What's an Antique?

People often ask me the question, "What is an antique, and how do you tell?" Well, surprisingly, the answer is actually pretty obvious and simple - in fact, you'll be sorry that you didn't think of it yourself.

Here at last is the true definition of "Antique" - and you'll want to write this down for future reference.

An antique is anything that's been so utterly useless and unused for such a very long time that it's still in pretty decent shape!

Question answered!

All That Glistens...

They say that gold is where you find it. If we take that literally, then we might listen to those crazy guys on TV who say they'll buy our 'old, broken gold' and believe that they're doing you a favour when they buy the brooch your Aunt Edna left you.

Truth is, they're dealers out to make a profit, and there's nothing wrong with that - just make sure that the price paid is fair for all. Before taking your gold in to any shop, take the time to know what you've got. Is it 10k, 14k, 18k or what. And how much does it weigh? Even a cheap kitchen scale will give you a good idea of gram weight.

Then, check the value by karat and weight with any of many sites on the internet that provide the daily gold prices. And ALWAYS get a second opinion.

Buried Treasure

A major part of our job in liquidating estates is realizing the highest possible revenue for our client. Normally this focuses mainly on the selling of the contents of the home, but sometimes, just sometimes, it becomes more of a hunt for buried treasure.

Case in point was a sale we did for a client, in which there was literally a metric ton of old paperwork, enough to fill a dumpster!

As is our custom, we paged through every one of thousands of documents before sending them off to the shredder. We found many lost family photos, decades-old tax returns, and more. Most of what we found was garbage, until we struck gold for the family in the form of a group of MATURED SAVINGS BONDS worth hundreds! Imagine the smiles on our clients' faces when we presented them with our discovery!

And, to think, this was money that could have been lost FOREVER!

Avoid The Do It Yourself Disaster

We at Timothy Loughmiller Estate Solutions pride ourselves on our ability to offer solutions to 99.9 percent of those who come to us. Sadly, however, there remains that .1 percent which is beyond anyone's ability to help.

A sad case in point is Brenda W. (not her real name) a hairdresser who had lost her mother and was faced with dealing with a heritage house full of antiques and collectibles. Brenda's difficulties were compounded because she lived in Las Vegas and had responsibilities there as well.

Brenda made the trip to Toronto to arrange for the liquidation of her mother's estate, and that's where the trouble began. Thinking she was doing the right thing by her mother, Brenda attempted to deal with the mountains of tasks by herself, but soon found herself overwhelmed and, several months later, was still in Toronto and no further along, becoming increasingly frustrated and angry.

By the time Brenda called us she had exhausted every other avenue open to her, and was desperate. To her credit she had attempted to sell the contents of the home herself, placing numerous ads online, but to no avail. Unfortunately, it would be these ads which would be her undoing.

Something that she and any non-professional liquidator would not know is that, because her address had been so heavily advertised for months, it would be next to impossible to get people to attend a sale now - the reason being is that the appearance is that either A, all the 'good' things are gone, or, B, that everything is WAY overpriced!

If you choose to sell your contents yourself,  please avoid Brenda's fate by following this simple advice: set a timeline, establish reasonable prices, and be open to negotiation even if offers seem insulting. Most importantly, set a deadline and adhere to it.

Of course, just as a professional is crucial in selling your home and realizing the best possible price, the same applies to the sale of contents. But whichever path you chose, commit yourself to it and follow it to the end.