48

Yes, call first. Yeah. And then really you just have to take out what you want from the home first. That's the key part, which I think a lot of homeowners are like, well, let me just have them come out and then I'll decide what I want to keep. So we ask them in the beginning, are are we about 90% sure what the family wants to keep out of the home before we make a trip? Of course, it's a free consultation for all of our companies, I believe they are. Um but I think just knowing not to throw those certain things away or don't go through them. I think the key point is is just take out and remove what you want, remove personal items, remove any personal paperwork, checkbooks, or anything like that. Um, and then let the estate sale just determine what is for sale and what's sellable and what's not. Um, because we kind of have an eye of what we'll sell, like Heather was saying earlier. They do, they clean people come to our sales and they buy those items. It doesn't matter to them, but they're half full. Um same thing with yard chemicals. We have a um guy named Steve and he comes and he buys all of our yard chemicals at every sale. So you get to know your people and you know what they sell, but it is the small things that will add up. So I would highly recommend don't throw anything away, and that's usually the common thing because we do different charities too, which we can talk about, but um they do all the clothes and they do all those kind of things too. So um yeah, that's the key thing is just just take out what you want and then let the estate sale company do the rest for you.

Jodi Rosko 6:05

Yeah, yeah. So tell walk us through an estate sale from start to finish. So you come over to our house and what are we talking about?

Lezlie Burks 6:12

So um usually they'll call and you talk to them on the phone, find out a little bit of information location, make sure it's not too far, make sure it's in your your area. Um that's close enough because your groupies, as I call, will come and follow you to estate sales. So you want to check out where their location is. Um and then you just meet with them with a family. Sometimes they're just downsizing, sometimes they lost a a loved one. So once you meet with them, then you kind of walk through the house with them to see if there's enough inventory. Um and by that I mean everybody's estate sales companies are different. Some may only have like maybe a $5,000 quota, some may have $15,000, some may have $20,000, and not take a sale unless it has that much inventory. So you want to walk through the home and see how much inventory is in the home with the homeowner, see what they're keeping and what's selling. And then um once that's done, then you just basically walk through a contract with them, um, and then you will set up the dates um of when we'll be coming in to start the process, and then we have a sale, and then afterwards there's lots of other options that we can um offer, hence our name options, but um there's lots of other piece parts to it later that you can do um to help clear out the house to donation and things like that too. Um but I would say more importantly, it's just meeting with them first, making that connection, and you have to feel comfortable with who you hire. You want to feel good about that um person that you're hiring to do your estate sale, as well as we have to feel comfortable with them too. But most of the time it works out pretty good.

Jodi Rosko 7:32

So tell me about the pricing process. Like how it so you you sign the contract, you're like, okay, we're good, we're gonna go forward. Then tell me what happens next before the sale.

Lezlie Burks 7:40

Yeah, so um this is another thing people don't realize is that you're paying us to help you with this process. So again, just remove what you want. We will take everything out of cabinets and we'll set everything on tables. I like to make things look presentable and maybe do a little decorating with things too, so they could see in their own home. Once that everything is removed from everything and put on tables, then there's a process we go through and we price things. And um a lot of our a lot of the estate sole companies will use anywhere from two to four different apps on your phone and you see what it's sold for last. It's not so much what you're asking for because a lot of homeowners think, oh, well I saw this listed for this much. And they have to remember that just because it was listed for that much doesn't mean that's what it's worth. So you can do nationwide, worldwide apps, so you can do as big or as small as you want. Um and that's how we go with our pricing. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And as the sale progresses, then there are specials each day after the first day where there's discounts applied too.

Jodi Rosko 8:33

Okay. So what I felt like the best thing about having you come to my mom's house was that I wasn't doing it. And so um sometimes I think people will um make a decent amount of money. Sometimes they might not make a huge amount of money, um, but it's still done.

