Hoarding is a disorder. It involves excessive acquisition of large quantities of objects that fill the living areas of a home, and the inability or unwillingness to discard these objects.
If you've never been in a hoarder home that has not been cleaned up and/or cleaned out, count yourself fortunate. Besides the clutter, there are often insect and rodent issues.
A few years ago I had the opportunity to engage with a potential client whose tenant was a hoarder. The landlady moved to the west coast and had been renting the condo to a couple for 18 years. The wife passed away and the husband continued to rent the condo. The landlady did not drop by. Ever.
When the husband passed away, the landlady made arrangements for me to get a key and report back to her on what needed to be done to get the condo ready to sell. She was in for a BIG surprise.
I advised her that she would get more for the condo if it were emptied and cleaned, at a minimum. She took my advice and hired a junk hauling service. They made 8 trips to the dump with their huge box truck.
Two years ago, I worked with an investor who wanted to purchase a home. We were not prepared for what we saw when we entered the house. This seller chose to sell the property as-is. It was to be the buyer's responsibility for emptying the house.
One of the guest bedrooms had been dealt with, but it wasn't empty either. Our guess is that whoever was responsible for clearing the house ran out of steam.
We opened the door and found a sea of stuffed black trash bags.
My client chose to not make an offer on the property, even though the house was priced with the work needed to be done taken into consideration.
It took more money, time and effort for the condo owner to properly prepare to list her property compared to the throw-open-the-door-and-watch-your-step approach taken by the home seller. Think of the liability issues that could arise from showings in the unclean home.
If you haven't been in a hoarder house, it's not something to look forward to.
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