Need a lot of help.

[farson135]

I am sorry if I am posting this in the wrong place. Frankly, I am at a bit of a loss, and I need some help on how to even begin figuring out what to do.

To begin, a close relative of mine recently passed away. Their home is a treasure trove of interesting, and antiquated items. I could probably spend a year digging through their garage, which is mostly filled with medical equipment from the hospital they used to own (lots of equipment from 1960-1990), but also has a pile of old glass soda bottles (Coke, Sprite, Mr. Pibb, Pepsi, Diet 7-Up, etc.), and VCRs, 8-track players, etc. Even beyond that, looking through their alcohol cabinet presents me with a pile of wine bottles from companies that I can't even find info about online, they have a closet full of records, including multiple collections, they have a host of wood working tools, and on.

Basically, they have a host of items that could be valuable, or worth virtually nothing, and finding info on each one of them is going to take awhile.

The problem is three fold. One, I don't live anywhere close to the house (it is also in the middle of nowhere, between San Antonio, and Victoria, TX). Two, I don't have the space to keep everything (in case I wasn't clear, there is several houses worth of items to parse through). And three, thieves have already begun breaking into the house (twice so far, and the police are no help).

Some of my relatives have suggested talking to one of those "pickers" shows, but I am rather wary of that, and I am not sure I could get them there anyway. I think I need to find someone to appraise what is in the house, but I don't even know what to look for in an appraiser. Alternatively, I need resources for where to look.

Honestly, other than improving the "defenses", I am not even sure where to start. The shear volume is overwhelming, and combined with the time crunch (do something before the thieves take/destroy everything), I am at a loss.

If anyone has some good advice, or somewhere else to turn to I would appreciate it. This was a forum I came across while searching, so again, I apologize if I have screwed up.

 

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[dirtlooter]

good luck, I spent 4 months going through my parents stuff last fall and still have a two car garage to go through and a very large shop

 

[boogeyman]

Have you thought of a storage facility? Had the same problem with my moms stuff. Get a storage locker lined up. get a UHaul truck & a bunch of cold cuts & sandwich makins some soda & beers (for when you're done). Line up more help than you think you'll need (trust me on this) cause only half will show up. Move everything to the storage. Now you can sort & sell at your leisure, hold out for better deals etc. Everything is safe and most of all not having to worry about break ins & taking your time is way less stressful. If your budget is tight you can most likely pay the storage with money from selling items. It seems like a huge project dumped on you, but once it's all in storage & you can breathe it's not that bad.

 

[Machkin]

To get everything out of the residence, have you tried looking into PODS. Move it to a secure location, it would stop the looting and pillaging of valuables and give you time to do what you need.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

I wish you well with the huge project! Move everything to a storage unit, if possible. Then you can start small and sell items to antique dealers, Ebay or other online selling venues on your time schedule.

 

[farson135]

Thanks everyone. Moving to a storage unit was an option I considered. However, I wasn't joking when I said several houses worth of stuff. A storage unit might be my only reasonable option, but it will have to be a big one. Even still, I am not sure where to look to ask about prices for medical equipment, old electronics, glass soda bottles, etc. Does anyone know a good forum for those kinds of things? The medical equipment in particular I have no idea what to do with. Google is helpful, but this equipment is used, in varying conditions, and I don't even know how to make sure that some of it works. A google search for "metabulator" brings up a bunch of articles about how far medical science has come since the 50s.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[ARC]

Easiet way to deal with this in your situation...

#1. Go through and pick out the items you don't want to sell and move to storage unit.

#2. when completely done with 1... Call around to local auction houses that have good reviews and most will come out and pick and move what they think they can sell via an auction.

#3. Call an estate sale company for the remainder to be sold via an estate sale... try to strike deal with one who again "has a following" / "well known".

#4. whatever is left is easily removed.

Hope this helps... and you will end up with money and an empty house.

