Great North West auction hunt

For the last fortnight in July McAfee Auctions want residents of the North West to contact them about their antiques, collectibles and house clearance queries and take advantage of their two week “Great North West Auction Hunt” by making an appointment.

Their advice is get looking in your attics, garages and drawers as you could be quids in.

Gerry McAfee, auctioneer, McAfee Auctions said: “I spend a lot of my working week in and around the Maiden City, Limavady and the surrounding areas visiting homes to give appraisals or to arrange house clearances.

“Each time I get the same story from the owners who say they wish they had known of our existence and they would have called us sooner.

“So we have taken the decision to spend two weeks travelling around County Londonderry meeting with people in need of a house clearance, who have something to sell or need more information about selling their antiques and collectibles at auction.

“We want to give people who might have something in their homes they no longer need or has gone out of fashion or who need a professional house clearance service the opportunity to meet us face to face and liquidate some of their assets.”

House clearances are becoming more common for McAfee Auctions since the credit crunch and with news that house prices here are the worst performing in the UK, Gerry expects this trend to continue.

Gerry said: “From experience we find that people left with the contents of houses or are executors of estates which they want cleared just don’t know how to go about it or indeed what items will be of interest or value.

“On top of that clearing a house is often an emotional time, and the practical considerations can be overwhelming. As a result, many people rush into decisions about how to dispose of a property and its effects that they later regret - especially if some of the items are valuable.

“McAfee Auctions guide people through this process ensuring that the best possible prices are reached for any items taken to one of our two salerooms or sold ‘on site’ at the residence if deemed viable.”

The auction house has a great track record of finding cash amongst people’s possessions in the county.

“In Derry City I spotted an old corkscrew which the owner was using as a doorstop and thought to be of no value. We took it to auction and got her 280 for it.

“Normally good corkscrews can make between 10 and 50 but we had two collectors in the room on the night who knew this was a special little item.

“After a bidding war which had everyone in our Ballycastle sale room on the edge of their seats the corkscrew eventually settled on the price of 280.

“I did a house clearance in Limavady and saved a table from the skip which the owner had thrown away before we got there thinking it worthless. It went onto make 1200 at one of our auctions.

“Our advice is never throw anything away - call us first and we will come and look at it for you, free of charge,” said Gerry.