Lezlie Burks 8:54

It is still done. And that's where sometimes we we have a threshold that we prefer. Yeah. But we do it's a business. It is a business, right? But we do give back to the community. So usually once a month we'll do one that's more of a charity to help the people. Maybe the family, it's only the the wife is still here and the husband's gone, and there's no other family. They didn't have children. Um, so as my husband would tell you, I have a hard time saying no. So I always want to help everyone out. So I'll say, okay, we'll you know, we'll come in. But you know, there's just appreciative like you, they're not doing it, they don't have any help um to do it, they don't know the resources of how to get the house emptied within 30 to 45 days and have it ready to turn over to the new owner. So having that from ours is like a start-to-stop finished company, but you know, having that, it just helps them out and it's okay. But they may not have enough, but they're okay with that as so long as it got the house empty. We've done probably at least five of those a year. Where they're just excited that we were able to help them. They didn't really make a whole lot, but the house was empty and cleaned out and everything too.

Jodi Rosko 9:54

So Yeah, so I mean we did make some money on on you know mom's stuff, but uh it was nice to have you guys just be able to come and price it because there's a couple things. You don't know what's worth money and what isn't worth money, you know? Yeah. And so when you're trying to do that on your own, you're like, oh my gosh, should I keep this? Should we be selling this? Should we donate this? Should we, you know, we don't know. But if it sells at the estate sale, that means it had value. And if it doesn't, then donating was the way to go. And I think that mindset around it should be there so that you um you aren't feeling like I don't think it's necessarily I mean, maybe you have some that are like this. If you if people had bought really things that were really expensive in the first place and have kept their value, you know, there's probably ones that do make a decent amount of money because some. Yeah. And then there's some that are just mid, like, right? And so there's things in the house that you know have value and some things that probably don't, but you don't know how to sort it, you know, as a right. We don't know how to sort it.

Heather Fisher 10:51

And that cost of time item by item when it's not what you do every day. Where do I go sell this? Who will buy it, you know, with the estate sales, you have a built-in audience because you have those groupies that you referred to them, but you have those people locally that know, you know, your company and know the estate sale websites and are watching for the sales. And so um by someone choosing to use an estate sale company, they have that much broader audience for the items and the potential to sell it versus just thinking, oh, I could, you know, save m money by doing it myself, but where are you going to get that in front of the right buyer?

Lezlie Burks 11:37

So I think a lot of times I hear, oh, well, I put on Facebook Marketplace, they never show up, right? So that's a downer. Um the other thing too, you know, we we like to try to be green. So we look at our company as as as estate sale people as a whole, is that we're being green. We're trying to make and find new homes for those things versus just throwing them away, right? Um, I will say the one thing difference with a um a garage sale is that I can't tell you how many times I have people come in and they'll say, Oh, I just bought one of these at a garage sale last year for like two dollars, and it's at our estate sale for two hundred. So that's where the really the difference I feel comes into play to have that expertise from an estate sale company because a lot of times you get into the same year and you see five and six of the same things that whole year. So you already know what you sold it for last, so it takes a little bit less research. But having that knowledge, because you would have sold it for two, we sold it for 200, that's a big difference for the estate. So I think the garage sale part is where a lot of people will go because they don't know what they have because they don't take the time to look it up, or they don't have the resources. Um a lot of those apps you have to pay for, which if you're just gonna do a garage sale once a year or something, just nothing worse than a garage sale. I would rather chew my arm off than have a garage sale, but me too.

Jodi Rosko 12:48

I'm like, I paid $100 for this. I priced it at $3, and you're like, can I give a quarter for it? No, no, I'm gonna donate it. You don't even deserve it.

Heather Fisher 12:59

True. I don't get to that point. I'm just like, garage sale, nope, donation.

Jodi Rosko 13:05

Like, no, we have I don't know. It was it's been a while now because I've put my foot down and I was like, I'm not doing it. But Mark was like, my husband was like, Oh, we should have a garage sale. We though meaning me is what that kind of ended up being. But we did let the kids sell their toys and keep their money from it, and it was a good, you know, when they were little or good, you know, making change and you know, all of the things. Good lesson.

Lezlie Burks 13:28

Good lesson for them.

