House clearance
Discussion
Sadly my dad passed away a few months ago and my mum will now be downsizing from a large 4 bed into a 1 bed apartment (over 60’s).
Given the glut of furniture and stuff that’s built up over a lifetime, how is the best way to sell it?
Note I live in the US and a lot of people have a garage sale/ open house sale that seems successfully, but I’m not sure it’s a thing in the UK?
The furniture is generally high quality ( natuzzi, ercole, solid oak kind of stuff) so it feels a bit unfair that after costs and auction fees mum will be left with not much at all?
Any ideas welcome!
Given the glut of furniture and stuff that’s built up over a lifetime, how is the best way to sell it?
Note I live in the US and a lot of people have a garage sale/ open house sale that seems successfully, but I’m not sure it’s a thing in the UK?
The furniture is generally high quality ( natuzzi, ercole, solid oak kind of stuff) so it feels a bit unfair that after costs and auction fees mum will be left with not much at all?
Any ideas welcome!
It depends if you want it done quickly or want to get the full value. You will undoubtedly be able to find many people who will offer to come and completely clear the house and offer you peanuts, almost as if they are doing you a favour! If you have time, you are probably better off trying to sell off the higher quality items yourself, especially the Ercol furniture, as it always seems to sell well. Once you have sold off the quality items, by all means hire one of the aforementioned cowboys/robbing b
ds who will clear what you have got left, but at least you will have got a bit more money. It really all depends on the time available and how much work you are prepared to do.
ds who will clear what you have got left, but at least you will have got a bit more money. It really all depends on the time available and how much work you are prepared to do.Having been through this twice recently you really will be lucky to get anything worthwhile back at all unless you manage the sale of each item actively yourself.
I couldn't even get charities to take some of the stuff away for them to sell and had to pay for stuff to be removed.
All of it was good quality and a lot of it was nearly new.
I couldn't even get charities to take some of the stuff away for them to sell and had to pay for stuff to be removed.
All of it was good quality and a lot of it was nearly new.
I had to do similar recently approached some resellers and auction places but the resellers of antique furniture were either very picky only wanting one or 2 bits and the auction would have cost for transport with no guarantee of a sale. Ended up using charities to uplift. British heart foundation and strathcarron hospital (local end of life care hospice)
They were very good at taking the furniture away and it s a feel good knowing that they ll make a few quid to help with their very worthwhile cause.
Both of these you could arrange online through their websites.
At the end of the day I was more than happy to let that stuff go to charity, especially at a time when there s a lot of other stuff going on, the easy path is the one to take, charitys making money and we re making a huge gain from selling a house so yep easy street every time for me. Hassles just not worth the potential for raising a few hundred quid.
Also old wooden furniture isnt wildly appealing, tiny narrow market, people want an ikea pax wardrobe nowadays.
They were very good at taking the furniture away and it s a feel good knowing that they ll make a few quid to help with their very worthwhile cause.
Both of these you could arrange online through their websites.
At the end of the day I was more than happy to let that stuff go to charity, especially at a time when there s a lot of other stuff going on, the easy path is the one to take, charitys making money and we re making a huge gain from selling a house so yep easy street every time for me. Hassles just not worth the potential for raising a few hundred quid.
Also old wooden furniture isnt wildly appealing, tiny narrow market, people want an ikea pax wardrobe nowadays.
Edited by Edible Roadkill on Thursday 25th June 13:28
Edible Roadkill said:
I had to do similar recently approached some resellers and auction places but the resellers of antique furniture were either very picky only wanting one or 2 bits and the auction would have cost for transport with no guarantee of a sale. Ended up using charities to uplift. British heart foundation and strathcarron hospital (local end of life care hospice)
They were very good at taking the furniture away and it s a feel good knowing that they ll make a few quid to help with their very worthwhile cause.
Both of these you could arrange online through their websites.
At the end of the day I was more than happy to let that stuff go to charity, especially at a time when there s a lot of other stuff going on, the easy path is the one to take, charitys making money and we re making a huge gain from selling a house so yep easy street every time for me. Hassles just not worth the potential for raising a few hundred quid.
Also old wooden furniture isnt wildly appealing, tiny narrow market, people want an ikea pax wardrobe nowadays.
This, unfortunately. We had to clear dafs house out over the last six months and we were quite lucky as a lot of the Ercol went to his granddaughters and an awful lot of bits and pieces found good homes, a charity came and had a pick through and the rest (good, solid, clean) furniture got skippedThey were very good at taking the furniture away and it s a feel good knowing that they ll make a few quid to help with their very worthwhile cause.
Both of these you could arrange online through their websites.
At the end of the day I was more than happy to let that stuff go to charity, especially at a time when there s a lot of other stuff going on, the easy path is the one to take, charitys making money and we re making a huge gain from selling a house so yep easy street every time for me. Hassles just not worth the potential for raising a few hundred quid.
