Selling a Hoarder a House: The Ultimate Guide

Selling a house can be a complicated process, as it heavily relies on finding the right people that will love the property and envision it as their future home. We have all heard about certain individuals who have issues with keeping too much stuff around the house to a point where most people would consider such living conditions difficult.

Hoarding is identified as a medical condition, which is usually associated with anxiety – individuals who suffer from this issue are unable to get rid of possessions, even if they no longer serve them a purpose. As you can imagine, the homes of hoarders can quickly become messy and filthy. When you try to sell a house in these conditions, obtaining an offer from buyers will surely be more than difficult.

In this article, we will provide you with the ultimate guide to selling a hoarder house.

Make the Necessary Safety Arrangements

Hoarders will have a number of different items in the house that will prevent the space from being cleaned appropriately. Usually, in these cases, living spaces become the perfect condition and environment for mold and bacteria to grow, which could put your health in danger when you come in contact with it. Additionally, there may be large amounts of dust particles everywhere and even potentially insects and rodents running around. It is imperative that you think about your own safety and consider wearing appropriate PPE, such as gloves and face masks, to avoid touching and breathing anything harmful to your health.

Start Cleaning

Evidently, cleaning the house is a requirement when it comes to hoarder houses. It would not be fair to the next buyers if the home was left in its condition for the next buyers, as they may take cleaning and organization more seriously than a hoarder. Again, this job will be more complicated than the usual cleaning job, therefore you will need professional cleaning supplies and the notion that it will take a long time to get everything back to its normal condition. You may consider hiring a professional cleaning service that specializes in these jobs, as they will have the products, training, and experience with achieving the best results.

Empty the House

Hoarders tend to collect all types of items around the house – these are not always objects that they deem as useful, but all kinds. They may even collect stuff they find outside in the bins, and bring them back to their home. Generally speaking, hoarders often have the ability to see the potential in items that no one else seems to want, resulting in the property becoming full of things. In such cases, aim to empty the house room by room, as it will make the process much easier before you allow people to view the property when you want to sell it.

Hire Skips for Disposal

The amount of things hoarders usually collect will be an issue when trying to sell the house, as many times it is difficult to even get into the house or have the space to move around. Clearing up the space will require much more than simply a few bin bags to rid of all the unnecessary rubbish that is laying around. It is a good idea to hire skips for disposal – although this may seem too much, you would be surprised to know that some hoarder properties end up requiring more than one skip to remove all items.

Think About Redecorating

Cleaning the home is not always the solution to this problem – properties can be in such a difficult state that they require a more drastic and permanent kind of treatment. If you have attempted to clean the home and you see that it does not look great, you may have to consider redecorating the property, such as painting the walls, for example. You should also think about replacing appliances such as ovens, microwaves, and boilers, which may not only be filthy, they may have not had the appropriate checks that all appliances require to ensure they could be used.

Check Your Selling Options

Selling a hoarded house may be very difficult, considering the damage that it may have endured throughout the time the individual lived in the property. If you have the time and the money to put into the property to ensure that it is clean and habitable once again, you may consult with a real estate agent directly if you want to sell the house. However, it is often difficult for real estate agents to sell these houses. There are private businesses that buy houses in detrimental conditions, which is ideal if you want to sell hoarder house. Doing the latter may be your only chance at ridding of the property, particularly if you are not able to put in the necessary work to flip it.

Hire Your Own Photograph

In order to sell a house, you are very likely to require decent pictures to post online for potential buyers to see and get people to become interested in making an offer. Hoarder houses can be difficult to sell if they are not in a good state, meaning that it will be completely up to the photographer to make the pictures look good. If you hire a professional yourself to take these pictures you are more likely to get photos that show the highlights of the property.

Do Not Be Embarrassed

Selling a hoarder house can be very embarrassing, whether you are the hoarder or one of your family members. It is important to remember that this is a diagnosed psychological condition, and that people are not able to control this themselves. Do not be embarrassed about the condition, and instead, make sure that you look for help or encourage your loved one to seek the support they need not only to realize they suffer from this condition but also to obtain the additional help that may support them to overcome this issue.

Selling a hoarder house can be a difficult process, it is important that you know how to handle the process properly. The information discussed on this page should provide you with an overview on how to achieve this so that you increase your chances of selling the house successfully.