Jodi Rosko 13:29

But but yeah, no, I'm I'm good. I'm I'm out.

Lezlie Burks 13:32

No, I don't think I've ever held a garage thing.

Jodi Rosko 13:34

Yeah, it's no fun. No. And and you know, Facebook Marketplace is fine if you have one thing or two things, but if you have a lot of things, that's overwhelming. And I think there's a little bit of a, you know, of safety factor.

Lezlie Burks 13:46

You don't know who's coming to meet them in a public place and you can't really take a dresser or a bed to a public place. So yeah, I think there's definitely concern there where, you know, at an estate sale, you have security, you have many people walking around the home. Yeah. Um and they're protecting. A lot of people don't want people in their home, but then when we explain to them, we have, you know, some people that are in uniform, some that aren't. Um we have people that are spread through the house on every floor. So it makes them feel a bit more comfortable that way too. But yeah, for sure.

Heather Fisher 14:12

It's a great process.

Jodi Rosko 14:14

Yeah, no, I was really it was actually so relieving to have you just be like, Yep, I'm gonna we're gonna handle this for you, Joey.

Heather Fisher 14:22

We got your back. Come back and it will be done. Yes, that's right. Yeah. Do you have any interesting stories of things that just you were surprised to come across and sell and and amazing? Good stories. Yeah, good stories.

Lezlie Burks 14:38

They have to be clean, right? So um I will say there's been some really good um good things that we've given back um to the families. So um on our, you know, on some of the families are looking for a certain specific item, right? So um this one house we ended up finding um and it was a great cousin or second cousin, and they were these really old, um handmade like you would wear at church for a Christmas, you know, costume party or something. And they were old and they were in the box and I said, let's take it out of the box because it didn't look as nice, right? Again, it's about presentation. And so underneath there was in a bank envelope with a thousand dollars worth of twenty dollar bills. And um, it was actually one of our first couple estate sales that we did. And so we called the homeowner and anything we do, you know, we put it in a certain place. I won't tell you where, but we put it a certain place in the house. And um, so the homeowner knows where to come and get it. And if they're not able to come and get it and secure it, we can take it off and you know put it in a safe. But um just be able to give that back to them. I mean, I think they were really shocked that you know, oh my gosh, they found money and they gave it back to us.

Jodi Rosko 15:37

Yeah.

Lezlie Burks 15:37

Um and then another time we found a piece of jewelry that a lady was looking for. It was from her husband who had passed, and so that was really special too. So we found the ring and she was just overhead over heels. But we do, we pull everything apart, we pull everything out and we just search, especially when we know we're looking for things. If the homeowner tells us, hey, I lost this, and of course that's gonna make us look harder because it's more sentimental to them, which means a lot to me. So yeah.

Jodi Rosko 16:01

Some questions we've gotten, like we've had people who have collected art and they're like, you know, this art is worth, you know, all this money. And I literally have no idea whether it is worth any money or no money, or they paid a lot of money and it's not worth money, or they paid a lot of money and it's worth more money. Like, I don't know. Like, what do you do with art?

Lezlie Burks 16:20

So art is very it can be very touchy with the homeowner. So um again, you you have to be respectful and put kid gloves on because they feel more value in it, maybe in art or furniture, but with artwork, you have to remember they probably bought it from um like a museum or like on a cruise ship, right?

Jodi Rosko 16:38

Things like that there um or the artists themselves at some place or vehicle.

Lezlie Burks 16:43

Yeah, and so they're paying that premium. Um so to me, I'm always like there are some artists that will hold value, obviously, the well-known Picasso and all those. Um, but there are some that you're paying basically the premium price. And so as soon as you drive that piece of artwork off the the like a car lock, it's gonna go down in price. So um it's just one of those things to think about where i it's emotionally hard for them to let go. It was in the family maybe or something, but you just do your best. If you have somebody or you don't know somebody, definitely you know have an artist as far as an appraiser come in to help you with those items too is always smart. Um, you know, there's we have a well-diversified team, so we have great people with art and pottery, but if you're not sure, it's always best to call in an expert, I think, on that part. Yeah, I agree.

