#BookReview - LIQUIDATING AN ESTATE: How to Sell a Lifetime of Stuff, Make Some Cash, and Live to Tell About It.

As you can see I am making some changes with this post – a change in the format of my blog and a change in the format of my reviews…I hope that this new format covers all the aspects you require prior to purchase of the books I review.

TITLE: LIQUIDATING AN ESTATE: How to Sell a Lifetime of Stuff, Make Some Cash, and Live to Tell About It.

AUTHOR: Martin Codina

PUBLISHER: Krause Publications: a division of F&W Media, Inc.

NUMBER OF PAGES: 288 pages

PRICE: $ 18.99 US ($ 20.99 CAN)

Paperback $14.50 on Amazon

$ 9,99 for the Kindle Edition

TOPIC:` How To Liquidate an Estate – How To Hire a Liquidator –

How To Become A Liquidator

SKILL LEVEL:

NUMBER OF TUTORIALS:

MY THOUGHTS: I realize that you come to this page for Reviews of books in topics having to do with Jewelry and Gems, however, something happened awhile back that made me think about Estates and Estate Sales. A dear friend in the Industry died and his surviving family was left with the task of liquidating his Estate.

He was a Bench Jeweler and a friend, so I traveled to assist in the sorting and and sales of his workshop. As a constant Collector (I have collections and have sold collections that relate to every topic of interest to me and believe me that is a wide and varied list), I had to walk through the house and WOW – it was overwhelming! …and I don’t know if the Liquidator employed by the family wasn’t familiar with the current prices of some of the pieces or didn’t care and just priced items to sell, but I could have made a killing by buying the night before and re-selling (yes – that much below market value).

So – when I saw that a friend and Appraiser had written this book I was really interested in reading it, hoping to glean some knowledge. Martin offered me a Review Copy – Thank You Martin!

First, I just want to say that for a non-fiction book this reads very easily, it is filled with personal accounts, humor, and lessons learned. That being said it is filled with information really well presented, You almost feel like you are having a conversation with the author.

Who was this book written for? you will note that I wrote the “Topic” above as, “How To Liquidate an Estate – How To Hire a Liquidator – How To Become A Liquidator” and I truly believe that a lay person trying to liquidate a household could use the information given as much as an fledgling Liquidator or someone looking to hire a Liquidator.

The book opens with a great Foreword by HGTV’s Cari Cuskey of “Cash & Cari” who explains that the large number of Baby Boomers and their aging parents has created a major market – she asides that, “Not a day goes by that I don’t receive a phone call or email from someone looking for assistance with liquidating possessions.”

Chapters include:

For the Survivors or Someone Looking To Hire a Liquidator – Estate Sales: the Billion Dollar Business You May Never Have Heard Of; Was Your Mom A Hoarder or a Collector; How To Interview An Estate Liquidator and When Should You Be Crazy Enough To Conduct Your Own Estate Sale.

For the fledgling Liquidator – The Blood Sweat and Tears of Stuff; My Uncle Says It‘s Legal For Him To Keep Grandpa’s Guns; and So You Want To Be In The Estate Sales Business.

You could glean a huge amount of information by just flipping the pages and reading the snippets of highlighted text throughout the book…like the following:

“The reality check these people got is that we, as a consuming society, have a lot of stuff in our homes and when the time comes to empty them, most of us are woefully unprepared.”

“The way to add value to an estate is to add time. The way to irreversibly deduct value from an estate is to take away time by acting with haste.”

We all have relatives that have a “Collection” that they say has tons of value – this book is for them (it may convince them to add value or at least purchase price info to their catalog) – OR – maybe you have thought about the appraisal business – this book will give you the insight of nearly two decades of experience…in either case this book is a MUST PURCHASE!

I am giving it a 5 out of 5 Stars – and I have no doubt that I will be delving into it for advice again in the future.

BOOK DESCRIPTION FROM AMAZON:

“What do I do with all this stuff?”

Whether it’s due to the loss of a loved one, downsizing, or moving by choice or necessity, an increasing number of people are dealing with this burning question.

Striking a balance between respect and humor, Liquidating an Estate is loaded with how-to information readers need in order to sell or liquidate the personal property of a loved one, including:

common mistakes that will cost you money
telling the difference between treasure and trash
how to choose an estate sales professional to act as your advocate
how to deal with conflicts among family members
how the sale of even the most common household items can add up to big bucks when sold at an estate sale
how scrap gold can be turned into cash
what to do with fine jewelry and silver
how to understand the art appraisal process
a full review of the kinds of items that can be sold at a professionally staged estate sale
how to acquire basic antiques and collectibles research skills

About the Author

Martin Codina is the founder and CEO of Fine Estate Sales and Estate Liquidation, Inc. in the San Francisco Bay area. He has conducted estate sales for nearly 20 years with the promise to obtain the maximum dollar value each item in a client’s estate deserves; to discover hidden value in items thought to have little or no value; and to solve the age-old question: “What do I do with all this stuff?”