| I read a story earlier this week about a Texas woman who found a 2000-year-old bust of ancient Roman commander Drusus Germanicus. She picked it up at a Goodwill for $34.99 and didn’t even know what she had until two years of digging turned up some interesting facts. Apparently, the bust once resided inside a full-scale model of a house from Pompeii in Aschaffenburg, Germany. What they think happened was an American soldier secretly looted the bust and brought it back home to Texas. No one knows exactly how it ended up at the Goodwill, but I’ve seen this happen a ton of times with probate property. Someone passes away without telling their family about the treasures they’ve collected over the years. Families who inherit these properties are usually so overwhelmed by the probate process, that they have zero clue that there might be some amazing treasures packed away in the house. To make the problem go away, they simply donate everything to places like Goodwill. Sometimes they even donate the whole house! And these charitable organizations just want to cash everything out as quickly as possible. My guess is this is exactly what happened to this amazing artifact. This is just one more reason I love working in probate real estate. If you have a keen eye, you can be the one to cash in on these hidden treasures. Oh, I almost forgot – the bust is currently on display in a museum in San Antonio and then will be heading back to its rightful home in Germany. Committed to your success, Ernie “Treasure Hunter” Vargas | The Probate Fox |
May 6
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