Also old wooden furniture isnt wildly appealing, tiny narrow market, people want an ikea pax wardrobe nowadays.
Edited by Edible Roadkill on Thursday 25th June 13:28
So sad.
Nicetobenice said:
Having been through this twice recently you really will be lucky to get anything worthwhile back at all unless you manage the sale of each item actively yourself.
I couldn't even get charities to take some of the stuff away for them to sell and had to pay for stuff to be removed.
All of it was good quality and a lot of it was nearly new.
We had the same with my Mother in Law's house contents when she went into a nursing home. I couldn't even get charities to take some of the stuff away for them to sell and had to pay for stuff to be removed.
All of it was good quality and a lot of it was nearly new.
I naively invited 3 separate house clearance firms to give me a price for the gear, for them to sell it on, expecting to play them against each other for the highest price. But no - we had to pay them to take it away.
Seeing some of the prices on Bargain Hunt for the same stuff she had, I'm sure they made a good price.
Mike Legerwood said:
We had the same with my Mother in Law's house contents when she went into a nursing home.
I naively invited 3 separate house clearance firms to give me a price for the gear, for them to sell it on, expecting to play them against each other for the highest price. But no - we had to pay them to take it away.
Seeing some of the prices on Bargain Hunt for the same stuff she had, I'm sure they made a good price.
Yep, same here - paid someone to take it away.I naively invited 3 separate house clearance firms to give me a price for the gear, for them to sell it on, expecting to play them against each other for the highest price. But no - we had to pay them to take it away.
Seeing some of the prices on Bargain Hunt for the same stuff she had, I'm sure they made a good price.
Need to also remember as good quality as the stuff in question may be, these companies will be getting calls on a daily basis for much the same. The resale market is small, but does exist. They all need to operate as a business unfortunately, even the charities need to be picky as they know what will sell and what will be a liability they can’t sell and end up paying to dispose of.
Condolences for the loss of your Dad.
Not easy or quick to resolve the clearance unfortunately as no doubt Mum will want some stuff and you’re hardly local.
Trying to separate into different jobs is a pain.
I cleared a relatives house totally a few years ago by using a house clearance company who literally emptied it out completely and cleaned it afterwards.
In fairness it hadn’t been lived on for a decade and had mice and such.
We visited twice first to take away what we thought had value but turned out it really wasn’t much.
We needed to sell the house to pay for her care so also had a time limit on us.
I’ve also used the likes of BHF to take some furniture but they have got quite picky although they ask for uploaded photos via their site and let you know quickly if anything is of interest.
Best of luck.
Not easy or quick to resolve the clearance unfortunately as no doubt Mum will want some stuff and you’re hardly local.
Trying to separate into different jobs is a pain.
I cleared a relatives house totally a few years ago by using a house clearance company who literally emptied it out completely and cleaned it afterwards.
In fairness it hadn’t been lived on for a decade and had mice and such.
We visited twice first to take away what we thought had value but turned out it really wasn’t much.
We needed to sell the house to pay for her care so also had a time limit on us.
I’ve also used the likes of BHF to take some furniture but they have got quite picky although they ask for uploaded photos via their site and let you know quickly if anything is of interest.
Best of luck.
We used a house clearance company last year to clear an uncles house after he had passed on. I have the same lot coming to quote on Monday for the FiL's house as it is being sold as he has now moved into a care home.
We have taken out all his paperwork and any personal items that he/the family wanted plus donated large amounts of clothing to charity shops so the clearance company will take the rest.
We have taken out all his paperwork and any personal items that he/the family wanted plus donated large amounts of clothing to charity shops so the clearance company will take the rest.
1. get some charities to come round and confirm what they will and won't take.
2. list everything individually on fb market place in any case
3. go back to the charity and update them with what you've now sold and they'll pick up the rest
4. hire a van/pay someone to clear out the remainder.
I think we got around £1500 for various decent quality branded furniture etc from fb market place, but it involves you having to meet people on site etc. It's up to you whether you feel that sort of money is worth the effort. Particularly if you're in the states!
Most of our buyers were first time home owners wanting to fill their new house/spare bedrooms etc.
My other main take away is how much money we all spend buying stuff that is utterly pointless/unnecessary and has no particular value once you're gone.
2. list everything individually on fb market place in any case
3. go back to the charity and update them with what you've now sold and they'll pick up the rest
4. hire a van/pay someone to clear out the remainder.
I think we got around £1500 for various decent quality branded furniture etc from fb market place, but it involves you having to meet people on site etc. It's up to you whether you feel that sort of money is worth the effort. Particularly if you're in the states!
Most of our buyers were first time home owners wanting to fill their new house/spare bedrooms etc.
My other main take away is how much money we all spend buying stuff that is utterly pointless/unnecessary and has no particular value once you're gone.
Thanks for the replies.
