Appraisal desperation

[judecorp]

I have spent a way-too-large chunk of my day trying to figure out what sorts of people do appraisals of stuff in homes for estate purposes, and then find such people in Rhode Island, and then try to figure out what this sort of thing costs. And let me tell you, what I've gotten for all of this difficult and frustrating work is a BIG FAT NOTHING.

I e-mailed random people all over Rhode Island about old Lionel trains. But then I went looking for someone affordable who can come over, check out all of the stuff, take pictures, what-have you, and... tell me what's any good. Do these people exist? Do these people exist at a price I could ever hope to afford? Google has no idea, since they only want to give me real estate appraisers.

I am so effing fed up with all of this crap. Today I sat in the middle of The Toy Room and just wanted to scream at the top of my lungs, because it's September and we lost our whole effing summer and THE SAME CRAP IS STILL FILLING UP THE FRICKIN' HOUSE. I feel like I have been spinning my wheels for the past three solid months of losing nearly every weekend to the stupid house and its stupid stuff, and I have gotten so desperate that I have started e-mailing random appraisers from the Antiques Roadshow television show.

YES, I AM NOW E-MAILING PEOPLE I FOUND ON PBS.ORG.

I am so sick to death that this is my life. I want all of this stuff to just be gone, gone, gone, and right now I don't even frickin' care if any of it is worth anything. I want to just put all of it out on a HUGE table on the sidewalk with a sign that says, "FREE," because right now I would like nothing more than to be free of the whole damned lot of it.

Today I went upstairs to tour the attic and open the window a bit to get a summer's worth of heat out of it. There is so much MORE stuff up there that I just want to DIE. Sunday, October 9 is the day I hope to get a dumpster and start purging the attic and basement. Mark your calendars now and get in on the fun!

Comments

[thatpatti.livejournal.com]

can't you hire some sort of auction service or something? hm...

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I've e-mailed some of those, too. They're kind of pricey, and I'm kind of broke.

[smurfbrother.livejournal.com]

Um, we can use the estate's money to deal with the estate's expenses. I thought I left you a couple of business cards from train buyers?

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I called those people and left them messages. I was just trying to get some broader information outside of the train peeps.

I didn't know we could use estate money. I thought it all needed to go to bills.

re: appraisals

[etherial.livejournal.com]

I'll ask my mom if she's licenses in Rhode Island or knows anyone who is.

Re: appraisals

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Groovy! Is your mom an appraiser?

Re: appraisals

[etherial.livejournal.com]

She'll need your contact info and the address of the property in question.

Re: appraisals

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I just sent you my contact info.

[triggerhappy.livejournal.com]

I sort of dealt with some appraisers on a job* - I think they were either hired by the bank that was taking care of the estate, or the insurance company.
So maybe call you bank or home/renters insurer for referrals.

*I work for a construction company that specializes in fire/water etc damages, and contents were being appraised to get a value on what was worth damaging out, or trying to salvage

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tip!

[triggerhappy.livejournal.com]

You're welcome.

[anitsirk.livejournal.com]

what about ebay?

(i just looked up "lionel trains" on ebay, and there's tons of stuff. if it's between losing out on $$ by giving stuff away or selling it on ebay and hoping for the best, i'd go for ebay)

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

eBay is definitely an option, and we're already trying to eBay my father's comic books and old magazines. It's just that doing this is a freaking full-time job, and Jen and I already have full-time jobs.

eBay takes a LOT of effort.

[anitsirk.livejournal.com]

okay, so i was writing you an email, and thinking "i wonder if jude read my comment" and when i sent your email and went back to my inbox, there was a LJ comment notification. a little weird, a little not-so weird.

craigslist.com for the big stuff

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I'll probably try to ditch the big furniture by craigslist, but not specialized items like the scads of military paraphernalia. I need someone that knows about that stuff, big time.

[thelastbard.livejournal.com]

I had to do the same thing after my father died. My mother and I had a huge garage sale. A couple of friends came and helped out, we took an add out in the paper, and most of the stuff sold. What didn't sell, we gave to charity. The money we earned we split (after buying pizza and other food for the volunteers) between my mother and me.

It wasn't the best way to maximize our earnings, but it was done, and we sold the house that fall. I feel that this might be a better alternative for you right now. This way, you can get back to other things that are really more important. I have a gut-feeling that this is also something from the past that doesn't allow you to move on and finish the mourning experience. There hasn't been much (if any) closure, and it sounds like it's weighing on you.

I hope you don't feel like this is dismissive to your father - my intention here is for you.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

A garage sale is a good idea for some stuff, like kitchen stuff and small appliances and all of that... but not really for the sort of stuff I'm talking about because it would end up devaluing everything. I'm talking about stuff that is probably worth some money but I don't know how much or which pieces and all of that - specialty antique stuff.

