Grab Your Popcorn!
Who hasn’t settled in front of the tv, popcorn (that you struggle to eat because of the bugs) in hand, ready for the first peek into the front door of a hoarded house? Squeezing your body to the side to help the organizers get past heaps of garbage and boxes, cringing at the overwhelming population of whatever pest happens to be the guest star of the newest episode. Reality is, sometimes the best way for people to have a fresh start is to leave the hoard behind and start a new life in a new place. Sometimes, family members are left to deal with the overwhelming hoard and have no idea what their options are. So, if you find yourself standing in the midst of a hoard, is selling the home an option even if it is filled to the brim with someone else’s possessions or garbage?
Magic Wand of Real Estate
Unfortunately, some hoarded homes are beyond repair. There will have to be some assessments to ensure that the purchase of a property doesn’t result in an empty lot that a Flipper is unable to sell. It’s also important to keep in mind that the cost of garbage removal and repair will have to come out of the sales price. While it may have been worth a pretty penny in its prime, a hoarded home will take a lot of work to bring back to a livable condition. Oftentimes, a hoard can really be the source of emotional damage to the family members that are appointed to handle the clean up or resolution. So, if the goal is to unload a home that is beyond your ability to repair or too much stuff for one person to deal with, there is a Flipper out there that will gladly take the problem off of your hands and restore the property to pristine condition.
The Final Walk
It’s crazy at the end of a new episode of Hoarders when they show the before and after pictures and rooms that didn’t look like they existed appear before your very eyes, cleared of cobwebs and boxes, bathrooms that you would shower in if you didn’t know what was there just days before. In reality, hoarding can be devastating to a family and realistically, these families need help with options of what to do with a home that they just don’t have the time or resources to clear and fix.
One Foot In Front of the Other
Obviously, the first step in flipping a hoarded home is to bring in the dumpsters. Removal of garbage from a hoarded home can really range depending on the type of waste and of course the volume of waste. While this part of the process seems to be the most simple, it can actually be tedious work especially if there are pests involved.
Follow the Yellow Brick Road
Once all the waste has been removed from the home, demolition is typically a part of cleaning up after a hoard. Removing carpet, flooring, subfloor, to rid the property of damage and decay is expected. Some hoards can cause serious deterioration of the subfloor that can cause dangerous situations that may be uncovered during the clean up process. Drywall, cabinets, counters, fixtures, and bathtubs may be required depending on the effect of long term neglect as well. In some situations, it is necessary to start from the studs and rebuild. Remember, there are some animals that can cause serious damage to the structure of a property as well as the electrical of the property.
Starting to Rebuild
Once the possible electrical, structural, and plumbing are assessed and repaired where necessary, it’s time to start the rebuilding. In some cases, a hoarded house can get away with a new floor and a fresh coat of paint, but other times, there is far more damage that needs to be addressed before starting the process of recreating a new home. Drywall and subflooring are the beginning of the rebuilding process. Putting up new walls and a clean floor will reduce the possibility of the smells coming from a hoard into the new home of the lucky new owner. If there were pests involved, then it would be important at this point to go ahead and treat for those specific pests to ensure the new walls are safe from pest damage.
Bathrooms and Kitchens Sell a Home
The bathrooms and kitchen of every home are very important spaces. These two rooms can make or break the sale of a home. A big part of that is storage space like cabinets and pantries as well as the countertop. If the cabinets and countertops need to be replaced, this is the point where the new cabinet designs would take place. Choosing the right cabinets and countertops are pivotal in creating the right theme and ambience of a fresh new property. At this point if fixtures, tubs, and sinks need to be replaced they would be installed accordingly and if the current fixtures, tubs and sinks are staying, they will just need to be deep cleaned or refinished.
Slap a Fresh Coat of Paint
Time to start beautifying! Now that the mess is gone, the walls are new, the flooring is safe, and the cabinets are designed, it’s time to bring this home up to speed and touch all the cosmetic areas. Picking colors and painting give the now clean space a comfortable feel for the new buyer. Once the walls are painted, appliances are installed, this home is ready for some much needed TLC. Time to do a deep clean to make sure that everything is ready for a potential buyer so they can imagine making memories in this new space.
WHEW!
Restoring a hoarded home can take a lot of time, money, effort, and energy and doing all of that yourself may not be an option or an easy task. But there is help out there! Find the right buyer to take it off your hands and let them deal with the dirty work! Selling “as is” can help to assuage the emotional toll that cleaning up behind a hoard can take on a family. So, if you’re standing in front of a full home, make sure to look at the options you have to sell the property and the problem!