Its quite eye opening really, 1, that used (mint condition) furniture has almost no value but new its thousands! and in turn maybe is a reflection of how wealthy we really are (as much as people insist they have no money) that no one is interested in used furniture, or is it indicative of people wanting something shiny and new so bad they buy ikea over a solid wood item that will never fail!
Ill temper mums thoughts on the furniture , maybe try some top items on face book, then try and give it away, then borrow a friends pick up and recycle it at the tip!
Its quite eye opening really, 1, that used (mint condition) furniture has almost no value but new its thousands! and in turn maybe is a reflection of how wealthy we really are (as much as people insist they have no money) that no one is interested in used furniture, or is it indicative of people wanting something shiny and new so bad they buy ikea over a solid wood item that will never fail!
Ill temper mums thoughts on the furniture , maybe try some top items on face book, then try and give it away, then borrow a friends pick up and recycle it at the tip!
Peeping Turtle said:
Thanks for the replies.
Its quite eye opening really, 1, that used (mint condition) furniture has almost no value but new its thousands! and in turn maybe is a reflection of how wealthy we really are (as much as people insist they have no money) that no one is interested in used furniture, or is it indicative of people wanting something shiny and new so bad they buy ikea over a solid wood item that will never fail!
Ill temper mums thoughts on the furniture , maybe try some top items on face book, then try and give it away, then borrow a friends pick up and recycle it at the tip!
I don't know whether it's a urban myth thing but people say auction houses have bonfires of brown furniture at the end of sales.Its quite eye opening really, 1, that used (mint condition) furniture has almost no value but new its thousands! and in turn maybe is a reflection of how wealthy we really are (as much as people insist they have no money) that no one is interested in used furniture, or is it indicative of people wanting something shiny and new so bad they buy ikea over a solid wood item that will never fail!
Ill temper mums thoughts on the furniture , maybe try some top items on face book, then try and give it away, then borrow a friends pick up and recycle it at the tip!
We asked a local place about clearing late FILs place and he said some 50's to 70's stuff has good value and FIL had quite a bit of 70's stuff in sets. He asked for a link to sale listing and came back and said "nope"! He didn't even push for the job, he suggested dumping it all. As it happens the buyers said they'd take all the major pieces as they'd been in rental for a year and I think it was easier for them than pulling their stuff out of storage.
It all sounds so familiar, we put some of Dads stuff, after the family had had what they wanted, which wasn't much, on Freecycle, with warning it was to collect.
I was amazed at the amount of people who expected to get it delivered to them free, even stuff that would fit in most cars.
Three piece suite hardly ever been sat on in 50 years, but of course it didn't have a fire safety certificate, no one wanted to know about it, luckily the chap who bought the house said he'd keep it
Found around 100kg of coal down in the cellar, there hadn't been a fire to burn it on for 20 years, that went on Freecycle, and a chap came and gave me £25, said he felt guilty getting it for free.
When Mum in law died, she had already down sized to a bungalow, we just let the family have a pick, and then just ordered a skip and got rid of it all, left the washing Machine and fridge/freezer on the end of the drive, and they magically disappeared, shame, both worked, but no-one had room to store them until needed.
I was amazed at the amount of people who expected to get it delivered to them free, even stuff that would fit in most cars.
Three piece suite hardly ever been sat on in 50 years, but of course it didn't have a fire safety certificate, no one wanted to know about it, luckily the chap who bought the house said he'd keep it
Found around 100kg of coal down in the cellar, there hadn't been a fire to burn it on for 20 years, that went on Freecycle, and a chap came and gave me £25, said he felt guilty getting it for free.
When Mum in law died, she had already down sized to a bungalow, we just let the family have a pick, and then just ordered a skip and got rid of it all, left the washing Machine and fridge/freezer on the end of the drive, and they magically disappeared, shame, both worked, but no-one had room to store them until needed.
I sadly had to do this some years ago to clear my Grandma's house and the end result was that me and a mate hired a van for the day and took the huge bulk of it to the local tip for recycling. I had to clear it with the tip first as they can be funny about vans turning up too but it was ok.
I divide it into categories:
1) Sentimental stuff: Keep if room permits.
2) Anything of decent value, eg Ercol - get a local auction house to collect it, and also to go round the house looking for anything else they think they can sell.
3) Lesser stuff - eBay, Facebook Marketplace
4) Everything else - the tip or hire a skip.
Timewise (3) is the hardest, and being in the US makes it tricky so that might end up being (4).
1) Sentimental stuff: Keep if room permits.
2) Anything of decent value, eg Ercol - get a local auction house to collect it, and also to go round the house looking for anything else they think they can sell.
3) Lesser stuff - eBay, Facebook Marketplace
4) Everything else - the tip or hire a skip.
Timewise (3) is the hardest, and being in the US makes it tricky so that might end up being (4).
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff