An estate liquidation is similar to an
estate sale in that the main concern or goal is to
liquidate
Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as wound-up or dissolved, although di ...
the
estate (home, garage, sheds and yard) with an estate sale organization
There is no government regulation of the industry. There is also no formal training for estate liquidators.
Estate liquidation of assets can be all-encompassing: appraising, donating, cleaning, packing, transporting and auctioning.
In the United States, while it is necessary in most states that a
realtor
Real estate agents and real estate brokers are people who represent sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agent ...
be present to write up the documents for the sale of
real land, most other items do not require any other license or permit other than the local
licenses
A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit).
A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...
needed to run a business in that city, county or state where the liquidation is taking place. Oftentimes the family will retain a lawyer to oversee the process of liquidation and to keep the system straight on legalities of
stock
Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...
s and
bonds being traded,
investment
Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broade ...
s liquidated and any real property changing hands legally. However, in European countries such as
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, there are firms which solicitate non-binding initial inspection first and then rolling out the contract.
Estate liquidations happen mostly like estate sales, with the liquidators making the home and items to be sold ready for a public sale. Most liquidators will charge a commission of a percentage of the
net profit
In business and Accountancy, accounting, net income (also total comprehensive income, net earnings, net profit, bottom line, sales profit, or credit sales) is an entity's income minus cost of goods sold, expenses, depreciation and Amortization (a ...
.
Differences from estate sales
The main differences between an estate liquidation and a mere
estate sale is the sphere of inclusion which in a liquidation can expand to stocks, bonds, real property, fine
jewelry
Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...
,
coin collections and
fine art
In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function (such as ...
. Often an estate liquidation is accompanied by realtors, attorneys,
Certified Public Accountants
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Sta ...
, and
appraiser
An appraiser (from Latin ''appretiare'', "to value") is a person that develops an opinion of the market value or other value of a product, most notably real estate.
The current definition of "appraiser" according to the Uniform Standards of Profes ...
s, while an estate sale can be done by anyone with knowledge of value of household items and collectibles in question.
Forms of estate liquidation
Besides estate sales, liquidating the estate may be done in the form of an
auction
An auction is usually a process of Trade, buying and selling Good (economics), goods or Service (economics), services by offering them up for Bidding, bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from th ...
or the estate liquidator will offer a cash buy-out for the entire contents of a home.
Further reading
Household liquidation alliance
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Estate Liquidation
Real estate
Sales
Contexts for auctions
Corporate liquidations