What to Demand in Writing Before You Hire

Published October 1, 2026 · The Estate Sale Guide editorial team

Nearly every estate sale dispute that ends in a lawyer's office or a television news segment traces back to something discussed but never written down. The industry is largely unlicensed, which means your contract is not a formality layered on top of consumer protection law — in most states it is the consumer protection. Here are the terms to insist on and why each one exists.

What you'll learn

• Why an unlicensed industry makes the written contract your primary protection
• The fourteen clauses that belong in every estate sale agreement
• The dollar figures and deadlines to insert instead of "promptly" and "reasonable"
• Which clauses to strike or narrow, including open-ended cleanout language
• How real disputes have unfolded when these terms were missing
• What to collect alongside the contract: insurance, licenses, and references

Start here: no contract, no hire

EstateSales.NET, the largest listing platform in the business, gives sellers a one-line rule: do not hire a company without a contract, and make sure both parties keep a copy (EstateSales.NET). Ask for a copy you can take home and read at leisure rather than signing at the kitchen table (EstateSales.NET).

The reason this matters more here than in most consumer transactions is structural. No national certification exists for estate liquidators (Checkbook.org), and one long-running operator describes the industry plainly as unlicensed and unregulated (Brown Button Estate Sales). A Houston television investigation into a company owner who eventually pleaded guilty to theft reported the same finding: there are no laws or licensing for the industry (KPRC 2).

There are exceptions. Minnesota requires estate sale conductors to file a corporate surety bond of at least $20,000 with the county treasurer before entering into an agreement (Minn. Stat. § 325E.70), and as of January 1, 2026, Illinois requires a licensed auctioneer for estate sales meeting a four-part statutory test (Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation). Outside of situations like those, your leverage is contractual.

The fourteen clauses

1. Commission rate, stated as a number

The rate belongs in the document as a figure, not a range. If the arrangement is a sliding scale, list every tier and state whether each rate applies only to the dollars inside its band or to the entire gross. One documented ladder runs 50% on $5,000–$10,000, 45% on $10,001–$15,000, and 40% on $15,001–$20,000 (LegalClarity); another runs 50% up to $10,000, then 40%, 35%, and 30% in $10,000 bands (Tax Shark).

2. Gross or net basis

Specify whether commission is calculated on gross receipts or on receipts net of credit card processing. Where the estate absorbs a 3% processing cost while the company takes its cut of gross, the estate is paying the processor out of its own share (Gavelist).

3. A complete, closed list of additional fees

Roughly 80% of companies levy costs beyond commission (Leave the Key). A 2021 national survey identified the most common extras as trash removal, advertising, professional cleaning, credit card fees, disposal fees, moving fees, and consignment moving (Brown Button). Ask outright whether there are fees besides the commission (EstateSales.NET), then require the contract to say that no charge not listed in the agreement will be deducted from proceeds. Attach dollar figures where the market publishes them: advertising commonly runs $100 to $500 (LegalClarity), and card processing 2.5% to 4% (LegalClarity) or 3% to 5% (Checkbook.org).

4. Minimum fee, with the trigger

If there is a floor on the company's compensation, get the number and the gross at which it activates. Flat minimums of $1,500 to $3,000 are common (LegalClarity); Checkbook.org reports minimums and fees typically ranging from $500 to $3,000 (Checkbook.org). On a small estate, an undisclosed minimum can consume nearly all the proceeds (Tax Shark).

5. A payment deadline in days

This is the clause that fails most often, so make it a deadline rather than a practice. Two to four weeks after the sale is common (LegalClarity); most companies disburse within two to three weeks (Checkbook.org); ten business days is described as a standard (Tribute); a Florida operator advises requiring proceeds within 14 to 30 days (Lion and Unicorn). Some pay faster — one Virginia Beach firm remits within seven days of the final sale day (HomeLight) — and across 92 Southern California sales in 2026 the median from signed agreement to settled payment was 15 days (True Legacy Homes).

Ask directly how long after the sale you will be paid (EstateSales.NET) and put the answer in the contract. The Minnesota Attorney General's office specifically recommends setting deadlines for payment and documentation in the agreement (Minnesota Attorney General).

6. An itemized post-sale accounting

Require a written settlement statement showing every item sold and its price, all deductions, and the resulting net. Minnesota's guidance pairs documentation deadlines with payment deadlines for exactly this reason (Minnesota Attorney General). Without an itemized statement, you cannot reconcile a check against a sale.

7. Disposition of unsold items, with a cost cap

State who removes what remains, on what timeline, and at whose expense. Unclear cleanout responsibility is a top contract failure, and capping the cost in writing is the fix (Gavelist). Published figures give you a basis for the cap: post-sale cleanout $500 to $2,000 (LegalClarity), haul-off and dump fees $500 to $1,500 (Gavelist), junk removal $150 to $800 per truckload or $600 to $1,500 for a whole-house cleanout (Tribute). Expect leftovers — roughly 60% to 75% of items sell in a typical sale (SoCal Home Clearouts). If leftovers go to a reseller or consignment shop, say whether the estate shares in that revenue.

8. Exclusions and carve-outs, listed before signing

Any item you intend to keep, gift, or sell separately must be named and, ideally, physically removed before the company begins work. Many companies charge commission on items removed after work has already started (EstateSales.NET). Contracts should also state whether the rate applies to all items or excludes high-value pieces sold separately (LegalClarity). A reputable company will not object to reasonable carve-outs negotiated up front (LegalClarity).

