One Chip Can Do A Lot of Damage

July 15, 2015 | Julie Hall

In my world of personal property, one little chip or ding, fracture or re-glue, can mean the difference between going into the trash or selling it for far less than if it was in perfect condition. As an appraiser, I know that original condition is just one very important characteristic when assigning value.

My entire career has centered around selling items that are in good, original condition — not stripped of its original finish, not repainted, not repaired or refurbished — just plain original condition. That original condition attracts the collector toward the mellowness of color that only the passage of time can create on a beautiful wood piece, imperfections and all. Those imperfections “prove” to the collector’s discriminating eye its true age, and the history and personality of the piece. Worn leather, distress marks, scars from accidents, etc. are all part of the life of our antique possessions before they came to us.

The collector knows some of these marks are positive attributes, but the average person is in search of perfection — perfection of body, perfection of mind, perfection for each facet of their lives.

The truth suddenly occurred to me! We should look at ourselves and each other in the very same manner as that special collector. We are aging; we have earned our stripes. We have gained insight and wisdom through the passage of years. Yet we too have many imperfections: a chip here and there, a few fracture lines, a scar or blemish. We should strive to do our best to live with our original condition for as long as possible.

While one chip can greatly diminish the value of an antique platter, our own self-worth only grows deeper with our well-earned battle scars from a life well lived and loved.

Julie Hall, The Estate Lady®, is the foremost national expert on personal property in estates, including liquidating, advising, and appraising. http://www.TheEstateLady.com She is also the Director of American Society of Estate Liquidators®, the national educational and resource organization for estate liquidation. http://www.aselonline.com.

No part of The Estate Lady® blogs, whole or partial, may be used without Julie Hall’s written consent. Email her at Julie@TheEstateLady.com.

“Warning, Warning!”

July 8, 2015 | Julie Hall

Remember the 1960s TV series “Lost in Space?” The Robinson’s robot would wave his mechanical arms and shout out “Warning, warning!” when danger was near. I wish I could do that every time I hear a nightmarish story in my industry, which makes my gut cringe and gives me gray hair at the same time.

I met with a client this past week; she had a home full of truly beautiful things she had collected over 50 years. Many of my clients in recent years are either downsizing or simply don’t want their amassed collection of stuff any longer. This particular client had items of significant value and had several people walk through her home, giving ideas on how to sell or whittle down her collection. This is not necessarily a good idea: too many “cooks in the kitchen” with differing ideas on how the possessions should be handled appropriately.

I was finally called in because she no longer knew who to trust. She needed an expert to come in and tell her the truth of the best way to sell the items and what they are really worth in today’s market.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up when she told me “three estate people” (that no one has ever heard of) came in to her home and offered her one sum of money for 3,500 square feet full of beautiful possessions. “Take it or leave it.” Thank God she left it!

I failed miserably trying to maintain a poker face when another person (no one has ever heard of) offered to take everything and sell it in their shop, without any detailed accounting or itemization of her things. When she told me how much she had been offered for her things, I nearly hit the floor as the blood drained from my face!

Warning, warning! Hear me shout from the mountain top. DO NOT DO THIS!

Always seek personal property professionals who are highly recommended by other professionals. Let them look, value, advise on your possessions before you do anything else!

Do not throw away or give away anything until a professional has walked through!

Please do not accept the first person that no one has heard of. Please take your time and do your homework! Hasty mistakes will hurt you most of all.

First, identify anything of value. Then, make decisions on what you will keep and what you will sell and stick with those decisions. Always look for the best professional you can find. It’s perfectly fine to interview several companies; determine what they can offer you and who you feel good about working with. Get everything in writing. Finally, let that professional do their job.

Don’t choose some fly-by-night company that no one has ever heard of. Due diligence is important on both sides: the estate professional and the client.

Ultimately, use your gut instinct to uncover the best professional for your needs and build a relationship based on trust.

No part of The Estate Lady® blogs, whole or partial, may be used without Julie Hall’s written consent. Email her at Julie@TheEstateLady.com.

