What do I do?
Union Street Consulting and Appraisal Services
Overwhelmed by “stuff?”
We can help.
You Need Help
In over a decade in the vintage and antiques business we have noticed one thing for sure: people need help with “stuff.” They inherit an estate, are helping an elderly parent or neighbor, looking to downsize themselves, tackling years of basement/attic/garage storage and have no idea where to begin. We can help.
What We Do
We do what you need us to do. We can help you understand what you have and what it is worth. We can explain options for selling or donating. We can create documentation for estate distribution or liquidation or just for your own reference. We spend our time on your unique needs.
Our Clients
Our clients are varied; from individuals / families dealing with a houseful of items, to older adults looking to downsize themselves. We help collectors liquidate collections, realtors advising clients looking to sell family homes and attorneys advising clients who inherited homes and storage units. We can help home buyers who bought a home as-is (filled with belongings) or non-profit groups who have received donated items or estates and do not know how to best manage the donation.
Our Skills
The catalyst for starting the consultation business took place during our certification process as a personal property appraiser. We realized that most people who contacted us did NOT need an appraisal; they needed advice! As a certified appraiser we were actually limited in the advice we could provide. As a consultant we can use our years in the antiques and collectibles business to let you know what you have and what it is worth. We can advise you if you are a candidate to contact an auction house, estate sale company, have a yard sale, or donate items. We can help you understand where to focus your time and energy and what to not worry about. We can help you divide tangible property into equally valued portions. We use our experience in the business to connect you with trusted professionals in the area (or beyond, if applicable) whether it be to buy, sell, or clean out your items.
We do not…
Manage estate sales, clean out your house or buy all your stuff. If you already know you are ready for the first two things go ahead and contact a professional in those areas. We are who to contact if you are UNSURE of how to proceed. If we are interested in buying any of your items during the course of consulting with you we will let you know what we are interested in, and, encourage you to have a third party set the wholesale price for those items. If you are here simply to sell items to us, we are always happy to look for our retail business, but, we manage those transactions separately from the consultation business.
Bad News/Good News
Sometimes our job is to give you bad news as well as good. This is often through explaining changes in the antiques and collectibles market; what was once considered valuable may no longer be desired on the market. While this can be hard to learn, it is also good for our clients to understand how to focus on what is most important. The flip side of this scenario is that we may often be able to point out items that have value on today’s market that our clients were not aware have value. (Do not discard or donate items before talking to us!)
Our Fees
Our basic fee is $265 for the first three hours. Each hour after that is $100/hour prorated for partial hours. We require payment up front for the initial work and will invoice for additional hours.
First Steps
Complete the form below to let us know your basic information. Based on that we will contact you to gather more information and schedule a meeting. The basic consultation fee covers up to three hours of consulting work. How that time is used is up to you. It may be all at once in one day, or, for an hour over three different days with different tasks. You may ask us to meet with other family members, use the time to create a document for your reference or use the time to train you how to do your own research. It is entirely up to you.