Selling Out

[nioka]

I am waiting for foreclosure to file chapter 7 and I will be surrendering my house. I planned a long distance move and found the cost of a mover to be out of my budget. I decided to sell most everything I can't take with me. All exempt items. I wanted to share some of my experiences.

I used a local free advertisement website and am doing fairly well with it. However, I sold my washer and dryer and I think that may have been a mistake. They were older units and I priced them at $200 for the pair. I had a man come by and he bought many garage items I thought would not sell at all plus a bunch more. He offered me $150 for the washer & dryer and I accepted. I haven't been to a laundromat in many years and the last time I was there spent about $5 a week to do my wash. Prices have gone up, doubled in fact, and now just cost me $10 for my weekly wash. While I was doing this chore I realized that in fifteen weeks, four months, I will have paid out the money I took in for the washer and dryer. Now I have no any idea when I will be foreclosed upon and need to move but if my move goes beyond four months I will have lost money on this deal. I am told Chase is notoriously slow on foreclosures and I think my HOA knows my financial situation and is reluctant to foreclose on their part. I now realize I should have held back on that sale.
I am mentioning this because you may find yourself in the same situation. Food for thought.



Then I had a Moving sale. Oh boy, what a nightmare. It took me weeks to look up prices and price and sort items. No early birds I said. An hour before my stated time they began to show up. I said to one I must hold my start time as I advertised. She said, so what money is money, what do you care. I said I had to stick with my stated time to be fair to everyone who read my ad. I advertised as a Moving Sale. Big mistake! At first I thought how nice and considerate everyone was asking about my move until one savvy person called me aside and told me they don't give a damn about me. They are simply trying to figure out how desperate I am to sell stuff and how low they can go on my prices. I could not believe the low offers I got.

During my Moving Sale I had an offer of $500 for my lawn tractor that I had listed for $800. (A very good price for this mower). I decided to hold off on selling it. I realized that if I sell it now I will have to pay about $140 a month for lawn service that I will need to start in March. If I am here for four months I will once again lost money by selling now.

If the bank or HOA surprises me and forecloses quickly I can always move the stuff to storage and sell from there.

I was trying to avoid pulling a trailer but if I can't get the low prices I have now set I think I will have to do it anyway. That leaves me caught between buying a 5 x 8 trailer for $1500 or renting a uhaul trailer for $600.
Uhaul trailers have a nasty reputation. Secondly, if I rent a Uhaul I will need to rent a storage unit at my new location. If I buy I can leave my stuff in the trailer until I find a place to live.

Anyone have similar experiences?

[justbroke]

I call them vultures. When they see something that is almost dead, they start swarming. One or two will actually go up to the "injured" creature and peck at it (akin to the person pulling you aside and telling you that they are there to enjoy their prey, not take pity upon their prey). Sad, indeed.

As for not foreclosing, it took my bank almost 2 years (1.5 years after they had leave from Stay in a non-judicial foreclosure State), to foreclose upon my home. You just never know with the banks.

[nioka]

After doing a lot of research on the subject of renting or buying a trailer to move he remainder of my belongings I have concluded that towing a trailer cross country with my vehicle would not be wise both financially and for safety. I will take whatever I can get into and on top of my car selling or abandoning the rest.

If you find yourself in the same situation don't advertise as a Moving Sale until your final sale. Like Justbroke wrote, when you advertise Moving sale it's like sending an invitation to a bunch of vultures. Call it a yard or garage sale and don't mention you are moving.

I also want to mention that I read and have seen videos where many foreclosed and/or evicted homeowners walked out leaving almost all their belongings behind. I know this is a tough time emotionally but I think finding a way to market personal belongings rather than leaving them is a much better idea than simply leaving them behind.
I first suggest yard or garage sales. Then look to consignment or resell shops. In the end check with thrift shop owners for a complete buyout. Another option is pawn shops. The point to remember it is better to get ten cents or even a nickel on a dollar than nothing.
IMO, (and I could be wrong), if it plugs in you can sell it.

[justbroke]

I wish you the best of luck.

[nioka]

I am the OP and now that I am in my third month of waiting to file chapter 7 I have made a few mistakes and have learned a few things I would like to pass along.


