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February 4, 2009
Sales of foreclosed furnishings are a sign of the times
By AMBERLY DYER  Is it a sign of the times or a mid-century flashback? Profiting from others misfortune? Helping people squeeze out what little bits they can? Keeping the landfill a little less full? What is it about this foreclosure furniture sale that draws us to “check it out?” A cultural anthropologist would have a field day trying to analyze the variety of motives for buyers, sellers, and middlemen in the foreclosure process. But working with a home’s contents cuts to the quick for the faint of heart. If you were losing your primary residence, most people would gather their pictures, furniture, and personal belongings before leaving. But what happens in a second home? There is no short answer since the scenarios vary based on “short sales” to full foreclosures and variations in between. Large lenders typically have departments that work solely with foreclosures, and they have a business model that works in most cases. But, as in many things, the Outer Banks is simply different. Dealing with a second home in a resort area is outside of the normal process of many foreclosures, and dealing with personal property is just one more wrinkle. Banks do not own the personal property in the home, so it must be removed. Industry lingo calls this “trashing out” a house, and everything from sofas and televisions to family photos are removed during the process. It can be pretty ugly in some cases. I helped a friend photograph a foreclosed rental home last spring before trash out and, simply put, it was already trashed. There were holes in the wall, cigarette butts, food, and even dog poo around the house. But it did contain some lovely Fiestaware dishes that remained for the “trash out” contractor to remove at the legally appropriate time. Many times contractors take these items to the dump. So, I was not too surprised when I heard of a homeowner trying to sell furnishings before the final foreclosure. Most live out of state and if you can’t pay your mortgage, why pay to store a full house of furniture? The first sale I came across was last fall after a fire department meeting in Salvo. Board member Jenny Hooper, property manager at Midgett Realty in Rodanthe, had a list of furniture in a home facing foreclosure. The homeowner was trying to sell some of the more pricey furnishings to help raise some cash. Items included chaise lounge chairs, dressers, and even a pool table. The owner kindly provided a purchase price and a new list price. At least on this list, there was nothing I needed to replace at home, and the luxury items were still out of reach. Hooper has helped four homeowners thus far to sell their belongings. The owners typically set the prices, Hooper says, and she suggests they are 20-25 percent of retail. Some homeowners price items higher, but they often don’t sell, she notes. While Hooper generally passes information by word of mouth in the community to help the homeowner, she went as far as to sitting in at a walk-in sale, which sounds nicer than “foreclosure yard sale.” “Their situation really tugged at my heart,” reflected Hooper. However, she does not foresee herself hosting similar events in the future, yet acknowledges it would probably be based on the situation. It is important to note here that Hooper has helped homeowners to sell or donate their furniture on a voluntary basis, at no charge and on her personal time. “I feel badly for them and want to see them get as much out of it as they can,” she says.  Hooper has seen homeowners donate the remainder of items after attempts to sell and others retrieve them. One set of homeowners stripped the house themselves of all personal belongings. It is definitely a mixed bag. The Salvo Volunteer Fire Department received $4,500 in donated items to use or re-sell, including two pool tables. One pool table was raffled, and the other occupies the new fire station. Dishes and kitchen supplies were donated to the new facility. In this case, the homeowner was an EMT and volunteer firefighter in his home area, and he wanted to share what he could with the local area. Other homeowners, often those with higher priced items, do not feel they can afford to donate. One homeowner stated to Hooper, “I don’t need a tax deduction, I need cash.” For those who need cash, new businesses and services are stepping to the plate. Foreclosed Furniture and Appliances, LLC, is the local answer for, “What do we do with a house full of furniture?” Started in December, 2008, by Julie Head, this firm is housed in The Century 21 building in Frisco. Head describes her inventory quite simply. “It’s anything in a rental house. All of it sells well.” Items from dishes, lamps, artwork, deck furniture, and interior furnishings fill the place. She has appliances, from refrigerators to washers and dryers. During my visit, the store included some “mini-room” setups with chairs, rugs, and lamps, mimicking a local Ethan Allen store. “Some items are newer, some are well worn after five years in a rental house,” Head says. Head notes that her inventory changes weekly. She buys from homes not just on Hatteras Island following a simple business plan. “All I do is buy the homeowner’s furniture from foreclosed properties,” she explains. Head receives leads on upcoming foreclosed properties “lots of different ways.” As Hooper noted, realty staff often work with such buyers to let them know when homes are going into foreclosure. Helping a homeowner raise what can be some much needed cash or to simply remove items from the home can be a big relief. The news of the sales has trickled out with different responses. Some folks feel a little too much like vultures to participate. Others look for a “real bargain” and may find items priced higher than they wish to pay for used furniture or appliances. Someone even pointed out that buying what we didn’t need helped get us into the national financial mess in the first place. What I know is that homeowners of rental properties typically cannot manage the removal or storage of their belongings. Banks do not want to mess with sales or donations. They want a clean house to sell. Regular folks are often looking to upgrade or replace an item in their own home, especially if it is of good quality with little use. Other than the initial reason for the liquidation, can this feel much different from gathering Doritos from the beach? This is, after all, something we’ll tell our grandchildren about decades from now, much like the Depression stories my grandparents told me. Resourcefulness by buyer, seller, and middleman, seems to be the skill we all need to hone. FOR MORE INFORMATION Julie Head sells furniture Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. this winter in her Foreclosed Furniture and Appliance shop at the Century 21 Building at 52327 Highway 12 in Frisco. She now has a Web site www.foreclosedfurniture.com There are pictures and prices available. Folks can email her from the site, to foreclosedfurniture@yahoo.com or she can be reached by phone at 252-216-5806. If you are a homeowner facing foreclosure, contact your local rental agency about your ideas or options. You can sell items to buyers, ask about individual sales, or donate items to local charity thrift stores, including Hotline and Locomotion’s Changing Tide. |
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