“I had a recent opportunity to speak to a prominent probate attorney. He was acting on behalf of one of my client’s neighbors. During the conversation I learned that the real property he had to liquidate included a great deal of personal property that was left in and around the residence. I asked if he had any specific plans for the personal property and he said he only wanted it removed so the real estate could be sold and his probate fee collected.
Being Johnny on the spot, I offered to have the property (much of it trash and construction debris) removed at no cost. He agreed and gave me the keys to the property and said I would have approximately 1 week to complete the job or he would have to hire a salvage company.
After a brief walk-through and inspection, I determined that I would be able to put out most of the materials on pick-up day for waste removal. I managed to garage sale many of the smaller items and earn a nice profit of $600.00 from simply asking the attorney what his plans were for disposition.
One item in particular that seemed to be a major problem was an abandoned old car in the garage. The car was dirty and looked like it hadn’t been operational for years and was sitting on 4 flat tires. I called for a flat bed tow truck to remove the vehicle so I could finish cleaning the garage. To my surprise and delight, after cleaning up the car and putting on 4 new tires and performing some minor engine work, the car looked and ran beautifully. Turns out it was a classic 1966 Pontiac GTO convertible worth in the neighborhood of $40,000.00 Not bad for a week’s work on the fly.”