Featured House clearance

That sounds like a good plan.

 

What a fascinating thread and makes me realise how much I have to learn. Thanks Af for all your posts!

 

I swear I immediately thought it was an old queen who lived in Davey's sons apartment ! I bet you theres some real treasures amongst the dreck,do keep us informed Davey ! Im loving this thread,and hope it continues.

 

Latest update, we have the lot list from the antique auctioneer. It will need a bit of refinement but there are around 70 general antique lots at the moment with total lower estimates around..... the equivalent of $10,000!

The silver and 3 small 18 carat gold watches I am not putting in the sale as I'd expect to get way less than scrap value after the auction costs. They can all just join the home decor for the time being.

The next stage is to pack up some of the stuff and get it off to the auction room so stuff can start being entered in sales. The sale rooe has a biannual 'Mantiques' sale which will suit some of the military and other male interest items, but there is quite a long wait till the next one. Not really a problem though. There is plenty to be getting on with and slowly the house will clear up a bit.

 

A car full of storage boxes of the antiques went off to the saleroom yesterday, so some should start appearing in October, the same month the books will probably be sold. Catalogues will be online so I will update the thread then to follow the story to the end.

If anyone remembers the flapper dress with the dangly gold bits that I posted about ages ago, that went with them, their costume person was happy with it so it will be another thing out of the shed.

Only the lower value stuff is left now, that may go off to a lower price bracket auction room.

 

You should be rolling in the moola just in time for Christmas presents.

Now that it is winding down, was it worth all of the time & work?
Peggy

 

I really was not in it for the money (although it is always welcome) but for the hunting and gathering, the thrill of discovery, the joy of unrestricted picking. I tried to do my best with the money side, but the real pleasure was finding stuff and then finding out what I had found.

Also arranging the operation with all the people involved and making sure it was interesting and profitable for them as well was a good exercise.

The selling part, where some stuff will fetch less than I expected (not a problem as it was all cheap) and some will fetch rather more than I expected will be the last bit of excitement.

I might buy myself some nice pieces of household silver, mostly for use and decoration, but also as a readily cashable investment 'just in case'.

Now, what to buy? It is a pleasant enough problem.

 

I really was not in it for the money (although it is always welcome) but for the hunting and gathering, the thrill of discovery, the joy of unrestricted picking. I tried to do my best with the money side, but the real pleasure was finding stuff and then finding out what I had found.

This is so true!!! I often find myself losing interest in stuff after I have done the research & would much rather go on to something else than actually putting it up for sale.

There use to be an antique mall here in Columbia that was owned by a guy who had been doing this nonsense since the 1970's. He use to go up north to auctions & would come back with a semi truck load of stuff. The truck would be unloaded in the parking lot & he let everyone go through boxes totes, etc. When gas took a dramatic jump he would go to an auction every Monday in a town a couple hours away & would do the same thing on a smaller scale.

I was always amazed at what I would find in those totes & boxes. My Tuesdays were always spent going through box after box from the time they opened to almost closing time. He would let me plunder through boxes & pile everything in the back of my SUV till I was through. He would then give me a price for everything & in the 3+ years of doing this I never once walked away from the deal. I also never failed to at least triple my investment, often times doing even better.

Unfortunately he retired a couple of years ago. Oh how I miss my Tuesday plunderings!!!
Peggy

 

Lucky isn't the right word but over here the 'authorities' (on what I don't know...) could take it all, house too.

 

If no legal heir had been discovered, the state would have claimed the estate, but they'd still have sold off all the chattels in the same way, not put them all in some massive junk warehouse full of stuff. Luckily the only relative discovered had no interest in coming over and picking over the stuff.

 

It looks like there might be a treasure or two amid the "whatdidhewantthatfor"s. That one plate looks North African. You couldn't sell it here for much. It might be old and might be tourist tat.

 

Hi,
Around here a family contacts an agency and PAYS to have the stuff hauled away. Two years ago a neighbor died, her cousin came out from Arizona. Looked through some drawers and paid a company 2K to haul the stuff off. A church bought the house and tore up the carpeting and found 46K in jewelry that the woman had hidden and 5k in two flower pots in the back yard. Before my divorce I quit smoking and stashed a gold Zippo lighter and an antique sterling silver cigarette case with a sapphire snap. I could never remember where I had hidden them until 5 years after we sold the house. I have always wondered if anyone found them.
greg

 

HOLY CAT PUPPIES!!!!!

 

I'll bet if you had lit one up....you'd have remembered..!

 

I hope someone found them, at least someone with good arteries. I'd about have a heart attack.(LOL)

 

Hi Don,I skipped out too fast the last time I was here Nice to be back

 

Hi Greg,glad to see the gang is still all here. I feel really good,my brother is ill and he makes my silly hernias pale in comparisson.