The house you just inherited was occupied by a hoarder. Now what?
One idea is to just sell it as is - to an investor. But assuming you want to deal with it yourself, here are a few organizational tips based on my past experience:
Identify and remove Valuables and Keepsakes
If this is emotional - say a family member lived there - spare yourself the trauma of personally sifting through it all. Have someone you trust walk through with a camera and identify the valuables and sentimental items worth keeping. You can use Zoom or Face-time as they do a walk-through the house to make sure you don't overlook areas.
Separate the Junk from the Resale
Hire an estate planner to go through the house and identify anything that can be sold. Have them label and index each item with an estimate of selling price.
Haul away the Junk
Anything that's not labeled by your planner can be removed. Hire a junk removal team to haul away.
Side-note: San Diego is over-supplied with these guys right now based on all the pick-ups I see with "Junk Removal" signs parked along my commute. I suggest calling a couple for competitive bids.
Schedule the Estate Sale
Your planner should be able to schedule a weekend and advertise the event. The planner will take a cut and if you're lucky the event will pay for itself - or even produce a profit.
Final Clean-up
Anything not sold can be given away, donated, or call your junk hauler guys back in.
Final Notes
You'll notice I've treated this like a project manager - i.e. outsourced it all. If you have time and patience you could do it all yourself. This is just my personal preference. I've done garage sales and yard sales and didn't find the experience a good use of my time.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
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