Gears and Cogs

May 7, 2015 | Julie Hall

I had an unusual thought this morning over coffee and checking emails. Having just spent months creating, writing, and working with a team of people to develop a new website for the American Society of Estate Liquidators® at www.ASELonline.com, I am keenly aware how each individual member of the team worked together, as a vital piece of the whole, in order to come up with a successful end result. One person specializes in strategic writing, design, flow, another had graphic abilities, another technical, and more. It was a vision I had, but this team came together to find a way to create it.

It really takes an entire team to make a project succeed, like exposing the back of an antique mantle clock and viewing how all the gears and cogs work together in sync. I’ve always secretly wondered how the gears all worked together. As imperfect humans, with myself at the top of the list, we do make mistakes. Sometimes, many mistakes. We may not communicate clearly to the teammates working on another part of the project. Our brains work differently, and yet, we expect our teammates to understand what we mean, as if they can read our minds.

While each of us has our own vision for their portion, when you put all the parts together, it usually needs to be tweaked until the best version is attained for the whole project. Such is life … always a work in progress and always with the help of others.

Why is it that we tend to only think about our part of the team? We concentrate so heavily on what is our responsibility that we fail to see what the others are doing and the tremendous efforts they make. No single part or component would work successfully without the others, just like the gears in that mantle clock.

Developing the website taught me two things:

each of us has special gifts and talents, and
when put together with other people’s gifts and talents, we can create something marvelous.

But our part alone is just a piece laying there, a simple gear that won’t turn because there are no other gears or cogs to drive it into motion. The lone piece would simply not work unless put together with someone else’s piece.

Our vision towards almost anything in life really needs to be extended to include the value and work of someone else’s skills and ability to see and imagine. This is difficult to master. When working together, each brings to the table something that we can’t contribute by ourselves.

Last week I was in an estate documenting for an appraisal. When the heir saw me in front of the mantle examining the mantle clock, they quickly approached to tell me how old and valuable it was. “It is certainly old,” I said, “but there is a problem. It doesn’t work because some of the gears have fallen off and are missing. If the clock doesn’t work, even due to a tiny piece missing, the value will fall significantly.”

Little did I realize that a few days later, that statement would apply directly to me. I came to understand how our special team became my gears and cogs, driving me forward toward a long-dreamed vision. Sometimes all it takes is one tiny little piece to make it all work flawlessly.

No part of The Estate Lady® blogs, whole or partial, may be used without Julie Hall’s written consent. Email her at Julie@TheEstateLady.com.

If I Hadn’t Gone Out in the Storm

April 23, 2015 | Julie Hall

Having worked 14 hours yesterday, I was really dragging when I finally arrived home from an estate. I had missed lunch and dinner, was dehydrated, had 11 phone calls to return, and an appraisal to complete. It was a harrowing day: people not showing up, challenges at the estate, the phone wouldn’t stop ringing, etc. At home, there was no peace either: the house was messy, my daughter needed help, and the cat needed to be fed and medicated. How can anyone work this hard? I thought to myself.

The torrential rain came with the thundering on the roof and windows. I was finally relieved to be printing off my appraisal report. All of a sudden, no ink remained and the printer came to a screeching halt. Time was a factor; I had to print it out and get it in the mail. Glancing outside, I knew I had to go out in the storm, as tired as I was. The truth is I didn’t want to go, and I started having a little pity party all by myself, in the confines of my office. My daughter felt badly because she had used my printer relentlessly for a school project, which left me with no ink.

I glanced at the raging storm outside. It’s now or never. It’s got to get done.

I grabbed my keys and was on my way to Staples, but it closed 4 minutes before I arrived. Just my luck. I drove further in the rain to find another store and finally got my ink, just in time before they closed. Sopping wet and resigned to my situation, I drove home animatedly, talking out loud in the car about all my complaints. Finally I turned the corner heading home, and instantly, the rain stopped, the sun popped out, and this is what I saw. I pulled to the side of the road to take this photo and share it with you.

