As an executor or administrator, you may have to sell assets of the estate at some time during estate administration. The will might direct you to sell certain assets or maybe the estate needs cash to pay debts. You have 2 basic options for a sale - outright or consignment. Because you must protect the assets and sell them in a prudent manner, you might have to consider a detailed inventory, storage and insurance.
Outright Sale
An outright sale may be made to the general public (a.k.a. the garage sale), a dealer or a non dealer. A garage sale is appropriate when you are dealing with low value, household goods. The costs to sell are low and garage sales are easy to hold. You may want to consider selling to an individual, non dealer if the estate holds some higher value items such as a Steinway piano. The main disadvantage to this approach is finding an interested buyer. Dealers are easier to find, but will command a substantial discount so that the item can be sold by the dealer for a profit.
Consignment Sales
In a consignment sale, you deliver the items to another person or dealer (the "consignee") to sell on behalf of the estate. Typically, the consignee will have knowledge as to value and a ready list of clients for purchase. The downside is that it may take a long time to sell. Consignment fees usually range from 5% to 15% of the sales price of the item. The consignee might be a dealer, an estate sale company or an auction house (local or online).
Other Considerations
Regardless of which type of sale you and the estate attorney find best, it is up to you to conduct the sale in a prudent manner. When dealing with higher value items, you should make a list of items including their value and photograph them, if possible. You should keep careful records as to how you calculated the value including any appraisals you obtain. You are also responsible for safekeeping of the items. Many times assets are simply kept in the deceased's residence, but circumstances may require you to move the items to a storage facility and consider insurance.
The estate attorney will be able to advise you about what type of sale is appropriate and other measures you may need to take to safeguard and sell the assets.
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