Woman Buys Ex-Hoarder’s Home, Spends 4 Years Cleaning Before Relatives Demand Heirlooms They Neglected

Hoarders are notoriously attached to their possessions. So, buying something from a hoarder can often bring unexpected challenges. This is exactly what happened to u/throwaway5638134, who bought a house from a hoarder back in May 2018.

The house was massive, boasting 6 bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms. Initially, everything seemed fine, but soon, issues with the former owner’s family surfaced. Although legally protected, was the harassment OP faced ultimately worth it?

“When I bought it, the contract stated that I take ownership of the house and everything in it. The lady who owned it died, and her heirs could not deal with the stench and literal mountain of junk and waste in it (you could only open the door not even 8, and some rooms had the junk filling them wall to wall and floor to ceiling). Well, it took me these last 4 years to finish cleaning, fixing, and updating it. While doing the cleaning I made sure to check everything before throwing it out. Ended with more than $20k of money, some nice jewelry, antique furniture, and finally a stunning 40s style, lace-covered wedding dress. This woman took care of that dress until she couldn’t anymore, and it took just some minor work to restore it.”

Hoarder’s Family Calls Out Woman For Doing The Right Thing

OP not only bought the house but also invested time and money into fixing it. Despite their efforts, the hoarder’s family started to create problems when they saw the high value of some recovered items. Finders keepers, losers weepers, right?

“I currently don’t have a partner, but I decided that it would be the dress I will be wearing if I ever get married. While doing the cleaning, I reached out to the heirs to pass on some pictures and mementos (Christmas personalized ornaments, some kid artwork…), and because of that, I had one of them in my FB friends list. After restoring the dress, I posted a photo on FB. This woman saw it and demanded the dress and heirlooms back. I refused, and legally they can’t do anything. If those items were so precious to them, they should have cleaned the house themselves instead of selling it to me. Now she and all her family are calling me out on social media.”

This situation appears trivial with one side being unreasonable. As OP points out, if the heirlooms were so valuable, why didn’t the family clean the house before selling it? This story was shared on r/AITA, where it quickly garnered attention.

What Does The Internet Have To Say

u/zakatekaluka commented, “Recovering hoarder here. Legally, you are in the right. Morally, you are also in the right. And though I cannot speak for the woman whose things you now own, I can give you insight into how I would feel if I died before I could find homes for my treasures— I would want someone who cared enough to restore and respect the items to have them. You saw the beauty in them, as did she. You didn’t just chuck it all in a dumpster. Take them, wear them, and be happy to honor the original owner. Her family did not view these things as anything but a hassle.”

u/AGirlHasNoName2018 added, “It’s a lot to clean a hoarder’s house. They could have hired a service if they were mentally unable to do it but instead, they dumped it on someone else who paid them to take the house and all that’s in it. If they cared about the items, they should have offered you money or asked you to keep an eye out. It’s yours; you did the work. No matter the house’s price, it likely doesn’t even out because a hoarding situation is a disaster, and cleaning it is tough.”