If I hadn’t gone out in the storm, I never would have seen this beauty. My Grinch face softened into a smile, knowing someone up above had my back. I couldn’t help but wonder if I was just a little too busy chasing that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, instead of realizing I already had it.

We all work hard and it can be a challenge to make ends meet and make things work for us. Sometimes we need a sign of hope and joy to remind us it’s the simple things that make us smile the most. My favorites? Chocolate, gardening, blissful naps, my cat’s purring, and the “buzz” of a hummingbird.

No part of The Estate Lady® blogs, whole or partial, may be used without Julie Hall’s written consent. Email her at Julie@TheEstateLady.com.

Scoundrels and Schemers

March 13, 2015 | Julie Hall

Louise was a wealthy woman in her advanced stages of a terminal illness, was blind, completely deaf, and in her final stage of dementia. She could no longer communicate and decisions were being made for her by an old friend she trusted. Louise had never married and had no children, but did have four beneficiaries to her estate. All four really loved her and provided the very best care for her in a beautiful health center for the remainder of her days.

One of Louise’s passions in life was purchasing fine diamonds; she had several pieces that were very large and easily worth in the six-figure range. Everyday, she wore them because she loved them. Louise bathed in them, napped in them, slept in them, and ate in them.

The beneficiaries started to grow concerned about these pieces of jewelry Louise wore on her person, for a number of reasons.

Most people don’t even have pieces as valuable as these, and if they did, the pieces would be kept in a safe, vault, or safe deposit box.
The beneficiaries did the right thing in requesting the rings be removed while Louise was napping, to have the genuine diamonds replaced with less expensive stones, in the event something should happen to the rings.
The genuine diamonds would then have been turned over to the trustee of the estate and secured. Who could possibly blame them for wanting the diamonds protected?

Unfortunately, the decision-maker overseeing Louise’s assets insisted that Louise should continue to wear those massive stones against everyone’s advice.

One day, less than 2 weeks after this request to have each diamond removed and replaced with cubic zirconia, the massive diamond pieces Louise was wearing disappeared. Not only did these pieces disappear, but a video camera, some CDs and a crock put vanished as well from Louise’s home. This was a clear indication to the family that the caregiver, sitter, or someone else who had very close contact with her, had made off with the goods. The beneficiaries were beside themselves.

Why didn’t anyone prevent this from happening?

Why didn’t anyone listen to their request?

With all the questions and accusations that flew, the damage was done. The diamonds were gone, never to be found again, probably sold at a pawn shop for a few thousand dollars and currently sitting in someone’s safe as their own retirement investment.

It is simply up to us, the chosen decision-makers,

to make the correct decisions to care for and

protect our loved ones (and their assets)

who cannot make decisions for themselves.

This story clearly demonstrates that we must exercise extreme caution with valuables. Remember to have them evaluated by a professional, have those values documented, and keep them in a safe place until they are either distributed to family or sold. The faces of exploitation are often familiar faces and not necessarily a stranger.

No part of The Estate Lady® blogs, whole or partial, may be used without Julie Hall’s written consent. Email her at Julie@TheEstateLady.com.

The Progressive Journey

March 5, 2015 | Julie Hall

Sitting and writing in my office, I am treated to a few, rare and quiet moments. The sound of silence bothers some people, but I rather like it. It allows me to think and listen to my own inner guidance. Today, I’d like to share some thoughts with you about the past, present, and future. This thing called life is really quite amazing, especially when you glance in the rear-view mirror.

Sometimes the past is not such an easy place to visit. Personally, I only go there long enough to learn from or remember the good, and how that good has sculpted me into the human being I turned out to be. True, you shouldn’t go backwards, but there are times it is necessary for growth. My mind ventures back to my long-ago, taken there as I sort through decades of my parents’ photographs throughout our lives. With a smile, I am reminded what a good life I have had and continue to have; though, none of us can claim life was perfect.

This is the past and I wouldn’t trade it,

even if I could turn the clock back.

It is the foundation of who we are and how we came to be.

