How to Handle an Estate Clearing in the Age of COVID-19
This article originally appeared in Sutton Place Social.
By Christine Stulik
Knowing what to do with an estate’s items in the face of a big transition can be overwhelming in normal circumstances. There’s the cleaning, sorting, decision-making, and then figuring out where to send the things you’re ready to let go of. Not to mention the added emotional toll of mining the physical representations of one’s memory, and personal or family history. Whether you’re downsizing and leaving the city or taking care of a family member’s estate after a death, there are ways to approach a usually overwhelming process in way that prioritizes your safety and sanity.
First and foremost, take the time and care to process any emotions that exist around the change you are facing. That can be difficult if you are working with a real estate or leasing deadline, but prioritizing your emotional needs will ultimately ease what are sure to be some difficult decisions. Once you’ve done the hard work to sort the estate, either on your own or with the help of a professional organizer, it is time to decide what to do with the items you are letting go of. Depending on the condition and value of pieces, you can either sell, donate or recycle/dispose. An appraiser can help you with these decisions if you are unsure.
When it comes to selling, estate sales seem like an easy option to offload many items at once to a party of serious buyers. Estate sales, prevalent in other parts of the country, are more complicated in NYC due to building insurance requirements. Many large apartment buildings in the city restrict estate sales, which to them means large numbers of non-residents entering the building and moving items without the proper certificate of insurance that residential movers obtain. Even moreso in a time of Covid-19, when the safety and health of residents is a building’s top priority. In this circumstance, consider a building-only estate sale. Speak with your superintendent and see if he or she would permit you to advertise with flyers in the elevator or laundry room. That way items are only moving within the building, which is appealing to both the buyer and the seller.
Another route is to let an auction house or consigner handle the estate items from start to finish. After previewing the estate, they will offer either a buyout option for everything upfront, or to individually consign your items and take a percentage of what sells. Traditionally, an auction house will want to come view the items in person, but as more transactions are moving online, the auction industry has been quick to follow. A detailed home inventory of available pieces can be an easy and efficient way to send images and details about an estate’s items out to multiple potential buyers at once, and allow you to field the best offer. Most auction houses will also offer their own moving and packing service (at a fee) but it can be less than a traditional mover.
At the end of the day, the estate industries are ready to help you navigate the process when it is safe to do so. Don’t hesitate to reach out to a professional for guidance or assistance. Change happens, it’s all about how you deal with it.
Christine Stulik is a move manager and inventory expert at Seriatim, Inc.