Jodi Rosko 17:30

I think that's always a hard win. It's like this art is worth money. I'm like, okay.

Lezlie Burks 17:36

I don't know. Yeah, we have a couple pieces that we bought on a cruise. And um, you know, they were a few several thousand dollars, right? And uh but you get at home and we enjoy it. We we love our artwork. But if I were to do an estate sell my own home, knowing that I wouldn't expect what I paid. If I paid seven or ten thousand dollars for it, I'm not gonna get even half of that. So it's just one of those markets.

Heather Fisher 17:56

Let's talk about those expectations a little bit. I think um we see that on furniture a lot. Yes, you do. It's Ethan Allen, I paid a lot of money. Yes. Right, right. And yes, 10 red on. Do you think it yes? I mean, do you think it's just that much of a a shift in, you know, our culture and our houses? Um, you know, because younger folks don't want the heavy full dining set for twelve and hutches and entertainment centers and tell us about that.

Jodi Rosko 18:29

The big deep TV that we don't have anymore.

Lezlie Burks 18:31

Right, exactly. Those are not in style. Um so I feel like a lot of times the um the younger kids are starting to turn around a little bit. I think um when we had COVID visiting all of us here, um they found out that like a certain manufacturer down by Westchester wasn't quite standard. It was good for dorm room furniture. And I think because they couldn't get furniture from them during that time, that they started really shopping at state sales. And so they were realizing and seeing how well made the furniture is. But you're still not gonna get that value back, right, Heather, if if you paid five thousand dollars for it. Um I have a really pretty sofa in my ca in my living room and I paid probably too much. Um, but I love it. And I would expect maybe I might get maybe five or six hundred dollars for it at the end. Right. But people just don't realize that antiques have a soft market right now. They think that antiques are worth a lot. And China, oh, I have those China, so um hutches, uh, those are hard sells too, China hutches, because they're take up so much space and people don't put out all their China anymore. Um but I think I think a little bit of it is turning a little bit now where they're gonna be green too. So they want to preserve and maybe refinish or paint the piece too.

Jodi Rosko 19:38

So this is such a funny like thing that I've been thinking about, or like what that's gonna look like because we have we have thousands and thousands, millions of homes of people really who are are you know turning 65, what was like 11,000 people a day or turning 65 between between now and um 2028 or something. We have just so many people in the past. None of us though, right? Oh wow. Um not 65, but well um maybe. So not do that math. Do any of that math. But um but and not that 65 means oh my god, you know, that they're gonna be selling their house or whatever, but I I have been thinking about like just the amount of stuff when we go into people's houses, you know, selling houses, we go into people's houses all the time, and you go into people's houses all the time. And so if we have millions of houses with that much stuff, like what is that really gonna look like for our planet? And the fact that, you know, what is what is that next generation gonna do with all this stuff? And are they going to, you know, turn around and be like, okay, no, this is great, and I want this cherry bed set now, and I want, you know, because the furniture was really well made. And we did all spend, you know, our parents and uh spend a lot of money on it at the time. At the time. So I just I just have thought about that, just the amount of things that are gonna be coming into the into the out back out of everybody's houses and closets and garages and adding where's it going? And where's it going? And we don't want it to go to the landfill. I mean we don't. You know, we don't want that to have happen.

Lezlie Burks 21:08

So I think that's gonna be interesting. Skip the generation. I feel like um my mom's things, you know, probably wouldn't want much of those, right? But then you see the grandkids and then aunts and uncles and the nieces of those, they all want those things. So I feel like it's skipping a generation. Um so it might not be your kids that want it, but you know, definitely ask the grandkids or even cousins and nephews and nieces and things like that too, because that younger generation loves loves the older stuff. I mean, between mid-century modern and clothing and that keeps it again out of the landfill. So yeah.

Jodi Rosko 21:38

Yeah. And we always tell people to talk to their family first. Absolutely before. And I think if somebody loves something, they're that's probably a better give than it is to how much money they're gonna get for any kind of piece of furniture.

