Purchasing A Property With Hoarders As Tenants

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
General Real Estate Investing
11moFollow

Purchasing A Property With Hoarders As Tenants

David Graham
Investor · Bridgeville, PA · Member since 2017 · 27 posts · 16 votes

Hi All,

My brother and I already own a couple rentals in the Pittsburgh area, but this is the first time encountering a property with hoarders. It is a large side-by-side duplex (roughly 3,800 sq/ft) that is filled top to bottom with stuff in every room and even the outside to some extent. Both tenants will be notified upon closing that their leases will not be renewed, but we fully expect a majority of the items to be left behind.

For those of you that have encountered this before, how did you handle removal of the items? I've heard of people bringing in auctions, hosting sales, etc., but wanted to see what has worked, or not worked, for others.

Thanks!

2Reply
140 views

Most Popular Reply

Kevin Sobilo
Realtor · Hanover Twp, PA · Member since 2018 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
11mo

@David Graham, in my experience there is not enough of value to be worthwhile hosting a sale. True hoarders are not keeping things because they are valuable although there may be some saleable things. 

My typical approach is to sort through the property. I am first looking to clear out a bulk of items that can be donated to the Salvation Army. Where I am they will even take things like old TVs because they have a deal with an electronics recycling company. This stuff is free to get rid off and you might even consider taking the charitable deduction on your taxes for the donation. 

Then, as I sort through the property I set aside any scrap metal. There are often old appliances and large scrap items, but also many smaller items that can be added to the pile. Those can be hauled later to the scrap yard and get you a few $$$. 

Then I haul the rest directly to the dump or transfer station. I personally don't use dumpsters. Its cheaper to haul by truck and also you don't have to worry about a neighbor filling your dumpster up in the middle of the night (it happens!)

Lastly, I am setting aside anything that has enough value to be worth selling. For example, in the last house I rehabbed I found an old sign in the coal bin in the basement. I traded it to a collector for about $700 in silver ala "American Pickers" style barn-find deal making! With the price of silver spiking that is now worth well over $1k. 

3Reply
See this reply in the discussion

5 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Kevin Sobilo
    Realtor · Hanover Twp, PA · Member since 2018 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    11mo

    @David Graham, in my experience there is not enough of value to be worthwhile hosting a sale. True hoarders are not keeping things because they are valuable although there may be some saleable things. 

    My typical approach is to sort through the property. I am first looking to clear out a bulk of items that can be donated to the Salvation Army. Where I am they will even take things like old TVs because they have a deal with an electronics recycling company. This stuff is free to get rid off and you might even consider taking the charitable deduction on your taxes for the donation. 

    Then, as I sort through the property I set aside any scrap metal. There are often old appliances and large scrap items, but also many smaller items that can be added to the pile. Those can be hauled later to the scrap yard and get you a few $$$. 

    Then I haul the rest directly to the dump or transfer station. I personally don't use dumpsters. Its cheaper to haul by truck and also you don't have to worry about a neighbor filling your dumpster up in the middle of the night (it happens!)

    Lastly, I am setting aside anything that has enough value to be worth selling. For example, in the last house I rehabbed I found an old sign in the coal bin in the basement. I traded it to a collector for about $700 in silver ala "American Pickers" style barn-find deal making! With the price of silver spiking that is now worth well over $1k. 

    3Reply
  • Matt Dingus
    Real Estate Agent · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2020 · 83 posts · 76 votes
    11mo

    Hey David - Definitely different ways to go about it. I'm more on the side of just getting rid of the issue and hiring a cleanout/demo crew to take care of it. Especially if you're doing any demo on it anyway in addition to the cleanout. They can do it all. I use SWI a lot in the Pittsburgh area, they're solid for that. Done in 1-2 days. Not worth the time in my opinion going through the other routes of auction/selling. 

    1Reply
  • Denise SuppleeBusiness Member
    Realtor · Willow Grove, PA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 663 votes
    11mo

    Hi @David Graham, for hoarder situations, the easiest approach is usually just to treat it as a straight clean-out. Once the tenants are gone, take photos for your records, then bring in a junk removal service or a couple of dumpsters and clear everything out. Trying to sell or auction stuff usually isn’t worth the hassle.

    If anything clearly has value, you can set it aside, but otherwise, it's more important to get the place back to rentable condition as efficiently as possible.

    Spark Rental Co-Investing Club583 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    2Reply
  • Jamie DietzBusiness Member
    Lender · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2015 · 176 posts · 90 votes
    10mo

    I totally agree with @Matt Dingus and a few others that its best just to hire a clean out crew.  My clean out guys sometimes resale/scrap anything of value but its typically not worth your time.  If you need a referral feel free to reach out.  

    Next Door Capital515 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    0Reply
  • David Graham
    OP
    Investor · Bridgeville, PA · Member since 2017 · 27 posts · 16 votes
    10mo

    Thank you all for your input!

    0Reply
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.
Log InJoin for Free