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Selling the Home of a Hoarder

By Bill Primavera

Real Estate Sales Representative with William Raveis Real Estate

March 29, 2011 08:53 AM

Has anyone else encountered the listing of a home that has been occupied by a hoarder? It presents definite problems in that, in my case at any rate, it involved estate sales where the owner had passed away before being able to deal with the problem. That's when I had to get down to work and find suppliers to evaluate the obsessively collected items and dispose of them. It's an entire category of preparing a house for sale. Read my story, The Secrets and Dangers of Hoarding in the Home at:

Hoarding

Bill Primavera is a marketing practitioner who has transitioned into a career as a realtor with Coldwell Banker in New York, representing all of beautiful Westchester and Putnam Counties. He is also a newspaper columnist, known as The Home Guru, writing about a broad variety of subjects pertaining to the home, garden and community. To review an index of his articles, visit: www.PrimaveraRealEstate.com or, for more information about buying or selling homes in his area, call him directly at 914-522-2076.

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Roger Davidson

DiSalle Real Estate Co. - Maumee, OH

Maumee, Ohio Real Estate

I can't even watch 'Hoarders' on TV. I can't imagine getting a listing like that.

Mar 29, 2011 08:56 AM

Peg Barcelo

Fluff My House! Home Staging Inc. 250.486.6369 - Summerland, BC

The FlufftasticStager from Summerland, BC

You're URL for hoarding, just takes us back to this blog.

Mar 29, 2011 08:58 AM

Donald Reich

Madison Specs - New Rochelle, NY

Cost Segregation Specialist

The easiest solution for a broker - tell your homeowner to get a self storage unit, and put all their clutter in it. Let them sort thru it on their own time, while you, the agent, can sell their home!

Mar 29, 2011 09:08 AM

Cindy Logan

Mark 1 Real Estate Advisors - Huntington Beach, CA

Bill, my new friend, Evelyn Gray, www.evelyngray.com, has been educating me on hoarding. She's a hoarding specialist, having one certificate in working with hoarders and is working on another. I think she's brilliant! One session with her, making just a couple of small changes, made me get my car organized and clean!

Mar 29, 2011 09:09 AM

Matt Kirkpatrick

Washington, PA

Those hoarders definitely have mental problems, that would not be a fun listing.

Mar 29, 2011 09:12 AM

Matt, this doesn't just apply to "hoarders". It's anyone with too much clutter that has accumulated over years and years of home - ownership.

Mar 29, 2011 09:15 AM

Clutter is normal for a busy family with work and kids,etc.

But hoarding is a sign of mental problems

Mar 29, 2011 09:21 AM

Anonymous

Some Insight into a Hoarder's Life

As a Hoarding Specialist and a Professional Organizer, it's important to note that when you're dealing with a hoarder, that there could be a substantial amount of structural damage done to the property such as dry rot and mold, as well as broken plumbing and nonworking appliances.

A lot of hoarders don't have a chemical imbalance (mental illness) and have been known to have very high IQs. Sometimes the hoarder has had something traumatic happened in their lives, or they just grew up in a hoarding environment and don't know how to live any other way, just to name a few things.

Hoarding has become more prevalent in the public's eye and needs to be dealt with in a nonjudgmental, compassionate, and understanding manner for the hoarder to be able "let go" and "gift" their stuff to others, as it's a health and safety issue for them. Hoarding has been known to start in early childhood, but not readily identifiable at that age; yet other studies state it's more widely recognizable around ages 55-70. Remember, their "stuff" has been with them a long, long time and has become part of them and who they are.

A term used as "clearing out" (everything goes) while the hoarder is still alive without the hoarder's permission to "let go" and "gift" their items, in extreme cases, the hoarder could possibly end up in severe depression and/or commit suicide. Again, that's because all their items define "who they are."

Think about it by asking yourself, "How would I feel if someone else made decisions about getting rid of my stuff based on their lifestyle choices?" I'm sure it would be a traumatic experience for you too. What needs to be considered when a hoarder is alive, is that their health and safety comes first; and how that is accomplished, is to bring in a team of professionals to work on "behavior modification."

If anyone would like some additional insight into a hoarder's life, feel free to contact me. Visit www.evelyngray.com or call me directly (626) 576-2059 PST.

Apr 01, 2011 06:01 AM

Brad Chandler

Keller Williams - Springfield, VA

Since 2003, Express Homebuyers has bought many homes in DC, MD and VA from hoarders. We have also bought many homes that should have been unlivable due to animal feces and urine throughout the house. These sellers often can't sell the traditional way because of the immense amount of cleanup needed in their homes before the public can make it. www.Expresshomebuyers.com will make owners an as-is offer to buy the home of a hoarder and the work will then be left up to them.

Jul 22, 2013 01:25 AM

Inna Ivchenko

Barcode Properties - Encino, CA

Realtor® • GRI • HAFA • PSC Calabasas CA

I agree with #8, the people who live there seems don't notice any clutter or urine smell or even bugs.....I don't try to understand. All clients who i work with, who had hoarding issues, had indeed high IQ( lawyers, teachers, ex CEOs,...). It is really sad. Regular buyers are usually terrified with such houses.

Jun 22, 2014 05:56 PM

Bill Primavera

Yorktown Heights, NY

Unfortunately, hoarders' obsession with junk can lead to fires, attracts vermin, endangers their families, neighbors and themselves. Cleaning the piles of trash is hard to enforce:( Most of the times, the homeowner will not even open the door or listen to your advice. I would suggest disclose and sell it without showing to an investor who knows who he/she is getting into.

Jul 30, 2015 06:05 PM

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