Some people here will have an estate sale when they sell their second home. I have no idea what % the company takes but that’s what I’d do if I couldn’t sell mine furnished.

I think you will be able to sell it furnished. As you mentioned, it’s such a convenience to jump right in and enjoy. I have bought two homes this way, but unlike you, I knew I wasn’t keeping any of the furniture.

But, it was certainly a great to start using the homes and then slowly redo.

Just my opinion, it if you sell things by the piece, most people coming to these things want bargains.

Good luck.

I also live in Lake Placid, NY. Small world! As you know, this area has few, if any decent furniture stores. You have to go a long distance to purchase anything of quality, and then pay hefty shipping fees. There’s a very good possibility that you will be able to sell your townhouse fully furnished. If not, you may want to try selling on the local FB marketplace. I have done that and had quick and easy success.

BTW, sorry to hear you’re leaving this lovely area. Good luck with your sale.

One of my friends thought she would try that with her vacation home at the shore in NJ. It was very nicely furnished and she contacted a few companies in the area who specialize in estate and relocation sales. She was hugely disappointed with their quotes and ended up listing the house as furnished which is what her realtor had suggested from the beginning. The realtor told her that since her furnishings were in great shape and somewhat 'beachy' that it would help sell. She has no idea if that worked or not but she did sell the house quickly and got her asking price.

However that was 2 years ago - real estate is so different these days due to Covid.

My step-mom and her family have summer places in Jay and also some family that lives up there full time. I will ask if she or her family are looking for anything. She is headed up after July 4th and usually stays until late Sept. I don't think we can make it up this year due to Covid schedule changes in DS soccer season.

Auction them off, just call a local auctioneer and they will come and take it. You will receive a check.

You don't get very much for your things at an auction. Sometimes it's pretty sad.

Thank you all -one thing I neglected to make clear was that we will probably be doing this long-distance, which makes the idea of doing sales in person (such as CL) difficult. I'm thinking that rather than sell it for pennies on the dollar, I'd rather donate it to a really great organization, but I guess we'll just take it a step at a time.

I was going to say an auction house will come take it all away and leave you with on average a two thousand dollar check..not much but it beats taking the time to unload it all piece by piece. They know this and that is how they make a living. Why wouldn't you first try selling it furnished, set the price accordingly and see what happens. It won't take long to collect comments and know if this is going to work. Any really great organization will get about two grand tops...save them the work..call the auction house....

Have you looked at EveryThingButTheHouse.com? They are located in Cincinnati. They may not go that far, but they will talk to you over the phone. Nice folks.

I’ve bought from estate and relocation sales. Sitting in a nice brown leather recliner barely used that we bought for $75 from an estate sale in our neighborhood. I’m on several listservs, It’s interesting because the price of items can be so variable. You have no idea what will go for a few dollars vs. other things that end up in a bidding war. The local auctioneer I primarily get emails from does all the auctions online now. They clearly spend a lot of time taking photos and getting specs. I do think online actually drives up the prices vs. the recliners where they were $150 each and then half price towards the end of the weekend so we got two for $150. They do have open houses to view the items but that might not be possible with Covid. It seems from people who I see at estate sales are the types who are looking for things for literally a few dollars and then you have people like us who buy the more expensive items. I think Randy charges 15% buyer’s premium.

My best items were the vintage Drexel MCM sofa and credenza as well as some cool art. This was a live auction going back to maybe 2013-2014 where I had to get a paddle and everything.

ETA he will sell the house, too.

Both times I bought a vacation home, and the one time I sold one, it was fully furnished. I wonder what percent of second homes are? I would think it is very high. You can never quite know if it impacts the price or how much, but usually both the buyer and the seller are happiest that way.

GF bought a lake house and it was fully furnished. I don't think it's uncommon to sell it that way.

The easy-peasy way would be to sell it furnished, but I'm trying (in my usual style I suppose) to get a contingency plan together in case that doesn't happen. We've had one party look at it already, and they have all their own furnishings. Since I am at least a three-day drive away, if I need to be directly involved in the offloading, that will take a bit of planning. I'd just like to have a bit of a backup plan in case it doesn't sell furnished.