Where to find us…..
Facebook @honeystopthecarvintage
Instagram @honeystopthecar_vintage_merch
Mercari https://www.mercari.com/u/761332849/
Ebay https://www.ebay.com/usr/honeystopthecarvintage
Our booth located at The Lindy Antique Mall in Malakoff, TX
Pinups available at East Dallas Vintage on Peak at Bryan
Estate Storage Auction
Austin TX Estate Auction
This auction closes September 10th http://www.assets2cash.net/auction/588
My Awakening
****Please know I do not equate my suffering with what black people have suffered for hundreds of years, just trying to make a point*****
My awakening began when my oldest daughter came out and revealed she is a lesbian. Mind you I always felt I supported the gay community but I started seeing things in a new light. This enlightenment came through learning and listening.
Then came the 10 months as a caregiver for my biological father. The experience was two fold. Sadly he is a racist and homophobe. He was corrected when he said things that were inappropriate. In the end he was very unkind to us and left our care, but there was a blessing that came out of it. Having him living with us triggered a lot in me and I started to learn more about the decades of abuse I suffered at the hands of my mother and how it still effects me. When I was about 10 years old my father finally left for good and during a very hostile argument with my mother I was crying and begging him not to leave, his reply was “you don’t want me to leave so you will be protected”. After he left the abuse was worse because she had no one else to focus her energy on.
Now I say all this in my attempt to explain racism and how it is embedded into society. For decades I was conditioned to believe I was worthless, “you are so stupid”, “why can’t you be smart like your brother”. My mother did everything she could to tear me down, physical abuse, emotional abuse. When I was finally old enough to start speaking up for myself and challenge her, she became a master at the narrative that I was a bad person. At my cousin’s wedding rehearsal dinner she sat and cried to anyone that would listen about what an awful person I was. “She can’t do anything right”, “she is lazy”, “she is an awful daughter”. It is a narrative I still have problems with today.
What does this have to do with racism you ask? Well, for hundreds of years we have been conditioned to believe Black people are inferior. “They are stupid”, “they are lazy”, “they are criminals”. Hollywood’s narrative of the White man always saves the Black man. Black men for a very long time were often the villains if they weren’t the domestic help or slave. Crime and incarceration statistics aren’t really what they seem when you delve into all the nitty gritty details, (don’t worry, I’m not launching into all that), under served schools and tons more I could detail. Google “Red Lining”, I had heard inklings about this but never really understood till I started researching and listening these last couple weeks.
The web of lies, misinformation and perpetuation of the narrative is pretty darn impressive for it to last hundreds of years. Well why not, I still have issues trying to believe I’m nothing like my mother described and I’m 55 yo.
Imagine hearing your whole life you are worthless in every way possible. Imagine strangers on the street being terrified of you. Imagine realizing you the will never have the same advantages as others because of your skin color.
Add on top of all this having the constant fear of being killed on a daily basis. In the last few months there has been a Black man hunted down like an animal and shot in the streets, then a Black man literally had the life squeezed out of him while he cried out for his mother.
I’m not professing to be perfect, I have been conditioned to believe many misconceptions about Black people. I am realizing a lot I have thought is flat out wrong. The light bulb went off when I realized what racists throughout hundreds of years have done to Black people and to society, the same as my mother did to me.
Society has been conditioned to believe the racist narrative.
It is very difficult to bust out of the abusers narrative, especially when the abusers have a knee on their neck for hundreds of years.
I went no contact from my abuser in 2006, it was the only way I could heal. Black people do not have that option.
Please listen and learn.
Royce City Estate Auction
Our current auction is filled to the brim with items dating back to the late 1800’s. We hope you enjoy browsing and look forward to seeing you on pickup day.
Please follow this link for all auction info www.assets2cash.net/auction/579
Duncanville Estate Auction
W
we are now live and ready for bidders https://www.assets2cash.net/auction/561
Estate Sale Advice
So you have decided to downsize or there has been a death of a loved one and you are not sure what to do with all the STUFF. Well this blog can hopefully help with this seemingly overwhelming dilemma.
There are several options for clearing out a home. An Estate (Tag) Sale, Auction or Buy Out. The following will detail each option and then we will follow up with tips for choosing the best company for you.
Estate Sale:
An estate sale is held at the home open to the public. Run by professionals who come in the home to sort stage and price items for sale.
Auction:
An auction can be conducted two ways. The company can haul everything to another location and conduct a live auction open to the public or an online auction can be posted from the home where winning bidders from the online listings come to the home and pick up what they have won.
Buy Out:
A flat amount is offered for the contents of the home and if accepted the company clears out everything purchased.
Choosing the best fit is based on the time frame of the sale and the amount of items available.
Tips for choosing a company for any of these options:
First Do Not Wait till the last minute. The majority of reputable companies book up months in advance. This is not to say a reputable company can’t be found but it is in your best interest to plan way far ahead. It is also preferable to have the sale before the home is put on the market. In today’s market unless the home is worth a sizable amount it is not necessary for it to be staged for home shoppers. If your realtor insists then arrange for a staging company after the home is cleared out.
The best place to start the hunt for a professional is asking friends for referrals. Sometimes friend’s experience is your best bet. Your other option are websites that advertise sales. WARNING none of these sites vet companies, any Tom Dick or Linda can advertise on these sites. We advise talking to at least three companies to start with. Visit a current sale of each and peruse previous sales they have advertised.
