Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: People have often asked me, do you have to be dead in order to have an estate sale? And that just always makes me chuckle. No. Anybody that has a property that needs liquidating, no matter what the circumstances are, if we can assist, we will.
But if there's a home that has enough content, we're a great option because we'll liquidate everything in 10 days.
[00:00:25] Speaker B: Hey everybody, and welcome back to another episode of Trust this the the podcast for real estate investors and others in Florida who are interested in asset protection as well as estate planning and what to do to pass on your wealth and stuff, which is what we're going to talk about today, properly today. I've got Marlise Riedel in the studio virtually. Marlise is the founder and owner of Orlando Estate Sales Ladies. Great name. I love it. It is a full service estate sale company that helps families and individuals liquidate household contents quickly and professionally. She's been an entrepreneur for 30 years and built her business after a major setback during the 2008 recession that I think we all went through. She turned that experience into a successful service driven company. Her team manages estate sales for a wide range of situations, including downsizing, relocations, assisted living, transitions and estates after a loss. Focusing on organization, compassion and efficiency, Marlise is widely recognized for her honest guidance about market value, her ability to navigate sales, sensitive family dynamics, and her commitment to clearing homes efficiently, often within 10 days, amazingly enough, while maximizing the results for clients. Marlise, welcome to Trust this today. How are you doing?
[00:01:40] Speaker A: I'm doing awesome, Joe. Thank you for that intro. I'm impressed. I hire myself after that.
[00:01:47] Speaker B: We try, we try to give everybody a good pump here. If I'm not pumping myself, I'm pumping somebody else. I'm so sure.
[00:01:53] Speaker A: Well, thank you. I really liked it.
[00:01:56] Speaker B: What got you into estate sales? What got you interested in that? Got you started, Kicked you off?
[00:02:00] Speaker A: Well, as your intro so kindly said, had to. I got into the business really through default. I had owned an art gallery at Universal Studios at the Portofino and loved it. I purchased that in 2007 and as you can imagine, at the end of 2008 nobody was buying art. So in 2000 I managed to keep it open till 2010 and. And in the interim, a friend of mine took me to my first estate sale. And you just know when you are in the zone and something is meant for you. Just like you being an attorney, there was a probably a time where you just knew this was your passion. The minute I entered the home, I Went, oh, my God. Really? This is. I just felt at home. I felt at ease. I felt I could do this. It just really, really struck me and I just kind of brushed it off and didn't give it much more thought, not knowing anything about the industry.
And then I closed the gallery in 2010. Now what am I going to do with myself? So I happened to look on a website where you can buy and sell businesses, and I saw a Little ad for 3,000, somebody will teach you how to start your own estate sale.
So now, rewinding 10 years later, there's nothing to fear but fear itself. So I put that aside, became certified through the National Estate Sale Liquidators, bought a truck, hired my first girl, and I love it. Been doing it now for 10 years.
Wow.
[00:03:26] Speaker B: How many people are you up to now?
[00:03:28] Speaker A: Well, on any given time, up to 12, 15. A lot of my people are part time because we never know from week to week if we're going to have a hoarder's house, just what we're going to encounter. So we certainly don't want to pass by someone that we could assist from lack of having enough staff. So I have five full time, but the rest are all part time as needed.
[00:03:50] Speaker B: What's your process?
If somebody calls you, what's the first thing you do and how do you.
And then take us through the whole process.
[00:03:57] Speaker A: Sure, sure. When somebody calls me. Most people have never had to liquidate the content of their home. It's their first time, they're scared. If they're transitioning, they're scared nobody wants to leave their home.
Or if a family member. Pat, people have often asked me, do you have to be dead in order to have an estate sale? And that just always makes me chuckle. No. Anybody that has a property that needs liquidating, no matter what the circumstances, if we can assist, we will.
But if there's a home that has enough content, we're a great option because we'll liquidate everything in 10 days. As you mentioned in the intro, our team comes in, we sort, we organize, we start purging through the setup, and then we typically conduct the sale for two days, and then we ask to have access through the following Tuesday because I can't guarantee 100% will sell in today's market. Baby boomers have so many. A lot of the baby boomers seem to have stopped purchasing furniture and mainly furniture in the 80s and 90s, and that's really so hard to liquidate. So I partner with Salvation Army. They're a charitable organization. I think it's a great nonprofit. Plus they'll guarantee that I'll clear out everything in 10 days.
[00:05:14] Speaker B: You said a mouthful there about the baby boomers. I remember my great grandmother when I was a child, and I mean, I'm 55 now, but I was a child and we had this thing sitting on our table. It was a plastic fruit tower. And, and I always asked my mom, I said, what is that? And she said, oh, grandma gave us that because she's going to die soon. My grandmother was in her 50s. She ended up living to be 101. But she was.
[00:05:37] Speaker A: Oh my gosh.
[00:05:38] Speaker B: Yeah, she was de assessing in her 50s and giving things away. My grandmother did the same thing. She gave lots of things away before. Well, before she downsized her home and then before she was gone, she, she gave a lot of. She always gave it away with the caveat of, oh, but if you ever don't want it, give it back to me.
And I just know a lot of people and my mom, her favorite saying is, when we're gone, just torch the house. You'll never get rid of all this stuff that we have here. Just, just burn it down. Because they, their basement is also full of my grandparents stuff that was, you know, just stuck. Stuck with them.
[00:06:13] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:06:14] Speaker B: What's some advice that you would give to people, number one, on how to de. Assess without ticking off family member, other family members, number one.
But also just trying to. Maybe they're downsizing or they are going into an assisted living facility. Because that's what I'm seeing right now. A lot of, a lot of people are like, I'm tired of this two story big house. I want to downsize to a one story townhome or whatever. What's some advice you would give to.
[00:06:41] Speaker A: Those folks in regards to what to purge before they do an estate sale?
[00:06:48] Speaker B: Yeah, that would be a good start. Yeah. What's not going to sell? Yeah.
[00:06:52] Speaker A: Oh, what's. Well, the thing of it is we try to sell everything. So if you came to me and your mother was ready to transition.
I always try to come from the aspect as if I'm a family member and I happen to be in the state sale business. That might help the sting a little bit. If I have to be honest, nobody likes it, but I just feel it's my job to be honest with people when I go through in a house to do an assessment. But the beauty of it is we ask you to not remove or get rid of anything. It's if you're transitioning, if your mother has to Move to assisted living or move in with family. You literally just take what you want, clothes, a bed, whatever. Or some people take absolutely nothing if they go live with family members. It's our job to make their life easy because it's a hard situation. So the business model that I've, that I've made up, it's seamless. And so it, it, it takes that stress away.
You just take what you want, leave everything else behind. Leave it up to us.
[00:07:56] Speaker B: Okay, I know. And I've. And I've had some friends who have retired and they're, they're ready to move overseas, but they hang around, they stick around because they go, well, I've got this political button collection that I have to stay behind. So I have a stamp collection or I have beanie Babies. I have precious moments that I must stay behind to, to liquidate myself. I can't leave this to anybody. Do you have, do you run into collectors who are. And how do you handle the collectors of those types of things?
[00:08:32] Speaker A: How do we handle the collectors? As far as. Now the items that you mentioned in today's.
When I'm, When I do an assessment of a property and we're walking around and oh, my china, my beanie babies, my precious moments. What else did you mention?
All the things that there's no market for anymore.
[00:08:53] Speaker B: Right, right. Baseball cards, baseball card collections.
[00:08:56] Speaker A: That's a big baseball cards. If they're from the 50s, you know, they still have some value. But the 90s, anything up there really have no value at all.
So, you know, it's my job to be honest. I mean, I. When I. We post pictures five day, four days a week of all the items, most of the items, we give highlights of everything we're selling.
And we do keep collectors of certain. Like Yardrow. They're not as popular as they used to be. Lalique, any of that. But I do have people that still purchase them since I have such a large following.
But we. First thing I learned in this industry when, when a homeowner asked me, what do you think the value or the resale value of my Lalique is or my precious moments? It's fair market value. What is that? What a willing buyer is willing to give us. Of course, if an item is more desirable. An Item sells for $100 on eBay, we certainly can't price it at $100. Cause. And not what something's asking, but what something is sold for. And of course, ebay's a global audience. We have to micro it down to central Florida. If something Sells the desirable for ebay, say for $100. We'll have to lower it maybe 20% from that starting, because is somebody going to drive, get in the heat all the way across town, stand in line, find it in the house to pay same price as ebay? So, no, that doesn't make any sense. So we'll price it 20% below, and the next day, if it sits at the end of the day, we'll let it go for 60% off. Because obviously that 60% off that Saturday afternoon, that was the value of that item.
[00:10:30] Speaker B: Right, right, right.
[00:10:32] Speaker A: And that's. And what I tried to explain to homeowners is, how many years have you had what you've had? I've had it 30 years. My collection for 40 years. Well, you loved it. You were able to appreciate it. It's serving no one in your family now. So let it go to somebody else who appreciate it as much as you did. And sometimes that lessens the sting a little bit. Bit.
[00:10:56] Speaker B: Do you.
So, so you go in, you meet with the homeowner, you assess what they have, and then what's the next step after you've sort of assessed and given them an idea of, you know, here's some values of some of these things.
What's the next step after that?
[00:11:12] Speaker A: Well, when I go into a home and do an assessment, I try to look around to see that there's at least six to seven thousand dollars worth of merchandise to sell. And I never really focus on, you know, it's, I've always learned, never answer an unasked question. I' make my evaluation, take some notes, and if I feel there's enough sellable merchandise to help them, then I just sit down with them and explain to them, yes, I'd be happy to assist you. This is, you know, the dates, the plan. Are you going to be living in the house? Because that's a whole different question than if an heir just inherits a house. But I really don't go around and discuss the various values because you know how that is. If the first. If I say, oh, I think this is valued at a hundred dollars. Between, if, if I say this, something is valued between 70 and $80, they're always going to remember the higher number. Right, Right. So I, I don't want to back myself in the corner and I don't want to give expectations that are reasonable. So I really don't give any assessments of the values.
[00:12:12] Speaker B: So when do you go in? And I mean, number one, you typically have the homeowner there during the Sales if they're maybe just downsizing.
[00:12:21] Speaker A: Oh no, no. A lot of state sale companies do not want to work with homeowners that are living in the homes at all. But I understand financially, not everybody can move out of their house prior to closing. So I'll work with you. We don't mind that you're there the days of the setup, as long as you don't interfere, influence pricing because it's not going to serve either of us. If you say to one of my staff, oh my God, I can't believe you priced that at blah blah blah. Well then they're going to be in their head and want to satisfy our customer and everything will sit if it's overpriced.
So we don't do that and we just explain the process and we ask them when we're there on that Monday, we usually start on Monday for them to have everything packed up that they plan to keep. So they can either have it in a pod, they could have it in a storage unit. And if they plan to keep things in one room, then they just place everything they plan to keep in that one room. And we know we have access to the rest of the house. We just ask that they're not there at the days of the sale and that should be fine.
[00:13:26] Speaker B: Yeah. So then your team goes in, you put, put little price tags on everything that's going to sell.
[00:13:31] Speaker A: Standard price.
[00:13:33] Speaker B: Wow, that's a lot of work. I'm sure just getting that.
[00:13:36] Speaker A: That's probably the hardest part of our job is pricing because every week it's different merchandise.
[00:13:42] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:13:42] Speaker A: But we have access to websites that really help us figure out the value of things and you know, all the apps that are now. It's really helped us through that process.
[00:13:54] Speaker B: Well, and also, I mean just your experience just what sales and what and for what it goes for. That, that's, that's the big thing I always tell people. It's like this is why you don't just use AI for everything. You actually go to human beings with experience who can, can tell you these things.
So, so you all handle the sale and it's, it just runs from day to day. For how many days do you normally run a sale?
[00:14:17] Speaker A: Typically just two. Friday and Saturday.
If there it's a home with extensive amount of merchandise. We may run it for three Thursday, Friday and Saturday. But usually 8:30 to 2pm Friday and Saturday and Saturday afternoon. As I said, Salvation army is scheduled for the afternoon. And the only thing that would be Left Saturday at 2pm Would be any Deliveries or pickups, which we schedule for the following Tuesday.
[00:14:42] Speaker B: So I know that you keep talking about the Salvation army and charitable giving back is big for your company as well as for you.
How does that fit into your mission for your company as well as for your life? How does that charity work for you?
[00:14:59] Speaker A: Well, I think the Salvation army is a wonderful organization. I've been down to their program off of Colonial. They have a 90 day program. They have graduation.
I don't know if all Salvation Armies operate like this, but this is all men. And they have photographs when they first arrive. And then 90 days later, after going through the program, they have a little chapel with a graduation.
And I'm really proud to be a part of that organization and to support them, but plus they're a necessity for me to be able to give my promise to our clients.
And they're just. They're a very reliable partnership and one I have a lot of respect for.
[00:15:40] Speaker B: What do they do with the furniture and items that they get? Do they resell it or do they use it to help their clients furnish their homes and things like that? What do they use it for?
[00:15:51] Speaker A: Yeah, they have a thrift store, but also they have missions that don't accept used mattresses and they take them and repurpose them and send them overseas for various things.
So yes, they. Sometimes they send clothes to various countries, which a lot of nonprofits don't do. That the cost I would think be astronomical, but they do it.
But the majority is through their large thrift store.
[00:16:19] Speaker B: Where is their thrift store in Central Party? I don't know where they are.
[00:16:22] Speaker A: Yeah, it's down off of Colonial Drive. I mean, I think it must be at least 78000 square feet, maybe more.
[00:16:29] Speaker B: Than that, but out toward the fairgrounds. Correct?
[00:16:32] Speaker A: Correct. Yeah.
[00:16:33] Speaker B: Yeah. Okay, I remember it now. Okay. I passed it. I go eat out there sometimes. Eat lunch out that way.
[00:16:38] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:16:40] Speaker B: Yeah.
Well, why was it important for you that the Orlando State ladies be more than just about selling possessions, but also about creating that community impact? Why is that important to you?
[00:16:54] Speaker A: What do you mean is creating that community impact as far as utilizing Salvation Army?
[00:16:59] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:17:01] Speaker A: Well, as I said, it's a great organization and I cherish it because without them I couldn't do my job.
It would really be a challenge to accomplish what I promise.
[00:17:13] Speaker B: How did you handle. You've had hoarder houses.
What is one of probably the toughest sales you had? What were some of the things that made it the toughest sale you ever had?
[00:17:27] Speaker A: Well, the Toughest sell I've ever had was where a gentleman murdered his family.
So that was a really challenging sale. I. I was bashed for actually conducting it, but I felt somebody had to do it and somebody had to help, you know, the. The sister that was left with the burden of everything.
The hoarder house, where the daughter had to be put in charge of her father. And he. He was very ill and could barely get out of the house. And it was quite an overwhelming task for her to have to face.
And quite frankly, at times, it's embarrassing for the families to have to show to anybody condition that their family member was living in. And that's my job, my passion, to put people at ease.
It's challenging enough losing the father or having to have the family member move someplace else. And we understand compassion. You know, lead with compassion, and it makes a big difference.
[00:18:31] Speaker B: Do you have any words of advice for.
Let's say grandma is, you know, thinking of downsizing, and she's going, well, I.
I really want to give some of this away to family. And the rest of it, I want to sell. This I want to keep. Do you have any advice for them on how to organize that in their mind of what they would want to go ahead and pass now to their heirs versus waiting later and what they, you know, may want to just go ahead and sell, let go. Do you have any advice for that?
[00:19:05] Speaker A: Well, it's.
It's hard. I've sat with a lot of children.
They'll call me and say, my mother really. My parents really need to tran. It's time for them to make a transition, but they're just not ready to. So I try to meet with them and make them understand that letting go isn't easy. Nobody does. I've conducted estate sales where people have actually said, oh, because I always say, what's your situation?
What's going on? How can I assist? And they'll always tell me the story. I have had people that said, oh, I had an actress from Walt Disney World and her husband was from Scotland. And she said, we just had. We've had enough here. We're going to transition to Spain, and we're gonna leave you the car, the house. So they just handed me the key and moved to Spain. But yet she had called me quite often prior to that, being anxious, even though it was something they wanted to do. Nobody likes change. And, you know, it's hard. So just letting people know you're not alone, other people are going through this. Lead with compassion and. And make them understand it's normal what you're feeling. It's okay.
Sometimes people are harder on themselves, but to get them to realize it's time to give things to their family that I don't really get involved in. You know, people call me and ask me, do you come and sort and help me decide what to keep and what not to keep? Now I partner with people that do that.
I pretty much just come in when they're ready and try to listen to the story and be there for them and, you know, make them feel comfortable that it's okay.
[00:20:44] Speaker B: That's interesting, the story about the folks who were just leaving the country. And we're starting to hear a lot more of that too.
[00:20:52] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:20:53] Speaker B: A lot of people are realizing it's cheaper. They. Their money goes a lot farther overseas, so they're retiring overseas and they go, but then I've got all this stuff here I've got to do something with and. And an estate sale again. I think a lot of people think of estate sale. They think somebody's died and I have to sell everything in the house. They don't think of all these other situations where these services are invaluable.
They don't have to worry about it. They don't have to.
Yeah, I'm just going through the questions here. The producers.
[00:21:27] Speaker A: No problem.
[00:21:33] Speaker B: One of the things I always ask all my guests before they leave, and I think that you definitely do this, even though it may not be worded this way. Our mission is to help people aspire to a better life. And so we always, and I believe it sounds like that's definitely a part of your mission as well for your business.
Who is someone who has helped you aspire to a better life?
[00:21:56] Speaker A: Who is someone, I would have to say Bob Cheatham.
At 30, when I couldn't figure out what I wanted in life, couldn't figure out why I didn't want to go to college like everybody else, what was wrong with me? I knew I had a lot in me, but who am I, right? I always admired people. I don't know about you. You're a lawyer, so obviously you went to college that always knew what they wanted to do. At 18 or 21, it took me to 30 and he was my neighbo and I would talk to him about things and what am I going to do? I'm already 30. He says, I think you're an entrepreneur.
And I thought, what? What, what, what? And so he became my coach.
He helped me start my first business.
He helped me get my first funding and even to even Today, he's still my coach, so, you know, he believed in me. He saw something in me that I didn't realize I had.
And so, yeah, I'll always be grateful to Bob Cheatham for his help.
[00:23:00] Speaker B: Now, that's great to hear. And I, I love it when people talk about their coaches, people who, their mentors, people who help to get on there. A lot of folks just talk about their spouse or their parents, but it's nice to hear also about, you know, people who are completely unrelated to you who just, who just help you. They, they, they, which is what I'm big on going back, you know, helping people along with that. Well, Marlise, I want to thank you for coming.
Orlando estate sales ladies. I didn't ask you where all, what counties do you cover?
[00:23:32] Speaker A: All of Central Florida. We go as far Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Claremont, Celebration, Deland, kind of that.
[00:23:41] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:23:41] Speaker A: Yeah, that would be.
[00:23:42] Speaker B: Well, we have people from all over the, actually all over the world who contact us and who listen to us. So let's say there's someone in North Carolina or South Carolina, could they contact you and you could at least tell them where to go? Or do you have a website they could go to to find someone local who does this?
[00:24:02] Speaker A: You mean just as somebody that needs an estate sale in the Carolinas.
[00:24:07] Speaker B: Right, Right. They may be in Georgia, maybe in North Carolina, maybe in New York, California. Okay, sure.
[00:24:12] Speaker A: Estatesales.net is in every city. And I have, even when somebody says, how about New Smyrna beach or cocoa or melbourne statesales.net, you just Google it and put in the area that you're looking for an estate sale provider and quality providers will show up in that area, and then you just call them up and interview them.
[00:24:34] Speaker B: Wonderful, Wonderful. Well, thanks for that information. We're also going to put that down in the show notes for today. We're going to put Orlando state sales ladies contact information down in the show notes. So if anybody needs an estate sale again, it's not just, you know, for those situations that you think it's for. It can be for any time. You need to get all the stuff gone and move on with your life.
They're there for you. And Marlise, I want to thank you again for coming on today. I think it's great for our listeners, but thanks for coming in. And until next time, everybody.
Until next time, everybody. Trust this. Thanks for listening to this edition of Trust this. If you got something out of it, please press like and subscribe and give us a five star review. To help us reach others who can benefit from this series. Until next time, keep aspiring to a better life.