As I mentioned in my first post selling my washer and dryer too soon was a mistake. At the time I was thinking I would get stuck with them so I took the first offer. Big mistake! Certain items will sell quickly, and even overnight if they are in good condition and the price is right, washer and dryers, refrigerators, lawn tractors and equipment are hot items. I suggest looking at the cost of a laundromat as opposed to doing your wash at home. You will see that it doesn't take that many weeks of paying a laundromat to add up to the money brought in by the sale of your W & D.

A mattress is another major issue. If you sell you bedroom set many buyers will want the bedding too leaving you with a sofa or the floor. Bad idea! You will need a good night sleep and without a decent mattress it will be almost impossible. It may even get the point where you start paying for a motel just to sleep in a bed. I suggest selling you bedroom set less the bedding even if that means putting the box springs and mattress on the floor. Motel costs will add up quickly offsetting any profit made in the sale of bedding. A mattress & box spring is the one item you should keep until the last day. If you don't have a last minute buyer then leave it.

In the case of hot items, try to find neighbors or relatives who would be interested in buying these items and offer them these hot items at a good discount if they will wait until you are ready to move to take the item. Paying for services can add up quickly nullifying any profit made by selling too soon.

Yard sales are great but never use the term "Moving Sale" until your last sale.

We have all seen people who have been foreclosed leaving perfectly good items behind and sometimes an entire household.
If you can't take the time to sell individual items then I suggest going to various thrift stores and other resellers and negotiating a sale of your remaining belongings. It is better to get something for you stuff than nothing.
If you find you can't sell your stuff or have remaining items that are not selling then find a local charity that has a resell shop and have them come and take those items. In many cases they have trucks and labor they will send and be very happy to collect and move those items.

[mynameainttracy]

I have had several yard sales over the years and one thing I have learned is that the prices people want to pay are junk. If you have something of value you should try to sell it on Craigslist individually (like your yard equipment). When we left our house we didn't ride the foreclosure process out. We found an apartment and left, so after we set our move date I started selling the furniture. We held off on the washer/dryer and the refrigerator until the very last weekend. I wouldn't have had any idea where I could have found a Laundromat at so that wasn't an option.

The thing about appliances is that people are always looking for them, either as an upgrade for themselves/family member or for their rental properties, so they are very easy to sell. And if you sell on Craigslist always price your item 10-20% higher than you want because every time you meet someone to buy they always ask for a discount. After I experienced this a couple of times I figured it out.

Good luck during this process. For me this was a stressful process and I my whole FC process lasted less than 10 months.

[nioka]

I am waiting for foreclosure and surrendering my home and when this happens I will be moving cross county taking only what I can get in, on, or behind my car.

After two months I managed to sell all my exempt furniture. Big relief! Now I can concentrate on other things.

I had to buy a bed to replace the bedroom set I sold, (buyer insisted on buying the bedding with it), but I managed to get rid of a very heavy adjustable bed and furniture.

One funny thing I have not been able to sell was a desk. I paid $300 for it and it looks new but did not sell even for $75. The desk has become my dining table, computer stand, tv stand, as well as desk and so it is just as well. I also kept one comfy well-padded office chair.

I sold my big screen tv and and using a laptop for TV.

My kitchen equipment is sparse but enough to get by with.

I sold my big side-by-side and replaced it with a compact refrigerator.

I am hanging onto my lawn tractor because it is anyone's guess when I will need to leave. A lawn of my size would cost me somewhere around $150-$200 a month to maintain. If I sell the lawn tractor and a few months pass I will have lost money by selling. March begins grass cutting season and it will be very easy to sell when I need to go.

I am now ready to move. Hopefully, the bank or HOA will act quickly.

My advice to others is do not wait until the last minute to sell. Never used the term "Moving Sale." Don't tell anyone why you are selling or make up a good story. Be prepared to take less than your asking price. If you find you have some items that won't sell bundle them and try. i.e, I had a carpet shampooer that I could not sell. I coupled that with a vacuum cleaner and they quickly sold as a pair. I did this with a few items and it worked like a charm.
While I did well with craigslist I did better with another free local sales advertiser on individual items. I did much better with a newspaper ad for my garage sale than anything else. The ad cost me $12 and it was well worth it.

[tobee43]

whatever we had left i donated, included all the rare trees on our large piece of property. i donated the trees to the state's botanical gardens, then most of my furniture i donated to families in need. i had a HUGE over a 20k ( shoot one tree was worth that but at least they live on), we claimed those donations the year prior to our filing. however, i also attached all receipts from the state, and counties and churches to our bk petition. we had no problems at all because it was within 2 years of our filing.