Connect with us!!
ESTATE LIQUIDATION AND DOWNSIZING
Your single source solution
RESIDENTIAL CONTENTS REMOVAL AND SALE
ESSEX ESTATE SERVICES manages the entire personal property liquidation process from initial valuation to the removal and sale or donation of every item. When you need to downsize and relocate, to move across the country or into assisted living, or to dispose of a family member’s lifetime accumulation of belongings and sell the family home, you can rely on Essex to ease the transition.
We handle this process for you from beginning to end in an efficient and personal manner. We help to minimize the stress and labor of sorting and disposing of property, maximize your return and leave the premises in broom clean condition, ready for sale.
Our unique approach to personal property liquidation goes beyond the concept of a traditional on site “estate sale” or auction house sale, which only liquidates select items. By selecting the right venue for the sale of each item, we maximize your financial return on property—and your peace of mind. We draw from our extensive network of internet sites, dealers, specialized auction houses and private buyers, and tailor our sales approach to your individual needs, objectives and timeframe.
Our expertise includes fine art and collectibles, fine jewelry, rugs, books, furniture, cars and boats, antiques and individual collections. We specialize in finding and delivering value from hoarder situations, and we will donate unsalable property.
No job is too big or small. Our engagements have ranged from a large hoarder project where we cleared 65 tons of debris for one client, to cleaning out a studio apartment.
Read our interview with Forbes Magazine,
“10 Tips For Downsizers With Too Much Stuff”
INDIVIDUAL COLLECTIONS
Our approach to liquidating individual collections is similar to emptying an entire household of possessions. In order to maximize the value of each item, we will typically sell items from a collection individually rather than sell the collection as a whole.
Some of the larger collections we have sold for clients include: a collection of 10,000 movie posters, travel posters, a collection of Art Deco and Art Nouveau art glass objects, a numismatic (coin) collection, vintage clothing, a large collection of post cards, automotive memorabilia, autographed sports memorabilia, a collection of vintage and antique toys, a large collection of sterling silver miniature figurines and antique beaded purses.
HOARDERS AND SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
Our approach to personal property liquidation is customized to each situation, which enables us to adapt to your special needs and requests, such as hoarder or hazardous material situations or the privacy of public figures.
The residences of hoarders pose many challenges to a family and relatives. The biggest challenge is locating and protecting the items that have value. We always have a principal on site to assist in the identification and preservation of furniture, household items, documents and other items of potential value. Our cleanout crew is trained to question the value of an item rather than to simply dispose of it. During the cleanout process, we set aside any item that we suspect to be salable or to have personal value. After removal of the bulk of debris, we further inspect each item individually.
Rich Meliska is a career banker, CPA and accredited personal property appraiser. He has assisted in finding wills and trust documents, stock certificates, uncashed checks, cash, financial and tax records, deeds, titles and insurance policies. Additionally, he can identify furniture, collectibles, ephemera and other items that may have potential resale value.
We occasionally handle residences that contain hazardous materials, or where the conditions are hazardous to workers. To assure the safety of our workers, we inspect the property for any dangerous conditions to the environment or to the structure. If we discover potentially dangerous circumstances, we will take precautionary measures such as using respirators and hazmat suits, or isolate the areas where the danger exists until further remediation is performed. Chemical or bio hazards are properly removed and disposed of according to EPA-approved methods.
For prominent public figures, we have been asked to clear the premises and dispose of property in a private and unobtrusive manner. We typically use a “load and go” process rather than public trash disposal facilities to assure that personal property will not be “scavenged” by the curious. We shred or return to the client any personal or identifying paperwork that we discover. When we list items for sale, they do not identify the owner or the circumstances of the sale.
