I bought my grandmother’s hoarding house for $20,000 – I was surprised by what I found inside

An Indiana woman who bought her grandmother’s “most cluttered house” for $20,000 to save it from state foreclosure has opened up about what she found inside and how she’s working to transform it into a stunning home for him. family.

Brandy Hagewood told Realtor.com® that she bought the three-bedroom home in Angola, IN, in December 2022 when her grandmother, Marian, moved into a nursing home.

Under state law, when a person moves into a care facility, the state takes the individual’s possessions and then sells them at auction after they pass. Marian asked her family if they could buy her house to prevent the state from taking it.

Hagewood, who was raised by her grandmother and spent most of her childhood in the Angola home, could not bear the thought of losing her. She and her fiancé decided to buy it for $20,000.

Marian died in August 2023, and Hagewood and her family began cleaning out the house in early 2024. She hoped to return it to the cozy, warm environment she remembers.

“My mother was an addict who wasn’t there to raise me, so my grandmother helped fill the role of ‘Mommy’ for me. She was my best friend, Hagewood tells Realtor.com. “I grew up in my grandmother’s house and it was a wonderful place to grow up. We had pigs, rabbits, raccoons and all kinds of pets. Most of my happy memories are from that house.â€

However, the purchase of the house and the cost of cleaning it up have left Hagewood with no money to remodel the property.

On her GoFundMe page, she explains that she is now unable to afford the money needed to pay for containers to dispose of trash at home.

“I’m at the point where I have a whole room of garbage bags in the house that need to be thrown in a bin,” she wrote. “However, renting a dumpster ranges from $600 to $1,200. I can’t afford that right now.

“Donations will go to get a bin and help with cleanup costs. Anything extra will go towards remodeling and bills. Times are tough for everyone, so if you can’t donate, that’s fine, but if you can and want to help me save my grandma’s house, I would be forever grateful.

Hagewood, who has chronicled her work at home on social media, says she hopes that by sharing her story, she can spread a message of hope to anyone else struggling with hoarding.

Her grandmother didn’t always live in that kind of state, Hagewood says.

“She wasn’t always a hoarder, so it used to be a nice, clean house,” she tells Realtor.com. “She was the most giving person I’ve ever known. She lived on the property most of her life and loved it more than anything.”

Marian started collecting in 2010 when her husband died, Hagewood recalls. Family members went to great lengths to help Maria clean and organize the house – to no avail.

“After my grandfather died in 2010, the collection began,” says Hagewood. “We tried several times to help clean up the house, but it would end up exactly the same. During COVID, her health began to deteriorate and she had to have amputations, so she bought a small house and put it on the property after the “big house” became unlivable.

“She desperately didn’t want to go to a nursing home. She wanted to spend her days on the property. She did rehab, stayed with other family members, and stayed with me to try to stay out of the nursing home,” Hagewood says.

She’s tackled the living room, bedrooms and den, she says. A “huge chunk of stuff” was removed.

“I still need to finish the kitchen, laundry room and garage,” she says. “I want to empty it so I can assess the damage. It took a while because my partner works a lot of overtime to help us stay afloat, and I have three kids.

Her ultimate goal is to live there with her children.

“I’m hoping the house itself can be saved and we can just remodel,” she says. “If not, we will have to rebuild on the property. I would have to sell our current home for the funds and stay with family to do this anyway.

She adds that she feels good about bringing attention and awareness to hoarding and mental illness, because often hoarders and their family feel a lot of shame.

“I want to help people know they’re not alone. And if TikTok continues to take off, I’d like to help others clean their houses for free,” she says. “Because it’s such a hard cycle to break, and if I can help even one family, it will be worth it.

“I’ve also helped raise awareness of the Medicaid asset recovery program and help other families avoid this situation,” she adds.