Few of us are fortunate enough to love our chosen work, but I live and breathe mine. Serving others with skills I have accrued through decades of experience, feeling others’ pain and solving estate problems has enabled me to serve, guide, and help people. As a result, I sleep very well at night. However, the thought occurred to me that I didn’t get here quickly, and I certainly didn’t get here by myself. Sometimes we unintentionally take things like this for-granted.

When I go back to where my real journey began as a young adult, I am suddenly reminded of all the kind, giving, creative, helpful, odd, patient, gentle, appreciative, harsh, happy, and sad people who have crossed my path and helped me along the way. It takes all kinds. Some were incredible teachers, both good and bad. Some made me laugh until my ribs hurt. Some inflicted great pain. Some taught me what real suffering is, and others taught me how blessed I am. But all of them were teachers. We are teachers, too.

We are never alone and never on this journey without purpose.

While we may not necessarily understand what the purpose is, we need to move in a forward motion, lest we get “stuck.” Each experience seems to be a stepping stone to another place, another direction, and then our purpose(s) may be revealed. We get to choose that place and direction, and hopefully, we choose wisely.

This is where we are.

The choices we make here in our present

will have an impact on our future and our loved ones’ futures.

We are all connected.

As for the future, it is not yet written. Like an artist standing in front of a blank canvas, we can (with some luck and strong faith) create something really good. But, it is unknown and most people find that a little scary.

I don’t know anything about the future, but I do know that, in getting there, we can’t keep looking in the rear-view mirror. If we do that, we will not move forward and fulfill what we are here to do.

We should use all that we learned in the past, and here in the present, to help create a better future for ourselves, albeit unknown. We also need to be extraordinary teachers, all of us.

I am reminded of a thought-provoking snippet from a famous quote of Captain James T. Kirk from the original Star Trek series:

It has an exciting ring to it, don’t you think?

No part of The Estate Lady® blogs, whole or partial, may be used without Julie Hall’s written consent. Email her at Julie@TheEstateLady.com.

“I’ll Get to it One Day!”

February 19, 2015 | Julie Hall

While the sentiment is a good one, we all know human nature a little too well. The trouble is, “one day” rarely comes.

Out of sight, out of mind.
I’ll get to that later.
I’ll look into that in the new year.
It’s not a priority right now.

It’s fascinating what we professionals notice in estates. We see a distinct similarity in almost all of the estates we go into, especially if the estate belonged to an elderly loved one from the Depression Era. The attics are usually full; interesting that 85% of them are full of things that really should have been disposed of 30+ years ago.

By the time we get into these attics to clear them out, the books are rotted and have been gnawed on, anything cardboard has pretty much disintegrated, clothing either smells like mildew or falls apart in our hands, or we find items that have long since been obsolete and no one has any use for them. If items of value were stored in the attic, which is a big no-no, chances are good they have been damaged and the value greatly diminished. This is not always the case, but generally what we find. On very rare occasions, we find treasures hidden up there too, but they have been long forgotten and the family most likely was never told about them.

My assistant has a saying when we are working in the daunting attics, up to our elbows in stuff:

“They were young when they put this stuff up here. By the time they finally figure out it has to be dealt with, they are elderly and can’t get up here anymore. That’s how long this stuff has been sitting around and most of it is being discarded. With all this paper up here, it’s a miracle the house didn’t go up like a match.”

This is accurate on many levels. Time stops for no one. We all have the best intentions of cleaning out the shed, garage, closets, cupboards. But if you continue to procrastinate and something happens where you or your loved one is incapacitated, it truly leaves a burden for the ones you leave behind. A bigger burden than you realize.

If you have had your sights on a project around the house which includes clearing out some stuff, make sure you know what it is worth before you sell it or give it away. It is better to clear out the clutter now, so you can feel better and not worry later. We all could probably come up with numerous excuses. With spring coming, it’s time to just do it!

No part of The Estate Lady® blogs, whole or partial, may be used without Julie Hall’s written consent. Email her at Julie@TheEstateLady.com.

Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen

January 29, 2015 | Julie Hall

Living in an ever-changing world, I have concerns about the industry I love so much. It has so many excellent qualities:

helping others during very challenging times,
serving the community in a positive way,
making a difference in the lives of those who are suffering,
offering a skill set not many people have,
guiding people towards trusted resolutions, to name a few.

But as with everything else in life, it has changes too. You’ve got the good in the industry and the not-so-good. While I have tremendous respect for my colleagues, and they have respect for me, there are many “Estate Experts” that are suddenly popping up in the marketplace. I need this blog to circulate and help guide people away from these pop-up companies who claim to be experts, and are no such thing!

I am in a unique position, receiving close to 1,000 emails a week regarding the industry, sad stories, and complaints against companies I have never heard of and neither has anyone else. Having written books and many articles, people gravitate towards me for answers. I am all too happy to provide answers, as long as they can handle the truth.

Friends, you must be careful out there! There is good and bad in every aspect of life; that includes all occupations, mine included.

Do not be fooled by fancy talk, or a “friend of a friend” who will give you a discount. Talk is cheap. A professional turns it all into action and gets it done correctly.
Don’t be persuaded to use someone whose commission is lower than a true professional. You often get what you pay for.
Don’t feel compelled to use Aunt Martha’s cousin’s brother who “dabbles” in antiques. They will not know how to maximize the proceeds, in your best interest.
Don’t just call someone out of the yellow pages or internet. Know what you have, then find a way to sell using the best possible option for your possessions.
Don’t take the easy or cheap way because it will BOOMERANG and bite you in the rear.
Don’t pile up your great grandmother’s estate jewelry and take it to just any jeweler on the corner. Why would you sell yourself short, when there are professionals who know what they are doing and will compare, communicate, negotiate, and sell it for the highest $$.
Don’t give away or throw away anything until a REAL professional walks through your door and advises you on your possessions. Knowledge is power. Know the facts.
Beware of “Cash Paid” advertisements. Know who you are dealing with, or you may get low-ball offers.
Beware of searching on the internet, unless you know exactly the right way to search. Know what an item actually sells for, not asking prices.
Before any property leaves your home/estate, RESEARCH and make sure you have done your due diligence in finding a reputable company to help you and guide you.
Ask for references, credentials, memberships, etc. Then, CHECK them.
Beware of negative online complaints. Yes, some are justified, but others are not. Sometimes an upset client can post a negative comment because an item didn’t sell for as much as they expected. That isn’t fair to mar a liquidator’s reputation.
Finally, don’t ignore your instinct. It’s a powerful tool that tells you when something is good or amiss.

These tips are among the best advice I could ever offer. They come with decades of experience and a heavy heart for those who have been taken advantage of.

Remember that the majority of estate liquidators are very good at what they do, have a deep passion for the industry, and help clients move forward with their lives.

It only takes one bad apple to soil the bunch. If you are careful, you’ll choose the best fit for you!

No part of The Estate Lady® blogs, whole or partial, may be used without Julie Hall’s written consent. Email her at Julie@TheEstateLady.com.

Ex·cel·lence

January 15, 2015 | Julie Hall

The quality of being outstanding or extremely good.

An outstanding feature or quality.

It’s a new year and an exciting time as we get to “start over.” Each year, people seem to have numerous new year’s resolutions; some want to lose weight, quit smoking, make their business successful, exercise regularly, etc. This year, my goal is to concentrate on excellence; to be the best I can be, personally and professionally, in all aspects of my life, whether sitting with a client or tending to my garden.

Excellence is not a skill. It’s an attitude. Since there seems to be less and less of it in the world, let this blog serve as the reminder that we can, and should, strive for excellence in our lives. It just takes effort.

I’ve often told my teenage daughter that you receive in life what you give; you reap what you sow. If you give a lot, it usually comes back to you multi-fold in ways you would never expect. If you just “take” all the time, don’t expect life to continually shower you with gifts; it doesn’t seem to work that way.

Have you noticed that we all seem to make our lives more complicated than they have to be? Or we just keep piling on the tasks because we are professional multi-taskers now, like a “Jack of all trades, but a master of none”?

