Case Study; Hoarders House Clearance in Barnsley, South Yorkshire

The Danum House Clearance specialist hoarders team carried out an extreme hoarder clearance at a property in Barnsley recently.

 

The customer made initial contact with us and gave us a brief overview of the situation. Unfortunately, a close relative had passed away, and the customer now had the power of attorney and the responsibility of clearing the hoarded items so a sale of the property could be possible.

 

We arranged a site meeting with the customer within a couple of days because he didn’t live locally and had to commute from Retford to the property in Barnsley. The customer was quite anxious at the seemingly daunting volume of items at the property, but we reassured him that we see these types of extreme clearances regularly. Although it can seem overwhelming, we assured him that it’s nothing to be overwhelmed by, and we would be able to provide advice and potentially carry out the works.

 

 

 

Each room of the 3-bedroom semi-detached house was filled with various items. A few key points to consider here are that the average size of the items was very small, so the volume of items was high in each room, down to single small drill bits. The late relative had given some items in his will to charitable organizations, so they had to be recovered and documented as part of the sorting process. Some of the hoarded items were potentially hazardous, namely a room full of old tins of oil-based paint and other chemicals.

 

We created a plan to clear the property but thoroughly sort items on-site, as we were mindful that just loading and transporting them to waste transfer stations might risk losing some of the instructed items. We consulted experts in different fields to estimate the values of obscure items, including old tools, books, VHS, and some vintage radio equipment. We deducted the prices we estimated we could recover as part of the clearance work calculation, attempting to sell them through local auction houses in the months and weeks following the clearance. The scrap metal could also be recycled and monetized, ensuring the best value for the customer.

 

We quoted the customer and gave them a transparent plan of works, including where exactly the items of any value would be going and our intentions with them. The customer was pleasantly surprised with our quote and was happy to proceed immediately.

 

We booked our specialist hoarder clearance team leader, Paul, and two of our vehicles tailored for these specific clearances for the following week. The team worked relentlessly and recovered the list of items from throughout the hoarded rooms. The items were sorted and processed on-site, with loads being taken to waste transfer stations, scrap yards, and items of value taken back to our storage facility. The house was completely clear of items and swept through by Friday. During a follow-up visit, the customer expressed his wishes to have the carpets removed from the house, thinking it would be beneficial for marketing prior to selling the property at auction.

 

We sent a two man carpet clearance team in the carpet van to the property within 24 hours to remove the carpet and provide another final sweep through. The house was now completely ready for sale through a local property auction house, and the customer was very satisfied with the clearance and the weight lifted from his shoulders.

 

Our work didn’t stop there, and our cleaning and upcycle team processed the items of value so we could sell them to specialist buyers in our extensive network and through auction houses. The customer went on to sell the property for a price he was very happy with on the auction day, and the house has since become a lovely family home following an extensive refurbishment.

 

Danum House Clearance is the region’s premier hoarders house clearance company, and although this particular case study was in Barnsley, we regularly carry out hoarders clearances across the UK.

 

If you are feeling overwhelmed and would like to discuss a hoarders house clearance, even just for some impartial advice from one of our property clearance experts please feel free to get in touch with the Danum House Clearance team today

 

Aiden Poulton - Hoarder Property Clearance Expert