A TRUE STORY
We recently purchased a home from a hoarder who collected a tremendous amount of garbage, knick knacks and magazines. During our pre-purchase inspection, it was difficult to walk through the house because the floors were covered in belongings and also piled from floor to ceiling. We assessed the home and found the exterior structure to be strong; the house was not falling apart. Under normal circumstances (and with homes in better conditions) we’d consider getting a house inspector on hand as they have an expert eye for this kind of property. If you’re looking to buy a normal property then this is the best route, just make sure you check a list of the best syracuse inspector out there, or indeed in your area, before putting down any money. However, due to the state this house was in it was better for us to assess ourselves. The garden was a mess but our landscaping team wasn’t concerned. As we walked in, there was a very noticeable stench from garbage plus a terrible odor that clearly needed more than the odd spray of Lysol and Linen Spray to freshen up the place. It was awful! It was tough and hazardous just walking through to do the assessment. The kitchen sink had actually fallen down into the cabinet (see photo below on the left). The hoarder was absolutely unable to care for this house, (see photo below on the right).
When a house is left to deteriorate like this, pests start to find it as a very suitable habitat. In this case, some bees had decided this was their new home and had built a hive in the kitchen wall. It was huge and a tragedy waiting to happen; the bees could have stung the hoarder numerous times, causing death. Rat feces everywhere was a sign that they were present as well.
Our team went in prepared, but we soon realized that some of us were getting bitten; the house was infested with fleas. Upon further inspection, we found they were in every room. (Read more about flea diseases in our previous blog.) The hoarder was living in very hazardous conditions and made the right decision to engage us.
Now, most potential home buyers would run the other way, but we walk straight in, enjoying the challenge and knowing that we’ll help the hoarder move into a safer living environment. In this case, the daughter took her mother to live with her in Texas. Of course the seller wanted a discrete settlement; we made an offer, closed quickly and she left with the cash to start a new life in Texas. We opened escrow on a Thursday and it was funded by Tuesday the following week.
We are now working on cleaning up the home. Our crew had to wear protective suits, to prevent being bitten by the millions of fleas in the home. So yes, we do buy flea infested homes. It is hard to imagine, but our mission at hoarderhomes.com is to help hoarders get out of their terrible living conditions and get them the help they need. We give them cash for their home so they can start afresh. We don’t judge but rather try to make things easy all round. We buy the house as is and don’t require any explanation as to why or how it became that way. For more information contact us HERE
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