Serving Richardson and Nearby DFW

Two numbers on two proposals are not comparable until the scope matches. Ask four things of every company: which items are covered, what happens to everything else, who does the physical work, and what will still be in the house at the end.

We answer those in writing before we discuss a price. We walk the whole estate first, set aside family pieces and papers, and then show you a purchase offer next to an auction estimate for the pieces that merit one. You weigh the routes together and choose.

Gross and net are different numbers

A managed sale produces a gross figure, and fees and leftover removal come out of it. A purchase is one agreed price for the items it covers. Auction proceeds reach the estate less the agreed fee. Compare what the estate keeps after each route, and what work is still sitting in the house.

What "we handle everything" has to mean on paper

Get each of these in the agreement before you accept anything.

• What happens to unsold, unwanted and unsaleable items, and who pays to remove them.
• What happens to something neither side expected, like a ring found inside a sofa.
• What happens if a relative claims an item after the papers are signed.
• Who is in the house, and on which days.

How we write a comparison

Next steps. After the walkthrough we send one page with two columns. One shows what we pay outright and what that covers. The other shows the pieces we suggest for private auction and the agreed fee. Exclusions and timing sit underneath both. You can hold any other company's proposal up against it line by line.

A record of where everything went

Whichever route you take, ask for a written account of what left the estate and where each part went. Executors and attorneys work from that document when the estate is being administered. We provide it with every job, purchase or auction.