If you've recently inherited a property that belonged to a hoarder, then you have to find a way to clear the home. You might want to do this job yourself if you were close to the deceased, which can be a time-consuming and daunting job.
To make things easier, you can rent a self-storage unit at the start of your clean-out process. Why is this a good idea?
Kick-Start the Clearance Process
You won't find it easy to start clearing a hoarded house. If your relative or friend has packed the property, then you won't know where to start.
Even if you get rid of some items, you might not feel that you're making real progress at this stage. You might feel dispirited and unmotivated about the work you have ahead of you.
If you rent a storage unit, then you can remove some items immediately. For example, if you want to keep some pieces of furniture, then you can simply take them out of the property and put them in storage.
If you clear more space initially, then you will likely feel like you're making better progress. You'll be able to move around the property more safely and easily. You'll be more motivated and less overwhelmed.
Give Yourself Time to Make Important Choices
If you were close to the person who left you their home, then you will be grieving their loss. Their hoarding also colors your feelings at this time. For example, you might feel angry, guilty, and frustrated by the state of their home and the hoarded reminders of the way they lived their life.
It can be hard to make decisions at this time. Your grief, anger, and guilt will affect the way you feel about their possessions. While you won't have a problem throwing away trash items, you might not be able to cope with tossing things that have a sentimental value.
You might go to extremes and empty the house without evaluating any of its contents. You might accidentally trash or give away valuable or sentimental items and lose important pieces of paperwork. In time, when you start to feel better, you might regret not keeping some things.
You can use a storage unit to hold items until you are ready to go through them. You won't have to make snap decisions now that you might later regret but can store items you aren't sure about. You'll clear the property and buy yourself some time until you feel strong enough to make the right decisions.
Speed up Your Property Sale
If you want to sell your inherited property quickly, then its hoarded contents are a problem. The longer it takes you to empty the house and clean it, the longer you'll have to wait to list it.
You can sell hoarded properties on an as-is basis. Some buyers will buy these houses and their contents so that you don't have to clear them out. However, your house will usually sell for a lower amount. Plus, you'll have limited opportunities to get into the hoard and save anything of value. You can't know what is in the house unless you go through everything yourself.
If you rent a storage unit, then you can speed up the clearance process. You can get rid of trash and items that you know you don't want. You can then put everything else in your unit. You'll be able to clear and clean the property faster so that you can put it on the market more quickly. You'll save time if you go through stored items later once you've emptied the house.
To get started, contact Tysons Self Storage. We have over 30 different sizes of self-storage units with flexible monthly rental agreements. We can help you find the perfect space for the parts of the hoard that you want to deal with later.
