Jan 28 2009
Appraisal Apprising
When I was thinking about resolutions for the new year, I knew one of them should be “Clean out Mom’s storage”, but I didn’t want to commit to it, since I was pretty sure I wouldn’t actually get around to it. And then I’d have to admit it to my adoring public, and you might adore me less. I just couldn’t take the risk.
It’s a pretty overwhelming job. It’s over an hour’s drive, and when you get there, it’s packed with things and stuff. Mom was a notorious pack rat, and when she got sick, we just stuffed her things in there, thinking she’d get better. When John and I separated, my stuff joined Mom’s, and it’s pretty much full to capacity. I couldn’t imagine how to even start sorting and disposing of it all, and the logistics just made my pretty little head swim, so I put it on indefinite hold. Hope it’s enjoying the Muzak.
I came across an appraiser/auctioneer who has had his own business for 40 years. He lives near the storage facility, and I went to meet him there today. He was a mover before he was an auctioneer, so he said he’d help me excavate and take away things that were worth selling.
I don’t know if you’ve ever been in this situation before, but here’s fun news: the items I had had appraised five years ago are not worth anywhere near the appraised value when I went to to sell them. Turns out that appraisals for insurance (replacement value) and appraisals for selling are two different things. Guess which one’s higher?
Why am I not surprised?
He’s interested in a lot of the furniture, though there are some items I can’t bear to sell. He took some today and we’ll meet up again at a later date so he can take more. Even after he does, there are about 900 boxes of books, etc. that I have no place for but don’t want to get rid of. Now who’s the pack rat?