Page 13 - MidWeek - January 25, 2023

When we hear about estate sales, we usually think about grand properties selling opulent vintage jewelry, priceless artwork and fine European furniture. At least, that’s what I thought they were. Today, estate sales are used to liquidate a person’s possessions that are no longer needed — similar to what people do when they have garage sales. Both sale types are used to get rid of excess and unwanted stuff. However, estate sales are more formal. At a garage sale, you generally price items at the amount you are willing to let them go. At a typical estate sale, a coordinator researches each item, places a value on it and then sets the price. The estate sale can take place in person or remotely.
My sister and I had a series of garage sales. We try to combine our family garage sales with neighbors
to ensure better traffic. Those weekends were long, and we divested a lot of personal property. Some of the unexpected problems we encountered included looking at our possessions through a new lens. When there was a lot of interest in our items, many times, we second guessed how badly we wanted to get rid of them. For the first few garage sales, we ended up keeping 30% of our items. Fortunately, by the fourth sale, it fell to less than 5%.
Another unexpected problem was acquiring more of other people’s stuff. I ended up with tennis rackets and sports equipment from our neighbor, and tools and clothes from my sister. We learned we have more things than we need and that many of our possessions are emotional attachments.
We included the children, and they also gained
January 25, 2023 MIDWEEK 13
PAULETTE ITO
SVP Marketing
Hawaiian Financial Federal Credit Union
Estate Sales Paulette Ito
experience from the sales. They had their own section and kept the money from their sales. They developed their entrepreneurial spirit and managed their own prices. We learned they had little emotional attachments and were often willing to part with what we thought were prized possessions. The item we lined up for overnight at Toys“R”Us that they had to have that Christmas was sold for pennies on the dollar. They taught us what it is to let go if it no longer sparked joy.
Estate sales are very similar to garage sales. However, for the former, you work with a professional coordinator who arranges and manages
the sale. Estate sales are used to liquidate assets no longer needed, with proceeds going to the owner or estate. As we learned in season two of our Get Your House In Order TV show, many people expect to make a lot of money from an estate sale, but that may not generally be the case. It depends on the quantity, quality and demand. A highly valued item for one person may not be valuable to anyone else. Or, the timing may not be right to sell a particular item. However, if there is no “reserve” set (minimum dollaramount),thenaseller must agree to the sale. With “caring transitions,” reserve prices start at $1.
Do you have an excess of stuff? Does all that stuff get in the way of your efforts to better organize your life? Are the items that you are keeping valuable to anyone else, or just to you? Being thoughtful and prepared is an important part of getting your house in order. Helping all of Hawai‘i’s ‘ohana achieve their highest quality of life possible is the main goal of the “Get Your House In Order” campaign, while reminding everyone of the importance of sound life- planning decisions.
The Ho‘okele guidebook is a personal planning booklet that contains legacy wishes, employment and retirement information,
insurance and bank document locations, and vital contacts. There are four phases of the “Get Your House In Order” campaign, with a new section of the Ho‘okele guidebook available from the HIFICU.com website during each quarterly phase. Ho‘okele 1.1 and 1.2 are now available. Download your copy today and start completing your booklet.
For more information about the “Get Your House In Order” campaign, email gyho@hificu.com. And don’t forget to tune in to KITV at 7 p.m. every Saturday to watch Get Your House In Order.
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