 

[Gare]

Have you talked to a AUCTION Company ?

 

[Deep1]

Easiet way to deal with this in your situation...

#1. Go through and pick out the items you don't want to sell and move to storage unit.

#2. when completely done with 1... Call around to local auction houses that have good reviews and most will come out and pick and move what they think they can sell via an auction.

#3. Call an estate sale company for the remainder to be sold via an estate sale... try to strike deal with one who again "has a following" / "well known".

#4. whatever is left is easily removed.

Hope this helps... and you will end up with money and an empty house.

This is exactly what you should.
Thank you AARC, you saved me a bunch of typing.

 

[farson135]

I haven't talked with an auction company yet. I have never done it before, so I wasn't sure if I needed to figure out what I have first, but y'all are right. I should contact a few of them, and they might have something for me to think about. My mind is going in too many directions, and I need to settle down. Thanks for the advice.

 

[wainzoid]

I would have an on site estate auction. Put up a couple game cameras now for security.

 

[ARC]

I haven't talked with an auction company yet. I have never done it before, so I wasn't sure if I needed to figure out what I have first, but y'all are right. I should contact a few of them, and they might have something for me to think about. My mind is going in too many directions, and I need to settle down. Thanks for the advice.

Listen... first things first... in order.

You have to go there and remove the valuable items... IF you don't have a truck .. rent a uhaul van for 20 a day and rent a small unit if you do not already have storage area...

The main thing is to remove what you want to "control" or keep or research later etc.

Remove these things from the equation FIRST and foremost... BEFORE contacting anyone.

There are MANY reasons for this and most important step to avoid regrets later... trust me on this advice.

After the dust settles from all the other chaos... you can then deal with the unit of goodies... on a not rushed schedule.

 

[farson135]

Listen... first things first... in order.

You have to go there and remove the valuable items... IF you don't have a truck .. rent a uhaul van for 20 a day and rent a small unit if you do not already have storage area...

The main thing is to remove what you want to "control" or keep or research later etc.

Remove these things from the equation FIRST and foremost... BEFORE contacting anyone.

There are MANY reasons for this and most important step to avoid regrets later... trust me on this advice.

That I have already done to an extent. I knew that there was a chance that someone would break in, so I took the most valuable things I could effectively transport (guns, jewelry, and other valuables I could identify). I did miss a box of silverware in one of the closets (the thieves left the box, and one of the pieces behind), but otherwise they seem to just be trashing the place looking for something to steal.

What is left are things that I am not sure about. Again, the medical supplies are the most befuddling thing. I have taken the things that I would guess are valuable, but I have no idea if, for example, surgical tools are valuable, beyond the stainless steel itself (I am guessing not).

Again, thanks for the advice.

Edit: And I have set up some security measures, but I give the police a picture of one of the guys from a game camera. The officer outright said that he recognizes him, but apparently they can't find him (according to the detective who I talked to). Again, the police have not been helpful.

I guess I should say that I have been very lucky. Aside from the silverware, they have just broken a window, a door, some tableware, and a couple of locks. They also drilled into an open safe (not the smartest criminals out there).

 

[ARC]

No problem... seems you are on the right track.

Oh...BTW...

Welcome To TreasureNet.

 

[hvacker]

Like I did, you have the opportunity to drive yourself nuts. Sometimes it's just not worth it.
I inherited and antique store. If I had ideas of selling the stuff I needed to become knowledgeable in many different
areas. Furniture, glass, jewelry, dolls, it's almost endless.
I lost about 4 months of time, my wife dropped out of the University to help with the load. What ever money I made was a lot less when all the money and time were figured. Today I would auction it off and would probably be ahead.

Squeezing the dollar and not wanting to let something go for less can be a lost cause if all is counted.
There is some wisdom in dealing with personal stuff before sticking a wife, kids, relative with your worldly mess. Let them inherit the money instead or do some dream of your own. I wonder if I'll take my advice?