AVALON – The property was on a typically small bayside lot in Avalon. The green sign announced the demolition sale run by Avalon Estate Liquidators and those that showed up to buy or browse were greeted warmly by Jeff Condinho.
Condinho and his partner Chuck Schumann have run the liquidation sale firm for over a decade, specializing in demolition sales on Seven Mile Island with the occasional foray south into North Wildwood or north into Townsends Inlet.
Avalon Estate Liquidators bill themselves as “extraction specialists” who can “squeeze every drop of cash” out of a home scheduled for demolition. “Why send that money to the landfill?” Condinho said.
Unlike some estate sale firms, this is a company that focuses on much more than selling the contents of a home. “One demolition company tells us that homes where we do the sale send five to seven tons less to the landfill.”
Owners are required to get anything they wish to preserve out of the home days before the sale because Avalon Estate Liquidators will sell anything that remains – anything. You want the deck planks, fine. Interested in the wood paneling, make an offer. The doors, the windows, the tiles, the pipes, the copper wiring, the cabinets, the light fixtures, outside plants – anything and everything has its price. This is all in addition to the typical contents sales of appliances, pot and pans, rugs, paintings and on and on.
One couple noted that “Jeff helped us recover $5,000 in cash that would have been in the landfill.”
Condinho claims he can look at a house and tell fairly accurately how much cash can be squeezed from the contents. “There are $5,000 houses and $25,000 houses,” he says.
Condinho and Schumann also have a regular clientele of buyers. After running these sales for so many years, a set of regulars tend to show up at the sales. Some are small contractors and builders, others owners of rental properties looking to upgrade appliances, and still others are individuals buying for their own use. Many show up with power tools ready to dismantle a purchase and cart it away.
Condinho, an Avalon resident, and Schumann, long known to tourists in the area as “Capt. Chuck” of the Big Blue Sightseer in Wildwood, both see their business as a way to give back to the community. They are not only extracting captured value for the property owners, but also recycling building products that would otherwise end up in the landfill. “This reduces the negative impact on the barrier islands and the surrounding environment,” Condinho said.
Avalon Estate Liquidators approaches each sale with total commitment. They handle all advertising, permits, site preparation, and security. Condinho and Schumann even do all the pricing of everything from small kitchen gadgets to windows and doors. When the sale is over the company secures the property and it is ready for demolition. The contract between Avalon Estate Liquidators and the property owner stipulates the percentage of the gross proceeds that are retained by the company.
When asked what differentiated his company from competitors, Condinho discussed his “sell all” approach and the eco-friendly focus of the company, but he also talked about the attempt to have fun at the work and the personality they bring to it.
Anyone who has met Condinho and Schumann can easily testify to the presence of personality. The focus on having fun at the job is also evident. At noon a house with a grill for sale but not yet taken will probably find the two men engaged in a cook-off which, truth be told, Schumann always wins. The real result, however, is an atmosphere that produces those repeat customers.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.
