Why Appraisal Appointments Are An Important Element For The “Pawning Process”

My dedicated readers know that my team and I visit some pretty extraordinary spaces when first meeting a client.  The clients are as different as our events and occasionally- have a few “out of the ordinary” requests not listed on my sister site Low Cost Wedding & Event Services & Ceremonies- Texas Twins Events.  

 Over the past month, I’ve had several requests for estate Liquidations, house flipping and even a storage liquidation event.  In order to evaluate whether or not anything of value actually exists- I require an Appraisal Appointment for a number of reasons but mainly because I’m not willing to commit if there is nothing of value in order to flip and pay myself and my staff. 

   
I once entered a house full of cats and junk where the client gave me the “it’s everything or nothing” speech about liquidating the entire home.  What was the problem?  Well, the things that had actual value (an antique organ and an antique table set along with two chaises) were “taken out” by the client.  Liquidating an entire home full of sprayed furniture and clothing (13 cats) is a huge investment of time and dedication.  Because of this, if you want us to liquidate the property caviats of the best (or only) pieces of value won’t work.  The house was full of junk and trash so I advised the client he would need to hire someone because he was leaving me nothing of value and expected us to not only liquidate the junk but also to clean the home and “get it ready to list for sale.”  Because of this- I advised him the only way that anyone would make that sort of committment was with cash up front and lots of it.  

   
Today’s customer think “they are always right!”  The reality is that they are often wrong.  Taking on a job that we would spend a month or more on with no money up front was a no-go.  Three months later, the client called me back and asked if I would reconsider.  After laying out the terms of what would be needed since most of the 3 bedroom 2 bath home would need to be loaded into a box truck and hauled to the dump, I told him he would need to at the very least pay $5k up front due to the fees to dump most of the property and the expense and manpower necessary to move it along with fuel and renting a truck. I would need a team of at least four of my family members and, I was not negotiable on the terms since the smell in the house made all of us sick. 

 Cleaning the house is not an option and not something we offer at either The Pawning Planners or Texas Twins Events.  I can refer you to a service but do not provide free cleaning services under any circumstances.

Now on the “flip side of that coin” what we do offer is evaluating your inventory, pricing it and advertising the sale while acting as the sellers.  Under these circumstances, an estate liquidation is “similar” to a Pawning Party in that we organize, price and sell the property for you while taking 20-40% of the profit and keeping what is left over to resell at Visit My Treasure Chest- Texas Twins Treasures!  

   
Why the variation in commission?  Well, some Liquidations require very little set up while others take days to organize and price by emptying out the unit and going through the items to effectively “sort the trash from the treasure.” We videotaped a few examples for ya all to see what a big job is and what a smaller job entails The Pawning Planners- A Team Of Twins At An Appraisal Appointment.  This video is of a very large unit with items “packed in.”  This job would easily take 3-5 days to sort through and organize which would be 40% of the profits with an “up front fee” for manpower, truck rental and fuel.

A smaller “job” was videotaped where we basically go through everything and decide where items will be moved while planning the estate sale on this video where the fee would be 20% The Pawning Planners Organize An Estate Sale. 

Occasionally, you’ve got to be willing to get your hands dirty and my team along with me have had a few “down and dirty” Appraisal Appointments too and we’ve experienced scorpions, rats, spiders, and a few surprises at our appointments.  The angry donkey chasing me out of a barn, the turkey that bit me and everything in between.

With clients, it’s often like a box of chocolates- we never know what we are going to get and even after five years, catch a few surprises here and there.

But the thing to remember is that I operate several businesses and if I can’t turn a profit, I can’t commit to liquidating your property for you.  With weddings, refurbishing items taken in trade, baptisms and even divorce parties- there has to be a window of a profit margin and Liquidations do not qualify for sponsored events.

Sponsored events are for clients seeking ceremony servcices who have no money and no trade to offer. Liquidation events require a lot of time and expenses which is why we do not offer free liquidation services.

I’m hoping this better explains the process and also why certain events have variable scales when “pricing a job.”

Our Pawning Planners Apparel line features #HillbillyHumor aka #Cindyism but also a bit of truth when you expect me to do everything with nothing in return which is why liquidation events are “tricky.”