How did you sell everything to go full-time?

[needgreaters]

After we sold the house and major furniture, and gave the kids whatever they wanted, we filled our son’s garage with the rest ... antiques, etc .. we asked him to put them on eBay, Craig’s list, etc, keep 25%, and not tell us what he sold anything for. Liberating ... every now and then we’d get money in Pay Pal from something he’d sold. Fun

[jayc2640]

We called our children. We said "we're closing on the house on xxx date. Come get what you want by xxx date or it will be gone." and the swarm of locust descended. Then we dealt with the Kidney Foundation, Volunteers of America, and the AMVETS. While it may not have been a financial success, we were out of the house in 30 days, and had a hell of a deduction for charitable contributions for our taxes.

[Steve 716]

We were sitting in the NIRVC sales office waiting for the house settlement to be completed. As soon as the money was deposited in our account we completed our RV purchase. Our house sold furnished. We would not have sold it unfurnished and then have to do something with our stuff. I had to sell my 1996 Nissan 300ZX, which was painful to me. The car treated me well for 20+ years, was in great shape, and still was a joy to drive. I also had to give up the custom grandfather clock my wife gave me for my 50th birthday. I sold various tools and related equipment to neighbors and the rest I gave away to the local animal shelter's thrift store. The money they make goes to the animals and they sent a truck to pick everything up. Buyers get a good price for the items the store sells so it's a win-win. Our kids took everything they wanted. Last, we stored documents and some other things at a storage facility for two years before emptying it out. We already had our remote mailbox setup with America's Mailbox and they helped up establish SD residency. The process took a few weeks but it was fairly easily accomplished. The key is planning and being organized before starting the process.

[SCClockDr]

My choice would be an auctioneer.
They should offer you 3 choices.

1. Direct purchase.

   It should be about 25% of market value. That may seem too low but they are assuming all the risk & their dependable buyers are resellers, looking for their own margin.

2. On-site auction.

   You assume most of the risks like weather etc. The auction house should keep 10 -20% of the hammer price. Try to limit this to 15% if possible.
   You will need to have the space, parking, & permits if required.

3. Auction House sale.

   Similar risk sharing but it should be indoors.

Ensure the auctioneer will pay at the close of the sale or within 7-30 days. Opt for un-reserved bidding (more items will sell @ better prices generally). DO NOT agree to the auctioneer holding payment till all items are sold.

[larkbythelee]

We used Facebook Marketplace for most of our stuff. Goodwill got all the other stuff, CDs, books, clothes, appliances etc

[TopsTank]

Originally Posted by Lv2Roam2

We took everything out of the house that we wanted - then had an estate sale company come in. We also could not have garage or yard sales. They opened the house for buyers to come inside. In two days they sold everything possible - on the third day they emptied the house of all remaining items.

We weren't even there - which significantly reduced the emotional quotient and stress.

That sounds like the best way.

[Brianna]

I am doing it in stages.
Stage one is move from house to small 2-bed apartment.
We only took the furniture that would fit perfectly, and gave away the rest.
Scaled down kitchen supplies by at least half.
Scaled clothes, record albums, artwork, etc all by at least half.
The attached garage is lined with boxes on shelves on 2 walls.

Stage 2 will be much easier to make the final purge since we don't really have that much left.

[Free2Go]

We identified a small number of things that we couldn't live without and moved them to storage. It has to be a small amount because storage rental costs and insurance adds up over the years.

Next we had our kids go through the house and identify what items they wanted. One did it via Facetime. We packed up nearly 2,000 lbs for each of our two kids that are in separate states and sent it off...one was cheapest shipped via POD the other via a moving company. It was nice to see some of the items stay in the family...plus, all my tools are with my kids and I use them when I visit!

We had a going away party at the house with neighbors and had them walk through...we sold quite a bit during the party.

We did a garage sale, then Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and finally Goodwill.

This is year 4 of being full time and we still complain we kept too much in storage...

[Journey39n]

1 condo wide garage sale, eBay, Craigslist, children took what they wanted, many trips to the Goodwill, and finally 1800GotJunk. After one month, RV was full, and we moved out.

Still getting rid of some things after 9 years. Garage was hard for me, knickknacks were hard for my wife.

My son had the best advice, that we wished we had followed. Get rid of everything, and pick up what you need, when you need it.

[Janjim]

Originally Posted by Pyropete

I should have posted this in the "regrets" thread, but I have so much stuff to sell. So much... Furniture will probably be thrown away, but LOTS of bench and power tools. Some weigh 500lbs and more. I might just heavily discount if they come and get them themselves and bring the movers. It's just too much work for me at this point in my life. That's why I am giving myself 2.5 years to sell everything. It's going to be VERY HARD to get rid of all the stuff I have.

I have a similar situation, although we are under 2 years and counting.

I Have a garage full of tools to pare down for MH .

Most of the furniture I don't care about, except for the hand made stuff. That's going to be a little harder to deal with.

My mother in law had an estate company come when she downsized. That seemed to work well.

[seeinsilver]

Garage sales aren't worth the time and trouble required. People want to nickle and dime you for everything. A lot of thrift shop owners and swap meet vendors want to buy for a dime and sell for a dollar. I told everybody approaching the few yard sales i had that nothings a quarter, I want folding money! I found it more worth while to donate small items to church thrift stores and take the tax deduction. I always had 2 or 3 items on Craigs List and that worked well for me. Be vigilant for there is always someone wanting to scam you when you use a public sales option of any kind. Have the item in the garage or outside the house and have a few friends around when they come to look at it, pay you, and pick it up. don't let them in the house.

[buckeyefan4]

We had the kids take what they wanted ( which was not much), then had a company do an estate sale. They staged the house, advertised, and contacted dealers for items they might be interested in.
On the two weekends of the sale we were gone. They did all the work, sold 80% of our stuff, and took 35% commission. The rest of the stuff went to Salvation Army for a write-off.
We have a few boxes of sentimental items at our daughter’s house.
It was quick and easy, and I think we came out ahead financially. I’d still be there trying to get rid of stuff.

[tpiketrooper]

Welcome top our world. My wif and I are in the same boat. My wife had used Facebook Market Place and that seems to work the best. We have sold $$$ on there. Just be aware that sometimes people tell you that they will be by to buy somethingf and never show up. My suggestion is to have a backup buyer that seems too work .
Good luck and hope to see you out there

[Diana808]

We gave away our possessions, including a gourmet kitchen, sewing room and an entire handyman’s workshop, to appreciative friends and family. Except the car and truck which we sold. Everything else went to our local second hand shop. It was fast and it felt great to play Santa Claus.