Serving Lakewood and Nearby DFW

An empty house needs care before it needs a buyer. Tell the insurer the house is unoccupied and ask whether coverage or upkeep requirements change. Lock what needs locking, and gather small jewelry and cash into one place.

Then we walk the whole estate before anything moves. Keepsakes and papers go to the family. The rest gets sorted: what suits a purchase, what deserves a private auction, what goes to charity. A real estate deadline is a real reason to move. Pressure to clear the house before anyone has looked is not.

The empty-house checklist

• Locks, gates and alarm codes, with a written note of who has access.
• Mail redirected or collected, so nothing piles up at the door.
• Utilities left on where heat, light or a sump pump depends on them.
• The insurer told the house is unoccupied, with coverage confirmed in writing.
• Dated photographs of every room, taken before anything moves.

Who comes in, and on what terms

Decide who has access before handing anyone a way in: contractors, relatives, neighbors. Log every visit. Nobody carries an item out on a promise to settle up later. A record made now is far easier than one rebuilt afterward.

Choosing the route

Next steps. You get a written purchase offer and an auction plan for the standouts, side by side. Neither commits you to anything. The family picks one, both or neither, and the scope, exclusions and timing go on paper before any piece leaves the house.

What we bring to the walkthrough

We open the drawers, the cedar chest and the boxes in the attic. A charm bracelet, an Art Deco mantel clock, a service of Haviland china, a Texas watercolor in a gilt frame. We note each one, price the estate as a whole, and call out the standouts separately so you see where the money is.