Emeric DeGaul, Estate Broker

Substandard services on all levels. While Mr. Degaul’s site on Angie’s list and the contract he had with me stated he took and would clear all checks, he decided without my knowledge or permission to make it a “cash only” sale and advertised it online as such, while the other sales advertised in the area on that date took checks and/or credit cards. This clearly made it a much less attractive sale from the beginning. His advertising was poor, and what little that was online showed the most valuable item, an and quot;extra fine Howard Millerand quot; grandfather clock in excellent condition, sideways so it was not noticeable at all. I also had a sterling silver samovar I purchased for $1000.00 in 1993 at Scrivener’s in San Antonio and told him that I felt it was quite valuable. Without consulting me at all, he “decided” that it was not sterling and sold it for $65.00. Had I known I would have withdrawn it from sale but he did not give me the option. And because it was a “cash only” sale I cannot retrieve it or have it appraised. He took advantage of the fact that he knew I would be on the road for the entire week he was in charge and unaware of what he was doing. I left the home well organized and clean but expected it would need cleaning prior to the homebuyer’s move in after the sale. Mr. Degaul said in his contract he would hire “a professional cleaning service” for which he charged not only $100.00 for the services, but also $100.00 for his brokering the services. The receipt he gave me for this was homemade, and had handwritten “Rosa Ramirez Cleaning Service” on it. I cannot find that listed anywhere as a professional service. I questioned him about the extent of the cleaning on the phone, had they done the shutters and blinds and such details, and he was verbally evasive. Both my realtor and the buyer’s realtor said the house was “dirty” and I had to have it professionally cleaned. I also had to pay for plumbing repairs from the removal of a clothes washer, and there were fresh carpet stains that could have been more easily removed it they had been addressed at the time of the spills, but these can be expected I guess from an estate sale. The “professional” cleaning that I paid for and for him to hire did not occur. I understand it is difficult for owners to part with what they feel are their valuables and that it is common for them to think they are more valuable at estate sales than they actually are. But by making this a CASH ONLY sale when his Angie’s List ad and his contract with me said he would clear all checks was clearly wrong. It was nothing we had agreed upon and made this sale much less attractive and affordable to the buyers, and as such much less profitable to me.

It went very well. Mr Degaul called and confirmed our appointment prior to coming out (I really appreciated this). It was a very cold day, and I thought maybe he would not be coming out at all, but he came just as we scheduled. He explained to me the items that would sell, and the items that would not. He went over the contract, and we loaded his vehicle. He gave me an approximate time to recieve the payment, a copy of the items agreed upon - and before I knew it, I had recieved a check in the mail. I felt his pricing amount was fair. He knows his craft, and he is professional, and not over the top personable, but he is personable to a comfortable point. You really have no idea once your property leaves its site as to the amount of money it will bring; but after working with him, I would use him over and over! As a matter of fact, I plan to call him in the near future!

I was embarrassed by the condition of the house and my mother in law's hoarding but decided to show Mr. De Gaul the whole picture. All the rooms were piled to the ceiling with items, boxes and trash. The kitchen was a terror with expired food, dirt and grime. The garage was so packed, I cautioned my wife not to go in there for fear she would be crushed if something fell. In my MIL's defense, she had declining vision but was self sufficient until her last days. After her husband passed, she filled the void with and quot;stuffand quot;. My wife and I have our own established household so we lack for nothing and simply needed to be shed of this overwhelming burden. Emeric De Gaul was the consumate professional. Nothing fazed him. He looked around, encouraged us not to throw anything away and he would handle everything. My wife and I were skeptical but Emeric assured us that this estate was rather normal and he had seen worse. I could not imagine a worse house but we left him the keys and went home to take a shower. We dropped back by the house unannounced before the sale and could not believe our eyes! It was AMAZING! The house was clean. The trash was gone. You could see the floor. My MIL had items we had no idea existed. On top of that, Emeric had priced things we thought were trash. Emeric had priced ( and sold) an item we would have sold at a garage sale for $1.00 for nearly $500.00. The entire time, Emeric was more than happy to answer our questions and concerns. He knows a tremendous amount about furniture, paintings, pottery, and household items and we believe he treated all the stuff in the house with care and respect. He went to great lengths to get anything of value out for sale and then get the most amount of money he could for it in the limited time available. After the sale, we met and he presented us with the proceeds of the estate. We were more than pleasantly surprised and would strongly reccommend Emeric Degaul to anyone needing an estate liquidation.

