Estate Sales of Virginia – Cathy Talley

*  How did you get into the Estate Sale Business? For years, going to garage sales was my passion and avocation. It was what I did every Saturday morning from May until November. It became almost an addiction to find that bargain. Hunting for a specific item that was needed for our beach cottage, or sometimes I was asked to find something for a friend, It was an enjoyable hobby. But you had to wade through a lot of junk to find the good things. Then I discovered Estate Sales where companies were selling items that had been inherited or sometimes it was someone downsizing. These items typically were a step up from the stereotypical garage sale items. I would find things like nice all wood furniture, Beautiful hand loomed rugs, unusual lamps, china, crystal and tons of other things. Granted the pricing was a bit higher than a garage sale, but the quality was general better, the sale was inside the individual’s home and you could often tell the items being sold had been “well loved” by their owners. I was hooked from that moment on. More and more as I would go to these sales, I began to think this was something at which I would be good.

* How did you go about opening your business?  Well Like anything else, you have to have a background and a good solid basis of knowledge to be successful in any business. My background in sales and marketing, design, staging and décor (I had owned my own staging business prior this) gave me the basics on which to build the company. I formed a partnership with a longtime friend (Nancy Britton). I came up with the name “Estate Sales of Virginia”, we became licensed, taking all the appropriate legal steps and, started off with a bang. Almost immediately we were hired to do a sale for a retiring couple moving to Florida.

* Who is your typical client?  Our typical client is one that may be moving and downsizing therefore needing to sell most everything in their home OR it is often the executor of an estate after a loved one has passed on. When I get the call from someone that is dealing with the death of a loved one, it is often very difficult for them to talk about getting rid of their things. Sometimes it is a very recent occurrence and emotions are running high. Sometimes the heir lives in another state and they have to choose someone to handle the liquidation by phone. No matter what the circumstances, it is never an easy thing for the one making that call to deal with. Most of the time there are in a quandary of just what to do and how to go about it and are reaching out for help.

* Tell me how Estate Sales of Virginia can help someone in these circumstances?Educating the client on what we do and how we can help them is a large part of our initial contact. Most of our clients are filled with stress and are overwhelmed by the enormity of the task before them. They have either searched online and found us or have been referred by a Realtor or friend. I talk with them to explain we are there for them from the very beginning to the end and handle every aspect of the liquidation for them. We typically meet (if they are local) for a free consultation to see what the estate consists of. We are not able to take on every client that calls for various reasons. One of the big ones is timing. About once a month or so, I will get a panicky call from someone that says their house just sold and they are closing in 2 weeks. So a BIG part of our education is trying to let the public know that timing is essential. Planning ahead is paramount. Most of the time, we are not able to do a sale in two weeks as we are already booked.

* What do you find to be the most challenging when dealing with new clients? As I just mentioned, timing is one of the first things. It can especially become a problem when they are looking to sell the home.