Well, as the situation is, she can’t keep her house, and she has an obscene amout of stuff. She really has no big attachement to it, it was my father-in-law that collected alot of stuff. Most of the important family stuff was distro’d out when he passed away. We do have to sell alot of the stuff to pay down her debt (which isn’t too much), and she’s agreed to it. I’m just wondering if auctioning is the best method, or is there a method I’m unaware of.
If she lives in a rural area then an estate auction is the way to go.
If she lives in a non-rural area than an estate tag sale is the way to go.
If the father-in-law was a big collector of specific items (books, glassware, etc) then try to see if there is collector out there that would buy the lot of collectables.
The advantage to the (not dead yet) estate sale, is most everything is sold and what isn't should be trashed.
OTOH, you could hold a big garage sale, and have someone in the house at the same time to sell the furniture.
Most of the time we think our "stuff" is worth more than it is, so prepare yourself.
Good luck..sw
I posted before reading the thread all the way.
Include her in the decisions and do let her keep her own stuff for her living space.
She will welcome the familiarity of her own things, especially if she has a rocking chair!
Ours has a million smiles and a million miles on it, “wouldn’t trade it for all of the tea in China” as my beloved Dad used to say.
He passed away three years ago and I still cry as I type this.
It’s all about Love and respect.
I’ve had positive experiences with an Estate house/auction house.