Lezlie Burks 21:50

That is our number one thing we tell people. Yeah. We'd rather see the family keep it. Yeah. Even if they're not sure yet during the process of you know, initial um consultation. I'll be like But it's okay, you can decide later. It's not like you have to make that decision now, but we would rather you keep it in the family than for us to try to sell it. So that's always been our first. Because if it's that important, it should stay in the family. If it's a trunk or you know, somebody made the cabinet, right? It has an amazing story about it and somebody wants it.

Heather Fisher 22:17

And that monetary exchange is never going to be it's never going to be enough. Enough to do that. So um we have some common myths and misconceptions on here. Um you know, estate sales, here's one of them. Estate sales are only for the wealthy. And that's not true. Yes, tell us why that's not true. That it doesn't need to be, you know, a large home full of stuff and still be the right process for somebody.

Lezlie Burks 22:52

Yeah, I mean, we've done some homes that are maybe a thousand square feet and maybe eleven or twelve hundred square feet. And it's amazing what you find, um, which is one of the things that I really enjoy about this um job is that you go into other people's homes, you treat it with respect, but you kind of find some unusual, neat, one-of-a-kind things. And then when you research it, you're like, wow, this is worth quite a bit. So those are those pieces that we find by looking them up to see what they are. So it doesn't have to be a big house, it could be a small house, and you don't have to be wealthy. Because again, you might have paid five thousand dollars for that couch a few years ago, but let me tell you, you're not gonna get five thousand dollars. You know, and I would try to tell people that like you've enjoyed it for twenty years. Right. Right. So the couch is obviously not so worth that.

Jodi Rosko 23:31

Yeah, we talk about that with people all the time too, even about improvements that they do to their house. It's like you may not get a hundred percent back for each of those, you know, those things that but you've lived with it and enjoyed it, right? And so that that part where you've enjoyed it or used it is also value that you're getting. You it's not like just straight transfer to money later. Money later, right.

Lezlie Burks 23:50

You've you've used up that.

Jodi Rosko 23:52

Yeah, you used up some of it. Sometimes all of it.

unknown 23:58

Yeah.

Jodi Rosko 23:59

Well, I do think people keep things for so much longer than they think, right? And so um, you know, you're like, I just got that couch. And it's like, yeah, 20 years ago, you just got that couch.

Heather Fisher 24:07

That's right. Time flies by and you don't realize for sure. So myth uh myth number two, we've just talked about everything will sell for full value. So we know that is not going to happen.

Lezlie Burks 24:22

Not gonna happen. Um a lot of times when we meet the person um and we tell them to trust the process, right? Because estate sales, again, how many are there that weekend, how many people are we competing against, how many people just bought a bedroom set last week and don't need one this week? Um, but I think if they just trust the process, but again, I think people think that the furniture and things is what brings the money in. Um but if you price it correctly, you're still gonna get a good return in the end.

Heather Fisher 24:47

Yeah. So that ties into the third I should throw out anything that looks old or worn.

Lezlie Burks 24:56

Well, okay, so if you have some really old socks, we're gonna keep this clean. So if you have some really old socks, yes, get those get rid of those. Um, yeah, we don't sell like undergarments that are used, but they're new and still in packaging, we'll sell those. But really, again, it goes back to don't throw anything away because it could be vintage. You think it's old, but it's actually vintage. And again, that's where it skips a generation where these younger people are really loving this vintage. Um, I mean, I pick up some cute shoes once in a while, and I was like, oh my gosh, these are from like the 90s, which doesn't seem vintage, but it is now. So um, but those are great things and pieces you pick up.

Jodi Rosko 25:30

So definitely don't throw it away. So I was cleaning out my bin that I had from high school that just had all my stuff from high school, like like the old dead flowers from my prom, you know, like all of it. Um but the only thing that was in there that was worth money um was a t-shirt from the Rolling Stones concert. And it was like in perfect condition because it had been in this bin since 1980, whatever. We're not talking about that, we're not. Um and so um I was really, really young. It was my first concert, my dad took me. Um, but anyway.

Lezlie Burks 26:03

What a great concert, you know.

Jodi Rosko 26:08

But anyway, so this t-shirt, and I I looked it up and it's worth like $350. This is a teacher. Yes. But of course my daughter's like, Mom, I want that. So anyway, she has it, she has it. But um enjoy it. Yeah, and don't do it. I'm like, we can have a code, watch that code.

Lezlie Burks 26:27

Anyway, hang that up. It's gone.

Jodi Rosko 26:30

It's gone. It's it's fine. So um, but yeah, so some of that stuff that doesn't seem like it's gonna be and and you didn't pay a lot for it in the beginning. Right. You know, we'll have money more money later.

Lezlie Burks 26:40

Yes, some things do hold value. Yeah. I mean, jewelry holds value, um, jade and things like that will hold value. Um depends on the furniture, but I mean it's more of those little collectible things that really hold their value more than some other things.

Jodi Rosko 26:54

Well, and I think that's why you might be in a house that's a thousand square feet, but that person might have collected um I don't even know, things from somebody who was famous and now is not with us or something.

Lezlie Burks 27:04

Or sign photographs, we've had those.

Jodi Rosko 27:06

Yeah.

Lezlie Burks 27:07

Um you can find um people that have traveled. A lot of this area here, we have military, right? So a lot of them land here. Yeah. And so you get those, again, one of a kind pieces, and you're like, what is this and w how much is this worth? kind of thing, but you get that because they're world travelers, but that doesn't mean they were wealthy. You know, they just traveled with the the military. So it's it's a another great.

Jodi Rosko 27:28

Well, what was something that you found that you were just surprised that was, you know, really worth more money? Can you think of something that was like, ooh, that was so such a cool thing. Unexpected.

Lezlie Burks 27:38

So we just recently did this home um here in in the um area about three weeks ago. And it was a cute little jade jar. I thought it was just like a little jar with a lid. It actually was an incense burner. By the time you do your research, you figure out what it truly is. But um it was worth over six hundred dollars, and it's only like this big, it's not very big, maybe four inches, five inches, you know, in an oval. Um, I was shocked on that. So we get shocked by certain items and sometimes not I mean not kid-friendly items that we find too. So um, but I think that that was the that was the coolest um was just just recently finding that, and I was like, wow, I would not have thought that would have been five or something. Yeah, yeah. So that's why you say it doesn't have to be a wealthy person. This person traveled the world also, not military, but they traveled the world and they found a lot of really cool things.

Heather Fisher 28:26

Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. I like that path when somebody bought something and didn't maybe invest a huge amount on the front end and then it's grown for them in value versus the well, I spent a lot, so I need to make a lot from a minute, you know, back to the antique show.

Jodi Rosko 28:45

And then I bought this. Oh, that's that was fake.

Lezlie Burks 28:48

Yeah. Yeah, that's right. That's what I was thinking too. I was like, yeah, that's antique rojo.

Jodi Rosko 28:53

Yeah, that's yeah, that was funny. So what in general, what things that sell best at the estate sales and what things don't really sell?

Lezlie Burks 29:00

Um I think the things that will sell best are usually the smalls. So um we will sell, like I said before, the cleaning supplies and all the yard stuff goes out the door fast.

Jodi Rosko 29:10

Um and then Which is something nobody would ever keep. Like they would always throw that away.

Lezlie Burks 29:14

Yeah, they throw it away. Um food is another thing. If you're downsizing or moving or lost a loved one, um food sells. I mean, just because it has the expiration date, that's for the stores. You probably have another nine months or maybe a year left. Again, check with your local grocery store on that one. Um but y those are things that will sell. People come to that. It's like almost like grocery shopping, is what they do at estate sales. They're buying all those things. Um people will buy towels, bath towels, and sheets, and they buy them for um to donate to the dog centers, you know, um all the the ones around here. Um so those are the things that go quickly. Kitchen items, if you've got some nice pots and pans, those are out the door like that. Um I'm trying to think of what else. Like bathroom things we'll sell, um mostly kitchen, and then usually the furniture starts trickling out the second day and then the third day by the third day. So and a lot of people too bringing this up, they expect you to sell everything in the home. Yeah, which is what we try to give them a realistic. I'm like about sixty percent or so, maybe a little bit more again, um, will sell in the home. So again, depends on competition and how many people you have to run estate sale. You know, the last couple weeks we've only had three estate sales and we were two of the three. So we sold a lot because it come they come out every day. So the expectations are high, but again, just trust the process.

Jodi Rosko 30:25

Yeah, you just you can't always know. Yeah, you just always know. Um, but I love something about your service that I do love is that once it the state sale is over, you guys just kind of keep going with it. So you have some other op you know options. Options. We have options. Um yeah, so talk about what that you guys offer in that afterwards.

Lezlie Burks 30:45

Well, I'll give you guys a little plug too, because it's great. If they don't have a realtor too, we're able to, you know, find the realtor for them and have you guys come in and talk to them too, which has really been helpful. Um I'd say maybe 80% already have a realtor, the other 20% don't. But when they don't, it's like uh, you know, I'm like, hey, you've got to meet these girls. She's higher energy like me, you're gonna love her. Um so having said that, so we're kind of like start to finish. So when we're finished with the estate sale, you have several options, as you said. Um you can do donation, and um that goes to a good cause. Um, and this certain person helps better women or children. And then um after that we have a gentleman or a crew that will come in and they'll clear out the rest of the house. So whatever didn't sell and whatever didn't donate, um, then we'll basically he'll take it. If it's metals and scraps, things that he can scrap, he'll actually scrap them to the right place. So it's not just going to the landfill, which is even better. Yeah. Um so some of its books recycled and some of it's metal. Um and then we also offer carpet cleaning and we also offer um house cleaning too. Those are things that the um the estate would pay for. Um donation is free, but the other three items that they would pay for um out of the proceeds of their their account. Um but it's it's like a one-stop shop. So if you don't want to deal with any of it, most people by the time they've downsized and they moved, they don't want to go back and clean the house. They don't go and do all that stuff.

Jodi Rosko 32:03

Well and uh you know, the house, even if even a clean house, once you've moved out of it, all of the things, you know, there's just dust behind things and all of the things. So it just it just needs to be clean even if they were very clean in the first place in some time.

Lezlie Burks 32:18

Yeah. Or if it has to be a full deep clean, but yeah. Yeah. And they can choose that.

Jodi Rosko 32:23

How would people know that they're working with a reputable estate company? How would they know?

Lezlie Burks 32:29

Um you know, we don't advertise at all. Um, we really never have. Um I think it's word of mouth, and I feel like that says volumes and speaks volumes because um we've never advertised and never put anything out. We just have a Facebook page and we have a um website. Other than those two things, that's all we've ever done. Um so I think it's just word of mouth and um you know, doing at least sixty estate sales a year is what we have done the last couple years, that to me just speaks volume. They're all big ones again, because they don't have to be wealthy, but um but I think it's just the referral.

Jodi Rosko 33:01

I think that's well if you do anything over and over and over again, you get much better at it and you get good at it.

Lezlie Burks 33:06

So I think that's that's yeah, yeah. And then people learn that um a lot of people will come to an estate sale too to check out the estate sale company, right? Yeah. To see, and it's kind of like a secret shopper, if you will. So they're just seeing like how you do things, and then all of a sudden you get a phone call and they'll say, Oh, is that your estate sale last week? And so I'm like, Oh, okay, great. But um, so I think you know, between them asking around, I think that that's the best way um to find out because again, it is a big trust issue um and it's it's a concern for us. We we need to make sure they feel comfortable with us and that we feel comfortable with them when we get back, the house isn't gonna be empty and we have something to sell. Yeah. So it's kind of a two-way street there. But I think word of mouth is is the best way and it's the highest compliment that we could get for a hundred percent.

Heather Fisher 33:50

Yep. At what point in the process uh uh people should call you early, I for sure, but you're currently working most of the time a couple months before the sale would happen. I mean, I know it's um seasonal across the year, but in general, people should expect what kind of a time frame from when they are ready and call you to when they would be able to get on a calendar.

Lezlie Burks 34:18

So um most of us are anywhere from as little as four weeks and as much as eight weeks out. So I always use a rule of thumb, especially for any of the uh realtors that are out there today that aren't familiar with that, I always tell them to call the estate saleperson and the um realtor at the same time. If it's we all meet at the same time, um if it's you meet separately or whichever, but to me it's just important to maybe even have the estate sale person in there a day before or the same day as a realtor. That way, because we can work with a realtor and say, okay, this is when we have the sale, this is when the house can be emptied, and this is when we can hand the keys over to the new owner, right? So working side by side with realtors is is the most important, I think, and all of it. Because if they put their house up for sale and then all of a sudden they're like, Well, we have to have a sale and we close in 30 days, that's gonna be really tight for almost any company unless it's a really small sale.

Jodi Rosko 35:09

Well, you have to have time to get in there and price and do all the things. And you don't really want them living there when that's happening. Yeah. Right. Right. So there's a whole there's a whole bunch of pieces about the timeline of what that looks like. And I do think sometimes people think, well, I'll just sell my house and then I'll get the estate people in here. And I'm like, wait, hold on. Hold on. While you're still there and moving your stuff and all the you know, like that doesn't logistically work out because you need the house to set everything up and let you know price it and get you know all of that. So I do think people don't realize the timeline is a little bit longer.

Lezlie Burks 35:44

I'd say from start to finish, you need at least a solid um at least a solid three to four weeks. Um so pre-planning for that. Um we do make some special circumstances, like last week we were in Yankee Trace and they did a um sale. They came back home, they actually physically moved out Thursday and we had the sale Saturday and Sunday. However, we were able to be in there on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday prepping for it before they left. So it can be done, but you still have to plan, and we planned that two months ago. Right. So as long as you get it on the books and you plan, I think that's the biggest thing is planning it. So I'd say anywhere from four to four to eight weeks.

Heather Fisher 36:20

Yeah. Is there any other advice that we didn't touch on that you want to share on everything we need to know about estate sales?

Lezlie Burks 36:28

Uh I you know, if I say it once during the whole initial appointment is just just don't throw anything away. Just decide what it is. And I know we've said that, but just I've said this probably five or six times every and every um initial appointment. Just take what you want, the family wants, and then just leave the rest behind. But um no, I think you guys did a great job hitting everything on there.

Jodi Rosko 36:47

So Well, I think what to your point on that, um, it is an emotional process. The whole thing is emotional. Leaving the house, all of it is so emotional. And I think when they can just take the things that they need and then not see all the rest of it really go. You know, I think that that is actually really helpful sometimes. They sometimes I think it really is the easiest path because they just take their things and then it gets handled.

Lezlie Burks 37:12

Yeah, and if they come to the sale, that's always gets a little difficult too because then they are like missing and they're it's just it's a difficult process for them. So you're right, it's best if they just take their things and then you know leave the rest and we'll have it all handled.

Jodi Rosko 37:24

So yeah, thank you so much for being here.

Heather Fisher 37:28

Yeah, so helpful. And um if you are listening and you're local to us here in Ohio, we'll have um options information in the show notes. And if you're in another market, we can um you know gather those resources for you. But if it's something you're thinking of, just ask questions and get in contact and go from there to make a strategy. Thank you. Let's go much. Thank you. Yes, you too was fun. Thank you. Back next week with another episode. Thanks for listening. Thanks for joining us on the Downsizing Roadmap Podcast. If you found this episode helpful, be sure to subscribe, leave us a review, and share it with someone who might need a little downsizing inspiration. Have questions or ideas for future episodes? Reach out to us on our website, www.downsizingroadmap.com. Until next time, let's keep simplifying and moving forward.