If it was all your average stuff, I would have had a yard sale a long time ago. As it is, hopefully we can sell off the stuff that has value and just toss out the old junky yard-sale stuff. Because honestly, I don't know when I would have time to organize a yard sale before it got too cold out. The first three weekends in October are already out (2 weddings and our birthday).

If you need help....

[dianamarie.livejournal.com]

Ma cher, my father collects antique toys. Can you get me a few digital photos? I can get you an answer.

Re: If you need help....

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Do I have your e-mail address? Jen supposedly took pictures of the trains - I don't know where the pictures are but I can have her send them to you.

Re: If you need help....

[dianamarie.livejournal.com]

My email addy is sent to your judecorp@livejournal.com email addy. My daddy is very happy to help you out.

*hug*

Re: If you need help....

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Thanks for your offer. :)

I'm having a local train collector dude come over this weekend and give me an idea of the worth and make an offer. So we'll see what happens. I will pass the info on to Jen.

[volumeat11.livejournal.com]

Wow...yikes... Sounds like you could use one of them Calgon baths or something...

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

No joke!

[siercia]

I can't help with the appraising, but you can count us in for the lift and carry dumpster brigade if you want =)

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Fantastic! You're the best!

[(Anonymous)]

Could you get a Yellow pages from your dad's area and try coin collector's? I know in my area there's a coin collector in a store who seems gifted at many collectables, and if he doesn't know, he seems to know someone who does, it might be a cheap opportunity at a resolution. Hope all goes well.

-friend of Sudrin's (with no LJ!)

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I whipped out a local yellow pages last week to look for a number of different things (toy collectors being one of them) and came up empty. There were some toy stores and hobby stores listed, but that doesn't mean they deal with antique trains. I /did/ e-mail a couple of train distributors over the weekend, and one wrote back saying he pays 10¢ on the dollar for the value of the trains, which seems like highway robbery to me.

Thanks!

[rachelmichellek.livejournal.com]

maybe you could find someone on craigslist to appraise/buy? or just try to ebay it all? or on teh 9th advertise it as a big garage sale? hrm.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

The 9th won't be a garage sale, it will be the day that everything from the attic and basement that is not an antique or heirloom goes into the dumpster. Honestly I don't have time to orchestrate a mass throw-out /and/ a garage sale, certainly not simultaneously. Especially to go through that anxiety for a couple hundred dollars.

eBay is a possibility for the stuff, but you can't possibly understand just HOW MUCH stuff there is. There are whole rooms of stuff - closets, shelves in rooms, drawers, cabinets, you name it. There is an entire room just FULL of military uniforms, an entire bedroom closet full of toy cars, whole display cabinets full of trains and figurines, cases and cases full of pins and patches... you name it. Plus a coin collection.

I never thought about craigslist. I'll have to look into it.

[carina-s.livejournal.com]

Let's trade. I'll work on the stuff at your dad's and you can work on relaxing from that junk for a few days.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

That would be a fantastic idea.

[whirledpeas.livejournal.com]

ugh.
wanna make out?

make daedalus do it.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Dude, Daedalus is so lazy, he hasn't done ANYTHING for the house!

[whirledpeas.livejournal.com]

I think if he had opposible thumbs he'd probably just be playing with all of the toys anyway. He'd be like a 7 year old - all up in everything, not really doing much to help.

...i'd help you though.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

It would be fun if you helped. We would make lots of inappropriate comments.

...while Daedalus slept.

[rizzo41.livejournal.com]

There is a show on BBC America called Cash in the Attic where people will go through your house and let you know if anything is worth anything then help you auction it off. I don't know if there is an American version of it yet, or if they'd be willing to come to the states to go through your house, but if you at this stage of desperation it's worth a shot.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I'll have to look into it. Who would copy a show like that? TLC? I don't have cable, so I have no clue what's on these days.

[rizzo41.livejournal.com]

Here is the site for the British one. Maybe you can convince them to cross the pond! http://www.bbc.co.uk/whatson/beonashow/shows/attic.shtml Or they may know of an American counterpart...

Ooh! I got it. Check it out. http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/shows_hcita/

I see it's got a few links there as well.. hope it helps!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

You're the greatest.

Are you still planning to visit while you're unemployed?

[rizzo41.livejournal.com]

Hrm.. this says they only want someone within 2 driving hours of NYC, but Woonsocket isn't THAT much farther (is it?). Maybe you can sweet talk them or put stars in their eyes with the treasure trove of your dad's stuff. Good luck!

http://www.leopardfilms.com/cita_usa.htm

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I filled out their application! :)

[rizzo41.livejournal.com]

Good! I'll cross my fingers for you!

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Okay. :)