9. Sale dates, setup window, and staffing

Fix the sale dates and the setup window. Typical timelines: two to four weeks from first call to sale day, a sale lasting one to three days, and wrap-up taking a few days to a week (Blue Moon Estate Sales). Ask how many staff will work a sale of your size (EstateSales.NET).

10. The markdown schedule

Discounting is standard, but the schedule should be yours to approve, not a surprise. Common practice is 25% off on day two and 50% off on day three (Tribute), with up to 75% off on a final day (True Legacy Homes). If certain items should never be discounted below a floor price, name them.

11. Sales tax responsibility

State whether the company collects and remits sales tax or whether that obligation stays with the estate. Requirements vary by state and county, and EstateSales.NET advises sellers to determine the local rule and then ask each company whether they charge it (EstateSales.NET). Treatment genuinely differs: a state-by-state review lists Florida, Virginia, Texas, California, and New York as requiring tax on estate sales, Georgia and Pennsylvania as not, and North Carolina and Illinois as "depends" (EstateSales.org).

12. Insurance and liability

Require a certificate of insurance naming the estate, not a verbal assurance; one state licensing overview advises asking for proof of general liability insurance and any applicable license (EstateSaleConnect). Read the liability clause for language disclaiming responsibility for theft, breakage, or property damage during the sale, and narrow it. Bonds exist because these losses happen: California requires every auctioneer and auction company to maintain a bond with a principal sum of $20,000 (Cal. Civ. Code § 1812.600), and Virginia requires at least $10,000 (18VAC25-21-30).

13. Exclusivity and its duration

Most contracts grant the company exclusive right to sell the estate's contents for a period. That is normal. An exclusivity term that extends well past the sale, or survives a cancellation, is not. Read exclusivity and termination together.

14. Termination rights

Specify how either party exits, with how much notice, and what is owed if you cancel after work has begun. This is the clause that determines your options if the company misses appointments or stops communicating — behaviors the Antiques and Estate Liquidators trade group names as red flags (Antiques and Estate Liquidators).

What happens when these clauses are missing

The cases are not hypothetical. In Northampton County, Pennsylvania, the owner of Top Notch Estate Sales was convicted of 13 counts of deceptive business practices and 13 counts of theft by unlawful taking after prosecutors said she took more than $35,000 from at least 15 clients; the investigation began when police learned of clients who never received their payments from the proceeds (WFMZ). In Ohio, a business owner pleaded guilty to felony theft and agreed to repay $7,000 to three clients (News 5 Cleveland). In Texas, an owner was ordered to pay $18,500 in restitution and serve 10 years' probation while a felony case proceeded in another county (KPRC 2).

Near Washington, D.C., families entitled to 60% of their proceeds went months without payment (NBC Washington). Minnesota's Attorney General publishes a composite case with the same shape: nothing paid after three months, minimal paperwork, unreturned calls (Minnesota Attorney General). Every one of those is a payment-deadline problem, a documentation problem, or both.

Collect these alongside the contract

• Certificate of insurance, current, ideally naming the estate (EstateSaleConnect)
• Any applicable license or bond, verified with the issuing agency rather than taken from a website. Minnesota bonds are filed with the county — Scott County accepts estate sale conductor bond filings at no cost (Scott County)
• References from recent clients. Ask for three families served most recently (Checkbook.org), or three from sales completed in the last six months (Tribute)
• Verification of any trade association membership, confirmed with the association itself rather than by logo (Antiques and Estate Liquidators)

This article is general information, not legal advice. If the estate is in probate or the assets are substantial, have counsel read the agreement — in Florida, a personal representative may need court approval before selling estate property (Lion and Unicorn).

Frequently asked questions

Is a verbal agreement ever acceptable? No. EstateSales.NET's guidance is direct: do not hire a company without a contract, and both parties should keep a copy (EstateSales.NET). In an industry with no certification standard (Checkbook.org), the contract is your enforcement mechanism. Ask for a copy to take home and review at leisure (EstateSales.NET); a company unwilling to let you read it outside the meeting is telling you something.

What if the company wants a large deposit? Under a straight commission model, most reputable companies require no upfront payment, and a large non-refundable deposit is a warning sign (Tax Shark). Some legitimate models do collect money up front — hybrid arrangements pair a reduced commission with a setup fee of $500 to $2,000 (LegalClarity), and one online auction platform requires an initial deposit of $500 (MaxSold). The distinction is whether the fee buys a defined deliverable stated in the contract.

What should the contract say about items I want to keep? Name them individually, and remove them before work begins if you can. Many companies charge commission on items pulled after their work has started (EstateSales.NET).

Who is responsible for sales tax? It depends on the state and sometimes the county, so the contract must assign it. A fifty-state review shows treatment ranging from required to not required to conditional (EstateSales.org), and EstateSales.NET tells sellers to confirm the local rule and then ask the company whether it charges tax (EstateSales.NET).

How do I verify a bond or license? Go to the issuing body, not a screenshot. Minnesota bonds are filed with the county treasurer (Minn. Stat. § 325E.70); auctioneer licenses come from state boards such as South Carolina's Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (SC LLR) and the Virginia Auctioneers Board (Va. Code § 54.1-602).

What recourse do I have if the company never pays? Your contract, then your state's consumer protection office, then civil court, and in serious cases prosecutors. Criminal charges have been brought — 26 counts in one Pennsylvania case (WFMZ) — but recovery is slow and partial. A bond, where one exists, and a hard payment deadline are better protection than a lawsuit.

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