Flat formerly owned by a hoarder

Snakey

Apparently in a disgusting state and will need "completely refurbishing"... does anyone have any experience of hoarding who can tell me what to expect? It will have been emptied of its contents by the time I move in, but is there anything in particular I should be worried about that might not show up in a survey report?

Priced accordingly, hence quite tempted, but not if I am going to have to contend with e.g. bedbugs in the floorboards and mouse-eaten wiring!

Thanks, all!

DTDfanBoy

Are you renting or buying, in either case you certainly want to view the property before proceeding

witchy1066

someone else not so long ago started a thread about buying a house that belonged to a hoarder and the problem they had was the surveyor could not conduct a proper survey because it was full to the brim of stuff,

if it was me I would be asking for it to be emptied before the survey otherwise it will be very hard to see how bad a condition the actual structure of the building is , how can a surveyor test for damp or dry rot if he can not get to the walls ?

Snakey

Potentially buying, apparently it is a new instruction and cannot currently be shown as Environmental Health are involved. It is around 15% cheaper than other flats in the block. I'm wondering whether to start getting excited and research online for costs of kitchens, bathrooms etc in anticipation of maybe putting in an offer once it's available for viewing (properties move fast around here), or whether I would be biting off more than I can chew and I should leave it for someone else who knows what they're doing.

Edit: Witchy, I hadn't even thought that they might not be going to empty it! You're right, if it's in that sort of state when I come to view it then I won't take the chance.

G_M

Just put in a ridiculously low offer, and say that you are prepared to wait. If hey get higher offers, you will buy elsewhere. If they want to come back to you later, you will be happy to proceed.

Find out how much a skip costs for a weekend, and two strong beefy lads/lasses for 2 days work carting stuff out. Factor that intoyour budget!

As well as the complete renovation.

whitewing

If it's hoarded stuff, I would have thought it would take longer than 2 days to get rid, even if you skip the lot. And you would need multiple skip loads. Get a professional company to quote. You may also not be able to take such large quantities of hoarder stuff to the local recycling centre without special permission from the council.

There is a possibility that even if they say it will be empty, that may not be achieved so ensure that there are penalties etc in place from the solicitor to cater for that.

BobQ

You have the main points covered.

Apart from the obvious of viewing when empty things to look for are:

rodents, you can get some electronic ultrasound devices to deter them, but they could be under the floor or ceiling voids, watch for holes that they might use (where radiator/water/gas/pipes pass under the floor, or out through the external walls or behind the sink, WC (a mouse can get through a hole the size of a pencil)

insect infestation, carpet beetles etc, you can apply a spray but the blighters hide anywhere that is not often disturbed (corners, meter cupboards) although that could be anywhere in a hoarders flat. I would consider replacing all the carpets.

Chewed wires yes but under the floorboards a surveyor cannot see. An electrical test might identify problems but even then might not find anything.

Take a torch and a mirror on s stick to look around the back of things (sinks, WCs, water tanks)

Or just get the place fumigated.

Snakey

Thanks for the replies! This is really helping me think things through as I now see that I made two very big assumptions, namely that a) the hoarder has left the premises (died or gone into a home or whatever) and b) the flat will therefore be cleared of stuff and shown/sold empty.

If there is a hoarder in situ, I am not going to go near it as I can't imagine that such a person would be serious about selling. I don't want to lose legal and survey fees on someone who thinks they have had an epiphany about how great it would be to start afresh but is not, when it comes to it, going to be able to do any such thing (and will just stall and delay until finally throwing a wobbly and pulling out due to me "pressurising" him or her).

Mrs_pbradley936

We once bought a house from some seriously dirty people. Dog owners that let them pee everywhere. House had never seen a hoover or a damp cloth.

My sister-in-law and her husband viewed because they wanted to move near us but ran a mile. It was still for sale months later and my husband offered them £20K less than a comparable house if it was in normal condition. The house was about 6 years old at the time.

Anyway they accepted our low offer and so we bought it as an investment. We got a skip and threw out carpets, oven, hob, fridge etc. and left it with the windows open for a few days.

Then we decorated it from top to bottom. Laid new carpets and furnished it via Loot (a newspaper that was before Ebay).

We scored from buying it because it brings in £1200 per month, and we paid £80K for it. So we became landlords by accident and have since bought other places to let.

I_have_spoken

what to expect?

Floorboards saturated with widdle, quite tricky to stop smell returning
Cockroaches, mites and ticks and their eggs everywhere
Waste pipes blocked with fat and human waste
General poor decor

embob74

There's a programme on one of the Sky channels called Hoarders.
Each episode shows a hoarder being helped with their problem and clears their houses out.
I saw one recently and it was a hillbilly family and the older lady had been a hoarder for years. They managed to clear the house out only to find that the years of rubbish had hidden a mouse infestation and they had chewed and rotted the floorboards to such an extent the house had to be demolished :eek:
I believe American houses are built mainly out of wood rather than brick but it just shows the problems are not the ones you can see but the things you can't!