After They’re Gone Part 3

After They’re Gone Part 3 – Love a List!

Welcome back to our 7-part series on winding up a home that’s not your own i.e. the home of a deceased person you may or may not be related to, or even know well. Having dealt with the shock of finding yourself in this onerous position, and having secured the property and understood where you stand legally, we now move on, not to sorting, removing, distributing, and disposing of household items, but to making lists. Arm yourself with a pen and paper, or your device, and make a database of agencies and others that will make these monumental tasks easier for you. Work your way through the following, and we guarantee your winding-up task will feel lighter:

Valuers

For the purposes of this article, we’re assuming you have a legally binding will to work from. However, even after items listed in the will are distributed, you will still be left with the rest of the home’s contents to deal with. Whether it’s jewellery, paintings, china, or furniture, unless it’s worthless, it will need to be valued. Look online and locally for valuers, and pop them on your list. Be sure to check out their reviews, first, to make sure they are considered reliable.

When looking for professionals to value general household items, such as furniture, look for ‘chattel and contents valuers.’ Furniture not valued highly by your ‘chattel and contents valuer’ can be valued by a local auction house. ‘Art and object valuers’ will handle the valuation of paintings and sculptures as well as pieces of fine china and glass. Jewellery valuers may be willing to come to the home to carry out their work, but if you need to take jewellery to them for this purpose, first check with the insurer of the deceased’s estate that you are covered for any loss of theft. Any vehicles forming part of the estate will need to be professionally valued. Check out LTC Vehicle Valuations – they specialise in deceased estates. Once you have your list of valuers, it’s time to think about household items of minimal value.

Items of minimal value

Non-personal items of minimal value (such as garden tools, kitchen appliances, crockery, cutlery, linen, art and craft equipment etc) should be photographed. The images can then be distributed to family via email to see whom, if anyone, would like to have these. For items not claimed, make a list of charity organisations and clubs able to make use of them. Prioritise items that fit with what may have been the wishes of the deceased, but also take into consideration which organisations are prepared to collect rather than have goods delivered. Look online for local food banks willing to accept food items in the home which are not opened or beyond their use-by dates. Pop their contact details on your list.

Bin business

Even with all the list making in the world, there will still be items worthless or that no one wishes to take away. Which is why you will need to source quotes from suppliers of big-bins. Bins delivered to, and later removed from, the property will save you innumerable trips to land fill at a time when you have more important matters to attend to.

If you suspect the property holds items including ‘dangerous goods,’ search for and note on your list, services such as Hazchem or other hazardous waste contractors who will remove these items (your local landfill may accept some of these items if they are separated from general waste and place in designated areas – phone ahead to find a landfill that could help). Never place dangerous goods in a big bin. When it comes to dealing with unused medicines, contact pharmacies ahead of time to find out which of them will accept unwanted medicines. Note them on your list.

House valuation

Valuing the property itself is a major consideration. As executor or administrator, you will want to work with the deceased’s lawyer to make a list of impartial land agents. Once you have your agreed list, it will be time to choose the agent – something which can be a personal decision or which you want to make alongside family members.

Armed with a list of agencies and agents, your job will now be a lot easier, even though little will have actually gone from the property. Your next job is to sort, but let’s leave that for the fourth article in our After They’re Gone series. In the meantime, you can take a well-earned break!