Two very different things people mix up — the stuff inside the house, versus the house itself.
People use the phrase “estate sale” to mean two completely different things, and it causes real confusion when you are trying to settle an estate. Let us clear it up.
An estate sale (or tag sale) usually means selling the personal property inside the home — furniture, tools, dishes, collectibles — often over a weekend, run by an estate-sale company. That is a distinct industry, and a useful one.
A probate sale (more precisely, selling the estate’s real property) means selling the house, farm, or land itself — through a REALTOR, for full market value. That is what I do. It is not a foreclosure, not a forced sale, and not a discount; it is a normal sale where the seller happens to be an estate.
Most families need both: clear out the contents, and sell the property. I focus on the real estate — especially farms and land, where getting the value right takes real expertise — and I can point you to good people for the contents.
An estate sale usually means selling the personal property inside a home -- furniture, tools, collectibles -- often over a weekend, run by an estate-sale company. A probate sale means selling the real estate itself, the house or farm or land, through a REALTOR. They are two different jobs, and most people need both.
To sell the real estate you need a REALTOR handling a probate or estate real-estate sale -- that is me. To liquidate the contents, you hire an estate-sale or auction company. They complement each other: clear the contents, then sell the property, or run them in parallel.
No. A probate sale is simply a normal real-estate sale where the seller is an estate rather than a living owner. It is not a distressed or forced sale, and it does not mean a discount -- the property should sell for full market value.
No. You can list and sell the property as-is, with contents still inside, and handle the belongings separately. Many estates sell the real estate first and deal with the contents on their own timeline.
The house, the farm, the land — sold for full value. Free, confidential valuation.
Talk to Aaron