You may remember (because I don't shut up about it!) that we found the house thanks to my estate sale problem. I recently came across the initial photos we snapped when we first started talking about buying it. The estate sale was still in progress and during several of our tours, people were actively in there shopping! It was a strange and interesting experience, for sure. I'm pretty amazed that we were able to look beyond allllllll of the (really cool) stuff and truly see what the house had to offer. There was one point I mentioned offering to buy the house with the remaining stuff left in it but it never went any further than that. In hindsight, I'm sure glad we didn't but it sure sounded fun at the time! :)
Estate sales are an interesting thing to be involved in. Yes, I like to frequent them but I've also been on the other side of them a few times. The general thought is that someone has died and the family doesn't want what was left. While that may be true in a few cases, that's usually not the norm. What I have found is that often a family member has decided to downsize, move into assisted living, or something of the sort. Other family members have taken what possessions they want and the rest they sell which is where estate sale companies come into play. Oftentimes family members will actually be in attendance at an estate sale so I think it's always important to be respectful with your words and actions while at a sale. You never know who is standing next to you and you are technically in someone's house!
At this particular estate sale, the son was present for the entire sale (and was who orchestrated the sale of the house) as were many neighbors. I believe I ran into at least five people I knew while I was there so it was a heavily populated sale! It sometimes blows me away to think about how many people walked through the house that week.
So did I buy anything besides the house at this estate sale? Yes, three articles of clothing - a black bolero jacket, a Hawaiian house dress, and a (my now favorite) green flannel shirt. That's it.