From the onset of the project, Mr. DeGaul addressed us with no small amount of haughtiness, arrogance and an odd mix of passive/aggressive and commandment-style approaches. To say that his methods of communication were off-putting is a massive understatement. Throughout the preparation and sale process, Mr. DeGaul consistently made decisions that left us wondering about his competence and understanding of the merchandise he was representing. This was not the first estate sale we had experienced (our third, actually) so we were very well prepared for the process and the emotions that can accompany parting with possessions. It was amazing, however, to hear Mr. DeGaul disparage every item we owned, as if though it were pure trash. If we looked at diamonds, Mr. DeGaul would say they were of "substandard quality". For Waterford and Wedgewood, we were told it "might make a little money". All in all, his approach was to constantly assert that nothing we owned was worth selling - a point which we knew to be patently false. As the sale progressed, we noticed that Mr. DeGaul did very little to re-prepare the house (i.e. clean-up and re-arrange from the prior day's activities) for the next day's business. As each day passed, the property looked worse and worse, to the point that my wife and I spent time each evening cleaning and straightening - in an attempt to present the merchandise in the best possible light. After all, even at an estate sale, people want things to be presented in the most attractive manner possible, to achieve the highest possible sale price. Mr. DeGaul's assistants were a mixed lot: One gentleman was affable and friendly, and appeared to be of considerable service to the buyers. The other gentleman was rude, obnoxious and downright nasty. Additionally, it was impossible for buyers to determine who was or was not "working" the sale, as the staff had nothing to identify themselves - no nametags, colored vests, nothing. Again, as the sale progressed, we discovered whole parts of the house (bathroom, closets, drawers) that hadn't been emptied and the merchandise prepared for sale. We made it extremely clear: Sell everything you see, with a few, specific and noted exceptions - which were clearly marked. When we discovered any number of items that were not presented for sale, we can only presume either incompetence or laziness on the part of the preparation team. While it may be common to some estate agents, we've always observed that an item which is presented with all parts intact, in the original package and in good condition, will achieve the most optimal price. Mr. DeGaul made very little effort to ensure items which had multiple parts were consistently placed together and that items with their original boxes were sold together. After the sale we've been discovering any number of things "left behind" or simply separated from their other components - which, had they been properly "paired", would have yielded a better return. It's also apparent that Mr. DeGaul and his team spent very little effort on oversight of the buyers as we've discovered numerous items which were broken during the sale process and dumped in our trash bin. While we all know that things do, indeed, get broken, there is simply no reason for such a large amount of damage to occur. What about the shopkeepers adage: You Break It, You Buy It? Apparently it doesn't apply in this instance..... Finally, Mr. DeGaul and his team were absolutely ineffective in observing and controlling the movers as they removed large items (sofas, tables, book cases, et al) from the house, as there is significant damage that I must pay to have repaired. This kind of damage is strictly and solely the responsibility of the mover - yet, Mr. DeGaul's team made absolutely no attempt to hold them responsible for their actions. In one particularly egregious instance, we discovered - after the fact - damage to concrete in the garage after a 1,200 pound fire-safe was moved. I'm not sure how, or if, this damage can be repaired, but it is clearly not the kind of result acceptable in this situation. While Mr. DeGaul did complete the sale, as promised, he did not meet any reasonable standard of conduct, both personal and professional. In our prior estate sale experiences we found the other managers to be much more professional in their performance, much more attuned to details and better prepared to work hard for their clients. I cannot impeach Mr. DeGaul's honesty, nor can I attest to it, but I can say I believe I was treated fairly with regards to the monetary side of the transaction. At the end of the day, I suppose this may be the ultimate deal-breaker: Did you actually get paid? We were paid my Mr. DeGaul in a timely and fulsome fashion, so on that count, he scores positively. Bottom line, I would not recommend Mr. DeGaul (and, in fact, have advised a family friend not to use his services) for the myriad reasons noted above.