Do You Know What Hidden Treasures Are in Your Home?

Do you know what's hiding in your home? You could be living among treasure! That dusty oil painting left behind by your grandparents, or some old rusty vase, could very well pay for your next vacation! Thousands of people tune in to watch Antiques Roadshow, a popular television series that travels around and appraises peoples' antiques, in hopes that they strike it big. What do you know about your antiques?

Get an Appraisal

It never hurts to get an appraisal of an antique. It's entirely possible that there's something in your pile of ugly old junk that could be worth serious money. If you are lucky enough to get tickets to the Antiques Roadshow, you can get your appraisals there. If not, there are plenty of places that will give you free appraisals to see if you have anything of value. If someone is putting pressure on you to sell, you know you have something good. Also, it doesn't hurt to get a second opinion to make sure you aren't getting scammed out of some cash. 

Selling

If you happen to be one of the lucky ones who come across a very valuable antique, what are you going to do? Remember you have options! You can either sell it or hold onto it. If you choose to sell, take a look at these do's and don'ts:

Do's

• Get a few different appraisals to make sure you know what you are working with.
• Take some time and research online to see if there is a collector out there looking for something specific. If you have what they want, they will pay top dollar.
• Handle your antique(s) with extreme caution. The last thing you want is to crack or damage your valuable(s) before you have the chance to sell.

Don'ts

• Don't get pressured into selling something that you might not be ready to sell yet.
• Don't ake the first deal that is offered. You might not have enough information to put a selling price on your item. An antique dealer might sense that you are an amateur and try to take advantage of the situation.
• Don't be rude to any future buyers. It's ok to turn down their offer, but just know they will remember you, and if you come back to sell they might give you the boot.

Keeping

If you find out your antique is worth a fortune and don't want to sell; don't worry, you don't have to. There is nothing wrong with holding onto an antique. Just be aware of its surroundings. You would hate to have your dog run into a table and send your precious vase toppling to the ground.

So what do you have in your home that could be worth some serious coinage? Go explore!