Maybe part of our personal excellence can be to simplify our lives to the point where they are manageable, easier, and ultimately more enjoyable.

As with most things in our lives, I believe excellence is something you create through positive intention. It is a mind-set of not wanting to settle for anything less than the best for yourself and from yourself. I found this definition of excellence online.

The desire to excel is exclusive of the fact whether someone appreciates it or not. Excellence is a drive from inside, not outside. Excellence is not for someone else to notice but for your own satisfaction and efficiency.

Having spent much of my career talking with the elderly, I’ve come to understand that they have much to say and most of it is very wise, including regrets they have and wish they could undo. They will be the first to admit that for them it is almost too late, but it isn’t for most of us.

Propelling yourself towards excellence requires courage, because it may mean facing things you don’t want to face. Or sticking your neck out when others don’t.

Facing pain (old or new),
healing past wounds,
fixing broken relationships,
spending more time with our kids or elderly parents,
finding a hobby we really enjoy,
doing more for ourselves that calms our minds and offers renewal to all aspects of who we are.

It means pushing yourself to be the best at whatever it is you do, and doing it honestly, ethically, and for all the right reasons.

Time waits for none of us. Join me in making this year … EXCELLENT!!

No part of The Estate Lady® blogs, whole or partial, may be used without Julie Hall’s written consent. Email her at Julie@TheEstateLady.com.

An Example of the Changed Antique Market

January 8, 2015 | Julie Hall

People always ask why their mother’s or grandmother’s handmade antique Persian rug is selling for so little. After all, it is a work of art, a beautiful creation out of the imagination of an artist who took many months, if not years, to create with talented, nimble hands. It’s old too, so it must have value. How can this rug which mom paid $9,000 for in the 1980s be selling for $500 today?

Behold the image in the photo; an image you see every day from Target to Walmart, from Costco to Bed Bath and Beyond. (Strolling through Costco was the inspiration and the photo for this blog.)

Machine-made, hand-tufted copies of real, antique Persian rugs. Rugs recreated with pretty colors and patterns most likely taken from the old beauties. Some are a wool blend, but most are inexpensive acrylic. The answer is right there for all to see, if we are paying attention. Cheap, machine-made copies that look good enough for the majority of people and their style, color theme, and most importantly, their budget.

Why would someone pay $9,000 when they can have a pretty look-alike for under $200? They don’t have to worry about spilling on the look-alike rug, or the effects of small children and puppy accidents. This rug can be replaced cheaply in a year or two when people have grown tired of the colors and want a change, or when it wears out.

The reasons are numerous:

These rugs are inexpensive, but look good with our furniture,
We don’t worry about them as if they were an antique,
Very few people care if it is real or not, wool or acrylic, hand-knotted or machine-made.

This is how we’ve changed and manufacturing has figured us out and is meeting our demand. We don’t necessarily need top quality with a price tag to match. We just want something attractive, so they make them by the millions.

On the flip-side, there will always be those, myself included, who are enamored with a genuine Persian, or a genuine antique. Even the feel of a genuine Persian rug lends credence to the love that went into making it, as well as the spirit of the artisan is locked into the weaving. But, I don’t spend a lot of money on these either. I recently purchased two antique Persian rugs for $200 each at an auction and they are stunning. An interesting observation: the new machine-made rug that wasn’t nearly as pretty also sold for about $200. Go figure.

I have also seen other interesting trends, such as fine antique furniture pieces selling for $100 – $250 and the next item sold was a fairly new, “Made in China” cabinet for $350. Why? Because it had the look someone wanted.

One must wonder if we are living in times where quality doesn’t matter as much to the masses. What they are looking for is simply:

What looks good?
What is in their budget?

This is yet another reason why the antique and collectibles market is soft. The average person doesn’t think of these things I present here. It always comes down to supply and demand, and has nothing to do with what someone paid for an item.

No part of The Estate Lady® blogs, whole or partial, may be used without Julie Hall’s written consent. Email her at Julie@TheEstateLady.com.