Selling a hoarder house in Duluth or Superior

Good to know first: you don't need to do any of this to ask us for a number, and a title company handles the closing paperwork. This page is here if you want the background.

Does it have to be emptied before anyone will buy it?

An agent will usually want it cleared before showing it, because buyers can't picture a home they can't walk through. A direct buyer doesn't need that. When you sell to us, you remove what you want to keep and the remainder stays for us to deal with. No dumpster, no sorting crew, and no strangers on a tour.

Before anything leaves the house

People rush this part and regret it. Whoever does the sorting, spend time looking for these first:

• Deed, title papers, and mortgage statements
• Tax bills and letters from the city or county
• Insurance policies
• Wills, trusts, and powers of attorney
• Cash, jewelry, and old savings bonds, which turn up in odd places
• Photos and anything the family would grieve losing

If it's someone else's house

This is where families get stuck. Being their child doesn't give you the right to sell or clear the place, and a person living this way may not want to leave. If they're the owner and can decide for themselves, the decision is theirs. A power of attorney or a guardianship changes who can sign, and that's something to take to an attorney. If the owner has died, the question becomes who has authority over the estate.

Hoarding can also be a health issue. A doctor or the county's social services can talk with you about that side of it. We're a home buyer, and that isn't our field.

When the city gets involved

Neighbors complain, or a firefighter sees inside. Here is what the rules say in general terms. We didn't find anything written for hoarding by name.

Duluth's housing code is the 2012 International Property Maintenance Code, as amended. Under state law, an unsanitary condition that endangers public safety or health can make a building hazardous. If you get a code action, you can appeal to the building appeal board.

In Superior the office is different: Code Compliance, 715-395-7596, handles maintenance complaints.

If you've received an order, don't wait on it. Read the page on code orders and call the office named in the letter.

What a full house can hide

A pile against a wall may be sitting on a leak or a soft floor. The duty is built around what you know, and Minnesota's law says as much for parts of the home you can't reach. If you do know about a roof leak or a dead furnace behind all that, it still goes in the disclosure.

Should you pay for a clean-out?

Sometimes. If what's underneath is a solid house, clearing it and listing may leave you with more, and the cost can be worth it. Ask for a written quote from a clean-out company, and an agent's honest opinion of the house once it's cleared. Those go in the worksheet next to any direct offer you've received.

If you're not ready to decide, that's all right. Nobody needs to come inside just because you called. You can describe the place over the phone first, and we'd see it once only if you want to go further.