Cheapest ways to clear a hoarded house?

theartfullodger

Have the couple, their relatives or their estate(s) given you written permission to dispose of their assets?

Alan2020

Depending on area, get professional company or get massive skips, about £300 in London (no rubble) 18yrds or roro 40yrd Skip. Hire labourers to dump everything in the house, you may want carpets etc to go in too.

Owain_Moneysaver

sheramber wrote: »

Just make sure you mark the bundles clearly as it is easy to get mixed up.

Invest in multipacks of different coloured strong binbags Example £8 - £12 per fifty.

And do check pockets, handbags, under/behind drawers etc as you go for hidden stashes of money, bank books, savings certificates, share certificates and other loot.

sheramber

When my dad cleared his uncle's house he found money tucked away in odd places that could easily have been missed without going through everything.

Similarly ,a friend found thousands of pounds in a shoe box tucked at the back of a wardrobe when clearing a relative's house.

AdrianC

sheramber wrote: »

When my dad cleared his uncle's house he found money tucked away in odd places that could easily have been missed without going through everything.

Similarly ,a friend found thousands of pounds in a shoe box tucked at the back of a wardrobe when clearing a relative's house.

^^^^ THIS! THIS! THIS! With bells on.

Whatever the cause for their "hoarding", you can guarantee that rationality went out the window at some point. Things of financial and sentimental value WILL be mixed up with utter rubbish. You may easily find yourself lobbing the property deeds or a pointer to a well-stocked savings account, along with 2014's junk mail.

If you get a clearance company in, make sure you really TRUST them to mention the art deco diamond and gold brooch that was lurking somewhere unexpected.

bouicca21

^^^^
I agree. Pretty sure the house I’m thinking of has money stashed away. I just hope there’s a will that leaves money and headache (plus possible rodents) to someone else.

Davesnave

AdrianC wrote: »

You may easily find yourself lobbing the property deeds.....

This happened about 8 years ago, when over-zealous clearance of a nonogenarian's house resulted in the destruction of paperwork concerning fishing rights on the river through my friend's farm.


It took about 3 years for the executors to go through lengthy procedures, re-establishing the rights at the Land Registry. Meanwhile, I enjoyed some free fishing.

ACG

Cakeguts wrote: »

I think with the pizza party the guests will need to bring a shovel.
:rotfl:

I reckon MoneySeeker might suggest they also bring their own pizza (Only messing moneyseeker).

Fire_Fox

Cakeguts wrote: »

If this is a truly hoarded house you will find that 99% of the hoard will be rubbish. Hoarders keep everything including the plastic wrapping from yesterday's lunch.

At the bottom of the heap you will probably find evidence of mice or rats so don't expect to find anything much worth keeping.

Utter nonsense. Hoarding disorder is a spectrum, just like other mental health conditions.

Different people hoard different types of things. Some hoard books, some hoard materials for craft projects, some hoard ornaments/ nick-nacks, some (very sadly) hoard pets. For the most part people accumulate items that they feel emotionally attached to, or perceive as useful. Hoarding anything and everything, or hoarding food waste is rare.

'Entertainment' TV shows are not a reliable sources of information on medical conditions.

jwil

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Utter nonsense. Hoarding disorder is a spectrum, just like other mental health conditions.

Different people hoard different types of things. Some hoard books, some hoard materials for craft projects, some hoard ornaments/ nick-nacks, some (very sadly) hoard pets. For the most part people accumulate items that they feel emotionally attached to, or perceive as useful. Hoarding anything and everything, or hoarding food waste is rare.

'Entertainment' TV shows are not a reliable sources of information on medical conditions.

Agree, I've cleared a hoarded house and it was all 'stuff' not rubbish. The occupier had collected and collected and collected various different things.