I bought my grandmother’s hoarder home for $20,000—I was stunned by what I found inside

An Indiana woman who bought her grandmother’s “hoarder house” for $20,000 to prevention it from being taken by nan authorities has opened up astir what she recovered inside—and really she is moving to toggle shape it into a stunning location for her family.

Brandy Hagewood told Realtor.com® that she purchased nan three-bedroom location in Angola, IN, successful December 2022 erstwhile her grandmother, Marian, was moved into a nursing home.

Under authorities law, erstwhile a personification is moved into a attraction facility, nan authorities takes complete nan individual’s properties and past sells them astatine auction upon their passing. Marian asked her family if they could acquisition her location to forestall nan authorities from taking it.

Hagewood, who was raised by her grandma and spent overmuch of her puerility successful nan Angola home, couldn’t carnivore nan thought of losing it. She and her fiancé made nan determination to acquisition it for $20,000.

Marian died successful August 2023 and Hagewood and her family began cleaning retired nan home in early 2024. She hoped to return it to nan cozy, lukewarm situation that she remembers.

“My mother was an addict who wasn’t astir to raise me, truthful my grandma helped capable nan domiciled of ‘Mom’ to me. She was my champion friend,” Hagewood tells Realtor.com. “I was raised successful my grandma’s home, and it was a awesome spot to turn up. We had pet pigs, rabbits, raccoons, and each kinds of pets. Most of my happy memories are from that home.”

However, nan acquisition of nan location and nan costs of cleaning it person near Hagewood without immoderate money to remodel nan property.

On her GoFundMe page, she explains that she is now incapable to spend nan money needed to salary for dumpsters to dispose of nan trash successful nan home.

“I’m astatine nan constituent wherever I person a full room of trash bags successful nan location that needs to beryllium tossed successful a dumpster,” she wrote. “However, renting a dumpster ranges anyplace from $600–$1,200. I presently cannot spend this.

“Donations will spell towards getting a dumpster, and helping pinch cleaning expenses. Anything other will spell towards remodel and bills. Times are reliable for everyone truthful if you can’t donate that’s fine, but if you tin and would for illustration to thief maine prevention my grandmother’s home, I would beryllium everlastingly grateful.”

Hagewood, who has been chronicling her activity connected nan location connected societal media, says that she hopes by sharing her story, she tin dispersed a connection of dream to anyone other who is struggling pinch hoarding.

Her grandma had not ever lived successful that benignant of state, Hagewood shares.

“She wasn’t ever a hoarder, truthful it utilized to beryllium a beautiful, cleanable home,” she tells Realtor.com. “She was nan astir giving personification I’ve ever known. She lived connected nan spot astir of her life, and she loved it much than anything.”

Marian began hoarding successful 2010 erstwhile her hubby passed away, Hagewood recalls. Family members made galore attempts to thief Marian cleanable and shape nan home—to nary avail.

“After my grandfather died successful 2010 is erstwhile nan hoarding started,” Hagewood says. “We tried aggregate times to thief cleanable retired nan home, but it would extremity up nan nonstop aforesaid way. During COVID, her wellness started to diminution and she had to person amputations, truthful she bought a mini location and put it connected nan spot arsenic nan ‘big house’ had go unlivable.

“She desperately did not want to spell to a nursing home. She wanted to unrecorded retired her days connected nan property. She did rehab, stayed pinch different family members, and stayed pinch maine to effort and enactment retired of nan nursing home,” Hagewood says.

She has tackled nan surviving room, bedrooms, and den, she says. A “big bulk of stuff” was removed.

“I still person to decorativeness nan kitchen, laundry room, and garage,” she says. “I want to get it emptied truthful I tin measure damages. It’s taken a while because my partner useful a batch of overtime to thief support america afloat, and I person 3 children.”

Her eventual extremity is to unrecorded location pinch her children.

“I’m hoping nan location itself is salvageable and we tin conscionable remodel,” she says. “If not, we will person to rebuild connected nan property. I’ll person to waste our existent location for nan costs and enactment pinch family to do it either way.”

She adds that she’s emotion bully astir bringing attraction and consciousness to hoarding and intelligence illness, because truthful often hoarders and their family consciousness truthful overmuch shame.

“I want to thief group cognize they aren’t alone. And if nan TikTok keeps taking off, I’d for illustration to thief others cleanable their homes retired for free,” she says. “Because it’s specified a difficult rhythm to break, and if I tin thief moreover conscionable 1 family, it will beryllium worthy it.

“I’ve besides helped bring consciousness to nan Medicaid property betterment programme and thief different families debar this situation,” she adds.