'House of Horrors' will get snapped up at auction

Updated
House of Horrors
House of Horrors



A house that was nicknamed the 'house of horrors' by neighbours, will go up for auction. The property in Cleethorpes has a guide price of £65,000, after its value was destroyed by the hoarding habits of its owner.

The 1920s semi-detached home gained the nickname because the owner kept an incredible 40-years' worth of rubbish in the house. In several rooms the rubbish was piled right up to the ceiling. Eventually things got so bad that neighbours complained to the council.

The property after the clean-up
The property after the clean-up



The Grimsby Telegraph reported that the state of the property meant they got permission to enter using the Public Health Act. They took days to clear the outside of the property enough to find the front door. Once inside they found that not only was there an incredible amount of waste, but the fact that there was food and packaging in the pile meant it also gave off a powerful smell and immense heat.

North East Council Community Pride completely cleared the property, and it has gone on the market. It will need substantial work, but Dan Holland, the estate agent selling the property told the Mirror that if the buyer spends £40,000 they can bring it up to scratch, and sell it on for around £130,000. If it goes for anywhere around the guide price of £65,000, there's a good profit to be made.

The bathroom
The bathroom


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Hoarders

Hoarding only really tends to hit the news when we get dramatic examples like this. However, less dramatic forms of hoarding are thought to affect around 5% of all people.

And while moderate hoarders might not suffer any ill-effects for most of their life, it can reach a crisis point when it comes to downsizing. By this stage, there are often several decades of clutter clogging up the family home, depressing its value, and making it difficult for the owner to imagine being able to live in a smaller space.

The experts say that in these circumstances often the family step in and start throwing things away. This, they warn, is a dangerous approach, because the hoarder often has emotional attachments to the clutter, and by failing to appreciate this, throwing items away can cause arguments and even family rifts.

The solution, they say, must be personal: the individual has to decide they want to clear the clutter themselves, and find a way to break the emotional connection.

One useful method is to take the person out of their property and show them picture of the clutter. Often they will not recognise it as their own home, because they have stopped seeing the mess.

Alternatively, it can be a painstaking process of going through each item and asking how important the emotional connection is, whether it would be of more use to someone else (like a charity shop) or whether they could make money by selling it. It can be time-consuming and frustrating, but it can also help an older person through the difficult process of moving on from the family home.

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