Send photos tonight and the first answer comes back as a sort, not a sales pitch: these pieces look worth selling on their own, these need a specialist before anyone names a price, these are not worth the effort of individual resale, and these should not be donated yet. With that in hand a family can make the hundred small decisions a house demands without guessing, and without a cleanout crew taking the lot for one number before the sellable pieces were identified.
From there you choose how much help you want. Some families take the plan and the listing drafts and do the selling themselves. Many ask VaultXL to review the project and manage the selling remotely; where the contents, the timeline and the local contact make it work, and the written plan confirms it, we handle the research, pricing, listing copy, channel selection, buyer conversations, markdown timing and sold-status reporting from Charlotte, while someone local, a family member, neighbor, Realtor, property manager or the attorney's office, opens the door and hands sold items to their buyers. Furniture sells to local buyers who collect it from the house; smaller pieces can be shipped by whoever holds the key.
Where our hands-on coverage exists, in the Charlotte, North Carolina area and on scheduled trips to nearby metros, we come to the property ourselves. Everywhere else, the thinking is the same and the hands are yours or your local contact's. Remote is not a lesser version of VaultXL; for most families it is the front door.
Everything is quoted in writing before any work starts, by the size of the project and the help you choose. If VaultXL sells for you, the model is the one we use at home: a setup fee set in your written quote, then 15% of what sells after marketplace fees. You keep 85%.
Three levels of help.
The same judgment at every level; the difference is who does the physical part.
1.Do it yourself with VaultXL
The room sort, identifications, resale estimates, a written plan and listing drafts for the channels you choose. You post, you answer buyers, you hand over.
2.Remote-managed by VaultXL
Offered after we review the project. We research, price, write and post the listings, talk to buyers, time the markdowns and report what sold. Your local contact opens the door, takes extra photos when needed and hands items to buyers.
3.Hands-on VaultXL
Where our coverage exists we come to the property, photograph everything ourselves and run the sale in place. Today that is the Charlotte, NC area and scheduled trips to nearby metros.
Not sure which? Send the photos first. The sort tells you how much of a project you actually have.
How remote help works.
Show us the house
Phone photos, room by room: one wide shot from the doorway, then close-ups of labels, maker's marks, signatures and damage. A room scan from your phone works, and so does an upload link.
We sort the opportunity
Every room comes back sorted into sell, specialist review, donate and discard, with a note on what deserves closer photographs.
We identify and research
Asking-price-based resale guidance for the pieces worth selling, drawn from the channels we sell on every week. Practical resale guidance, not a formal appraisal.
We create the plan
What should be sold, where, in what order, what to lot together, what to hold for a specialist, and what to donate or clear. Executors and attorneys get a written contents report they can forward.
Choose how much help you want
Do it yourself with the plan and the listing drafts, let VaultXL manage the selling remotely while someone local handles access, or use hands-on service where our coverage exists.
What a first sort tells you.
Most of what fills a house is worth less than the family hopes and more than a buyout offer for the lot, and the hard part is knowing which pieces carry the value. A first sort answers that in plain terms: how many pieces look worth listing on their own, how many belong together as lots, how many should go to a specialist before anyone sets a price, and how many are honestly donation or clearance.
Jewelry, watches, coins, firearms, signed art, sterling, labeled designer furniture, instruments and vehicles are flagged rather than guessed. We would rather say a piece needs a specialist than put a number on it that cannot be defended.
For executors and families out of state.
An out-of-state son or daughter can start without flying in. The photographs, the sort and the written contents report let you understand what is in the house, what may have resale value, what needs a qualified specialist and what can likely be donated or cleared, before you book a flight or sign with anyone. If an estate attorney referred you, the report is written so it can be forwarded to them and to the other heirs. Nothing is sold until the person with legal authority over the estate says so.
The report is a practical resale guide prepared from photographs and asking prices. It is not a formal appraisal and should not be relied on where a qualified appraisal is required for tax filing, insurance or a contested matter; for those we refer you to a credentialed appraiser.
Start before anything is thrown away.
The one thing that cannot be undone is the dumpster. Photograph every room before anything moves, set the specialist watchlist aside somewhere secure, keep papers and photographs for the family, and send the pictures. The sort comes back, the plan follows, and the selling starts when you are ready. You can also begin from an AI assistant: VaultXL connects to ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, and the same sort, estimate and plan are available there. See how to connect.
What the family receives.
- ✓A room-by-room sort: sell, specialist review, donate, discard
- ✓Identification and asking-price-based resale guidance for the pieces worth selling
- ✓A list of what needs a specialist before any price is set, and what must not be donated yet
- ✓A written plan: what to sell, where, in what order, what to lot together
- ✓A household contents report an executor or attorney can forward
- ✓Remote management of the selling if you want it, with someone local handling access and handoffs
Why VaultXL.
The thinking is remote; the hands are local
Research, pricing, listings, buyer conversations and reporting happen centrally. Only the physical part, opening the door and handing items over, needs someone at the house.
Flagged, not guessed
Specialist categories are named and set aside, never priced from a photograph. A false flag costs a sentence; a missed one can cost a family the most valuable thing in the house.
We sell what we sort
The resale guidance comes from the channels we list on every week, which is why the plan holds up when the selling starts.
Written quote before any work
The project is quoted in writing by its size and the help you choose. Nothing starts until you have read it.
Where we serve.
Remotely, anywhere in the United States · Hands-on in the Charlotte, NC area and on scheduled trips to nearby metros
Start with a walkthrough.
A free remote walkthrough from your photos and a video call, then a written quote before any work starts.
Frequently asked.
Remotely, yes. The sort, the identifications, the resale guidance, the plan and the report work from photographs wherever the house is. Remote management of the selling is offered after we review the project: where the contents, timeline and local contact make it work, VaultXL runs the online selling from Charlotte while someone local handles access and handoffs, and the written plan confirms it. Hands-on service, where we come to the property ourselves, exists in the Charlotte, NC area and on scheduled trips to nearby metros.
For remote management, one person who can open the door and hand sold items to buyers: a family member, neighbor, Realtor, property manager or the attorney's office. They do not need to know anything about selling. If nobody can give access yet, start with the photographs and the plan; the selling waits until someone can.
Furniture and larger pieces are listed to local buyers who collect from the house during a pickup window your contact agrees to. Smaller, higher-value pieces go on national marketplaces and are shipped by whoever holds the key, with labels we prepare. Markdowns are scheduled, not improvised, and you see what sold as it sells.
No. It is practical resale guidance built from current asking prices for comparable pieces, with specialist items listed but not valued. It is not a formal appraisal and is not the document for a federal estate tax return, insurance scheduling or a contested matter. For those we refer you to a credentialed appraiser.
It is quoted in writing before any work starts, by the size of the project and the level of help you choose. If VaultXL sells for you, the model is a setup fee set in your written quote and 15% of what sells after marketplace fees; you keep 85%. We do not publish a rate card because no two houses are the same job.
Nothing except photograph. Don't donate, discard or sell anything before it has been photographed, don't take one price for the whole house from a buyout or cleanout crew, and set aside anything on the specialist watchlist somewhere secure. Papers, photographs and personal effects stay with the family.
Yes. VaultXL connects to all three. Describe the situation, share photos, and the assistant can run the room sort, the estimate and the plan through VaultXL, and, with your permission, send VaultXL what you have already explained so you do not start over on a contact form.
