Auctions & Appraisals

Estate Auctions 

The way today’s Estate Auctions work, you can generally pick among “fast, cheap and easy.” Depending on how many items you have, what type, and your time and money constraints, you can generally find an auction process that delivers two out of three.

At Dave Lunsford Auctioneers we understand that it can be tough cleaning out a parent’s house after death, but half the battle is knowing your options. Our guide will help you choose the right choice for you.

The best method depends on what you have to sell. Our guide outlines the pros and cons of each method and summarizes what will likely work best for your collection. The happy ending? If you have the right combination of items, and you need to move quickly, you can actually get all three – fast, affordable, and easy.

How an Online Auction Company Estate Auction Works

Some online auction companies work by taking your stuff to their warehouse, listing it for sale, and then paying you a percentage of the proceeds. Essentially, these auction companies buy your house contents then resell them.

If your goal is to empty the house quickly, this option is fast and easy, but not cheap.

Pros: Your items go away, so you don’t have to store them, show them, or manage the sales process. It’s never a guarantee, but online bidders can often drive up the price higher than when selling directly to a single person at a fixed price. However High Value Items might sell as low as 25 cents. 

Cons: Auction companies may only take high-value items to sell (you must empty the rest of the house), and they have a minimum project size. They charge as much as 50% of the sale price in fees. And it can take several months before you receive your check. They also may charge for cleaning your items, hourly rates for moving, charge you for paper & boxes, Photographs and web listing services. 

How Our Estate Auctions Work

We work with families to sort everything in the house, helping decide what to keep, sell, donate, and discard. Then we set a date to have the auction (usually a 4 week turn around) 

Because we can clean out a house quickly, and our auction fees are lower than average, this option can be fast, affordable, andeasy.

Pros: We can empty an entire house within weeks, plus cart away all the trash. We know what items will sell at auction and what should be donated. I have found over my 30+ years in the business it is in my opinion that when we have your Auction on-site verses online we see higher prices. Because buyers will pay more for something they can see, touch and examine! And there are no returns at our auctions every item is sold as is! 

Cons: The auction itself can still take weeks, and we can’t guarantee sale prices.

Works Best For: A busy, stressed, or grieving person with little time, overwhelmed by a house full of items. Working with our company, the process of emptying a house can be customized to your needs. Fast, affordable and easy.

We work with families in transition. We’ll sort your property and decide where items go - keep, sell, donate or trash.

Appraisals

When going through a major life transition such as downsizing, divorce, business liquidations, bankruptcy or settling an estate, you may have to establish the value to your belongings. We can help you determine their value.

Dave Lunsford Auctioneers offers a full line of appraisal services to meet your appraisal needs. We are experienced and able to offer the following types of appraisal services:

• Estate Appraisals – When a person dies, it is necessary to place a value on all of the decedent’s assets, including real property such as a home and the contents within. The valuation of these assets is reflected at the time of death by a qualified appraiser. This type of valuation determines the Fair Market Value of real estate and personal property effective as of the date that the owner died. This type of valuation is used to determine if State and Federal estate taxes may be owed. These values may also be used determine the dollar value of items that are divided among the Descendant’s heirs.

• Insurance Appraisals – This type of appraisal is used to determine the replacement value of a particular item. This is usually required when insuring personal property against theft, damage or destruction. The actual monetary value in this type of appraisal includes the actual replacement cost of the item and associated time to find the exact item being replaced.

• Divorce Appraisals – When a divorce occurs, an appraisal of the property owned by both parties is usually required to determine the value of Real Estate and Personal property that will be divided as part of a divorce settlement. The division of assets in a divorce settlement is usually based on the current Fair Market Value of the assets. 

• Bankruptcy Appraisals – This type off appraisal for our purposes is used to establish a liquidation value on Real and Personal property. If a bankruptcy occurs an appraisal is usually required by the entity overseeing the bankruptcy to establish value on assets that need to be liquidated to repay creditors.

In addition to these specialty appraisal services, we network with local and regional attorney’s to perform specialty collection appraisals to include:

• Coins• Firearms• Art• Automobiles • Heavy Equipment • Antique Toys & Dolls • Farm Equipment