Keep in mind that not all companies are looking for the same sort of sale. Some companies prefer more contemporary inventory while others are interested in an estate filled with vintage. Some companies prefer a clean quick prep and others like to get down and dirty.
Before making appointments make a list of sentimental items, do a cursory search preferably without trashing the home, be sure to remove items the family intends to keep or at least mark large items with a post it and group together smalls or box them up. It is best to have already gone through the home contents before meeting with the professionals. Most professionals will encourage you not to throw anything away. No matter how insignificant you will be surprised what people will buy. Dumpsters and Donations are for after the sale.
Okay, you have chosen three companies for consideration. Before you make your decision please go over our checklist.
Interview Checklist
Do they have a website and is it current?
Do they have a social media presence and is it utilized daily?
How and where do they advertise?
Do they have an email list?
How many sales do they average per month?
How long have they been in business?
How many employees will have access to the home?
Do they provide an accounting of the items sold and what was the sale price?
Do they provide a cleanout service after the sale?
Do they prefer vintage or contemporary sales?
Has the company operated under another name in the past?
When are the sale funds available?
Questions Professionals Will Have For You
Square footage of the home?
How long was the home occupied?
Any special interest items? ex: hobbies, collections, etc.
Is the homeowners insurance current?
Are you the POA or Executor of the estate?
Does anyone currently occupy the home?
Are the utilities on and operational?
Is there a security alarm?
Has the home been occupied by smokers or pets?
Is the home subject to HOA restrictions?
Has there been any type of sale from the home in the last year?
Is there any pending litigation against the estate?
Is the home scheduled for demo?
If you have any questions please feel free to message us
Plumbing Problems
We have been through a week long ordeal that clearly did not have to last that long or be this frustrating. I really can’t stand dishonesty. Taking advantage of people in an emergency situation is unforgivable.
This situation started last Sunday evening when I walked into our master bath and heard water running although nothing was turned on. We start running around trying to figure out what the noise was and discovered our backyard flooded as though 5 inches of rain had fallen in an hour. We shut the water off and monitored the water pouring out from under the back of our house for another half hour.
Sunday evening nothing we can do till Monday morning. Our first inclination was to call the folks that did a bunch of repairs for us when we bought the house, but after laying awake ruminating I thought it was best to call our home warranty company, we paid for it might as well try to use it.
The first set back was we were not likely going to get a plumber out till Thursday. OK it is just the two of us we can deal, filled up gallon jugs in order to flush toilets, rinse off dishes and drink. Got a cheap hotel room nearby for one night to take showers.
Wednesday came and we get a call that the detection team is ahead of schedule and they will be stopping by within the hour. Woo Hoo!!! Mind you we were expecting the worst, the amount of water gushing from under the back of the house was in my opinion catastrophic.
The team shows up and gets to work after we summarize what we experienced.
Red Flag #1, we are all standing in master bath but can’t hear the water gushing, plumber says “oh I hear it”. There was absolutely no noise like I heard before.
Red Flag #2, While they are running the air into the pipes, Clay and I clearly observe water gushing from a pipe in the area of the secondary cutoff at the front of the house that faces towards the back.
Red Flag #3 The head dude on the team (whom we discover later is the company owner) claims he hears water under the master bedroom closet and they will have to tunnel under the house to repair. We ask about the water we observed and his reply “the water is following the path of least resistance” Um OK? Basically he is saying ignore what your eyes observed, this is what is really happening.
Red Flag #4 After initially telling us the warranty company will only pay $500 towards the total bill suddenly he back tracks and says “oh sometimes they will pay up to $1000. but I tell customers $500 so they don’t expect $1000.
Finally we have a detailed estimate and our hearts sank, the total was over $6000, to tunnel under the house, jack hammer the sidewalk, replace pipe under the house and rebuild sidewalk. No way we can afford this and my gut is telling me this is ridiculously high. Now, if we hadn’t had a bunch of plumbing work done when we bought the house back in the spring I likely wouldn’t have questioned his estimate. We decide to pay the detection fee and seek a second opinion.
Boy are we glad we got a second opinion. We went from over $6000 to a simple repair costing around $750. Turns out the leak was as we witnessed, the pipe on the secondary cutoff valve had come apart as seen in the pics below, no tunneling, no jackhammer, just a new valve and section of pipe replaced. The water we heard gushing under the master bath was simply the water from that pipe gushing under the house along the foundation beam, following that and running out under the back of the house.
We are very disappointed we were clearly being taken advantage of in an emergency situation. At this time we are not identifying the bad company, we will report them to the warranty company, after all they are basically getting screwed also and discuss a possible refund for the detection fee (good luck getting that back). The company we got the second opinion from would like to stay anonymous.
Moral of the story, go with your gut, get a second opinion if possible and don’t always trust reviews. The bad company has glowing yelp reviews.
Hubbard Texas Estate Auction
Our first auction in the country! We a very excited for y’all to see all the awesome treasures. http://www.texasclix.com/auction/465
Godwins Going Country
After almost 6 wonderful years in our East Dallas home we are pulling up roots and heading south. I am sure it will be quite the experience as neither of us have lived in the country. We appreciate everyone’s support in the Dallas area and hope you will come visit us after we get settled in.
Please joins us at https://www.facebook.com/HoneyStopTheCarVintage/ for all up to the minute details of our journey.