Estate Sale Helper
Clearing a house after a move, downsize, or loss. Seven services compared in plain English.
Three paths for clearing a home
Path one — hire a professional estate-sale company to run the whole event for a 30-50 percent commission. Path two — do it yourself with phone photos, price-check apps, and a weekend yard sale. Path three — donate or auction online and let a hauler take the rest. Most families use a mix of all three. Start by walking room to room and tagging items into four buckets: keep, sell, donate, haul.
EstateSales.net (find a local pro)
Best for: Whole-house cleanouts where a pro runs a 2-3 day sale on site.
Pros
- +Largest directory of vetted estate-sale companies in the US.
- +Read reviews and past sale photos before you call.
- +The pro handles pricing, staffing, and shoppers.
Cons
- −Commission is steep — read the contract for minimums.
- −Quality varies by company; interview two or three.
EverythingButTheHouse (online auction)
Best for: Out-of-state heirs who cannot run a sale in person.
Pros
- +Crew packs and removes everything at no upfront cost.
- +Items sell via 7-day online auction starting at one dollar.
- +You receive a check after the sale closes.
Cons
- −Bids can land low — no reserve prices on most items.
- −Service area is limited to roughly 30 US metros.
Apple Notes Scan + Google Lens (DIY photos and value)
Best for: Anyone cataloging items room by room before deciding what to do.
Pros
- +Apple Notes Scan crops paperwork and receipts cleanly.
- +Google Lens identifies markings on china, art, and collectibles.
- +Builds a photo record for insurance and family.
Cons
- −Lens is a starting point — confirm value with a real appraisal.
- −Takes patience for a full house.
Watch out for lowball buyers and "we buy estates" cold callers
Once an obituary or probate filing goes public, the phone starts ringing. Strangers offer to buy "the whole house contents" for a flat thousand or two. They are betting your family has not checked what is actually there.
- ·Never accept a "today only" cash offer for contents you have not inventoried.
- ·Get a second opinion from a licensed appraiser before signing anything ($200-$500 is worth it).
- ·"We buy estates" callers who refuse to put a written quote on letterhead are not legitimate.
Before the sale — the digital cleanup
Walk every drawer for paperwork: tax records, deeds, insurance policies, safe-deposit keys. Scan with Apple Notes or Adobe Scan before tossing anything. Wipe phones, tablets, and computers before they leave the house — see our Device Retirement Helper. Do not throw out address books, old letters, or photo albums until family has reviewed them.
Related
Quick Tip: photograph every room from four corners before any item leaves. Your future self will want the record for insurance, taxes, and family memory.