A few years ago, Brad and I helped three families with estate sales in one year. In two of them, a family elder had passed away, leaving behind a home full of memories and belongings ~ and the need to sell in a difficult market. The third situation involved helping a client relocate quickly out of state to take a new job after 27 years in her home. In each case, seasonal timing was important and the families’ ability to do the physical work was extremely limited.
After talking with each about their unique needs and developing an appropriate budget for the work ahead, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work helping them empty their homes. We helped arrange estate sales, consigned or donated remaining furnishings, and then coordinated the transformation of their well-loved (and in some cases well- worn) properties into desirable listings. In the process, we defined a new service offering that we’ve nick-named The Walk Away Package ~ just give us your keys, walk away and we will do the rest!
The Walk Away Package works well for estate sales, relocations, major family transitions (like divorce), and other situations where the on-site labor needs far outweigh the available family time resources. It’s hard and satisfying work for us, and we appreciate helping people through big life transitions. After all, real estate never happens in a vacuum. There's always a life change at the root.
Since 2006 we have built a phenomenal team of trusted contractors to help us with all aspects of home repair and spruce-up, so taking it a step further by actually providing some family assistance was natural. We don’t know of any other agents providing this level of service and are grateful to the families we have worked with for helping us develop it!
There are a couple of different financing options available to fund this sort of work, and we'd be happy to discuss them with you. The key is to reach out as soon as you know a change is likely. Making a plan as far in advance as possible can help make everything run smoothly and reduce stress.
Fun fact: The house shown was a listing of mine in 2010. The sellers were two sisters, both over 90 years old, who had lived there since 1940. The home was like a museum inside, filled with mementos from their lives. Clearing and selling it for them was one of the greatest privileges of my professional career.
