Avery Associates specialists for house clearance in London talk about compulsive hoarding house clearances……..
In Early November 2010 I was instructed to carry out a house clearance in Clapham by one of my regular solicitors. He asked me to meet him at a property in Landor Road, London SW4 and told me to bring a torch, tool kit and protective clothing as the property was in a state of disrepair and was extremely cluttered as a result of almost twenty five years of compulsive hoarding. I was not put off because our house clearance company has carried out countless house clearances in cases of obsessive compulsive hoarding disorder, and where properties have become so cluttered that access has become limited, hazardous and at a point where the rooms are no longer functional as living space.
I arrived at the property in question to find it was on three floors with a basement flat. I could see straight away evidence of hoarding as the windows at all levels had items of furniture and junk barricaded against them so they could not be opened. I soon realised that this was an extreme case of hoarding and the largest of its kind that I had viewed, but it was not until I entered that I saw the full extent of the hoarding. I opened the front door but it was jammed against a pile of clutter so I squeezed myself through the small gap along with my client.
There was no electricity and to move inside I had to climb on top of clutter over a metre high. We slowly climbed around the house and apart from two of the fourteen rooms were unable to open any doors as they were jammed shut from the inside where clutter had fallen against them. Two hours later we emerged and I returned to my office. After considering the scale of the hoarding I contacted my client agreed a fee and time scale. We started the house clearance three days later and worked five full days with my team of six specially trained staff.
We cleared almost thirty ton of waste from the property which included six tons of clothing which was unfortunately damp, musty and beyond redemption, but in this case of compulsive hoarding we did manage to distribute a large amount of furniture and effects to our charitable contacts. Apparently the contents were amassed by the home owner, a well-liked and very sweet elderly lady who had the intended to donate them to the poor and needy in Poland. Sadly, she never got around to it due to her failing health, creating a situation far beyond her control.
It’s quite normal for people to be curious and local people and neighbours were fascinated and amazed at the sheer volume of contents that were being removed, but showed the greatest respect throughout the house clearance. If you live in Central London, or, in fact, anywhere in London or the surrounding counties and you are looking for a London house clearance company to clear a property, don’t hesitate to contact us on 0800 567 7769
