Inheriting The Home Of A Hoarder in South Jersey
Inheriting a home can be hard. The process of inheriting a hoarder home is even more difficult. Hoarding is a mental disorder that involves holding on to unnecessary items and developing emotional attachments to these items. Hoarders have an extremely difficult time parting with these things, even if they may seem frivolous to someone who doesn’t understand hoarding. Hoarders often feel the need to hide their hoarding because they fear that they will be met with judgment. For this same reason, there are not a lot of statistics out there related to hoarding.
Many hoarders never want to seek or accept help for their hoarding disorder. The truth is that hoarding affects millions — whether that means directly or indirectly. Even if you yourself are not a hoarder, you may not even be aware that you know someone who is. It can be an uphill battle trying to get a hoarder to understand the impact their illness is having on their friends and family. That impact doesn’t end with their passing. In fact, it may even make it harder on their loved ones who are trying to grieve.
How to Handle An Inherited Hoarding Situation
It can be very overwhelming having to go through a late loved one’s belongings. Even more so if that person is a hoarder who has a lot more stuff than your average person. There will be a lot of unnoteworthy items, but there could also possibly be some important stuff in there as well. It’s important to note that you should not take on this project on your own. Many hoarding situations also pose a potential biohazard threat, which can be unsafe to enter without proper protection. A professional hoarding cleanup company near you will be able to help by providing the necessary estate cleanout services, including: property cleanout, junk removal, deep cleaning, sanitization, odor elimination and more. Technicians will be able to take care of the cleanup process for you. They will remove debris and contents that can not be salvaged, put aside any items you want to keep, and diligently disinfect the home.
Inheriting A Hoarder Home & Inheriting The Unknown
When dealing with the estate of a hoarder, there is just no predicting what you could come across. Sometimes the hoarder themselves couldn’t even tell you what is underneath all that junk — much less the loved ones left behind to pick up the pieces. As previously mentioned, hoarders often tend to keep their lifestyle very private. The fear of judgment and pressure to reform themselves from their loved ones is generally why hoarders feel the need to hide themselves. For this reason, inheriting a hoarder home can feel like a wheel of fortune — or misfortune. You never know what they may have in there. Anything from magazines, old clothes, knick knacks and debris, to other, less desirable items may potentially be found. That is why it’s important not to take matters into your own hands in a severe hoarding situation. You could uncover hazardous materials and contents — or who knows what else. You don’t want to put yourself or your loved ones in harm’s way while dealing with a hoarding situation. Let the professionals help.
In addition to unknown contents, you will also be facing unknown conditions. There is just no way to predict any underlying health and safety issues. There is just no way for the hoarder to effectively clean and properly maintain the home around all that junk. So, just imagine what kind of contamination and damage could be lurking underneath all that stuff.
Structural Damage & Property Damage In A Hoarder’s Estate
Hoarding situations tend to be extremely unsanitary. Hoarders fill their homes with an immense amount of junk and clutter. This clutter also makes it nearly impossible to maintain the condition of the home. That being said, the living conditions in a hoarder home are not acceptable. The potential for structural damage in a hoarder home is immense. Between being physically unable to clean due to clutter, and a lack of regard for one’s own well-being, the condition of the home is severely impacted.
Depending on the state the inherited home is in, the building materials could be seriously damaged. Mold and wood rot are two common property damage issues in hoarding situations. If the damage to the building materials is too severe, it’s possible that someone could get really hurt. Hoarding cleanup professionals are trained and equipped to safely navigate throughout a hoarding situation and provide a thorough and effective cleanup. Damaged building materials can make the home dangerous for you to be walking around in, let alone doing an intense cleanup.
How to Manage the Estate of a Hoarder
You may find yourself not knowing what steps to take after inheriting such a damaged property as a hoarder home. It is intimidating and overwhelming to inherit the property of a hoarder. Hoarder homes are filled with junk, and all that junk is hiding a whole slew of unknown health and safety concerns coupled with serious sanitation issues. The best thing you can do in this situation for your own safety and mental well-being, is to let a professional hoarding cleanup company in South Jersey help. The weight on your shoulders will be greatly lessened knowing that your inherited property is in good hands.
