We were appointed to tackle the extreme amount of items stored inside this single family home. Hoarding is usually also associated with property degradation as the surplus of belongings make it difficult to clean the property or take care of any homeowner issues that arise with normal wear and tear. Combined with the fact that the large number of items themselves can damage a building, not properly maintaining it is a recipe for greater and greater deterioration that can culminate in significant structural damage. Additionally, hoarding increases the risk of fire. This property was no exception and, as the Court Appointed Health and Safety Receiver, we found severe structural deficiencies.

In the months preceding our appointment, municipal code enforcement was concerned by the high risk of a fire occurring onsite due to faulty electrical wiring that was being used by the occupant in conjunction with extension cords and power strips that were exposed to the elements. The mixture of the dangerous electrical issues and the acute level of hoarding was highly likely to produce a deadly result and it presented an emergency threat to the health and safety of the occupant and the neighboring community.

Finding a Solution to Abate Even the Most Challenging Cases

When a property has low value, multiple liens on it for unpaid taxes, and outstanding loans, it makes it very difficult for our office to secure the necessary financing to proceed with rehabilitating it. Yet, we are undeterred by this complication and strive to find a solution no matter what challenging factors we encounter. In this case, the son of the deceased owner was residing in an unsafe and beleaguered building without access to running water. California Receivership Group consistently endeavors to find alternative housing for any persons who reside at properties when we are appointed as the Receiver. Fortunately, we were able to track down a family member who graciously agreed to house the occupant for the foreseeable future.

Our next step was to find the most efficient way to abate the dangerous violations onsite. We determined that the best option was to arrange for the sale of the property to an accountable buyer to carry out construction work to correct the code violations under our and the court’s supervision, allowing us to ensure that they proceeded with the work in a timely and responsible manner. Prior to selling the property, a professional organizer from our team performed a full clean-out to salvage any items the occupant wanted to keep. We then boarded up and secured the building and monitored the security of it while the sale progressed, and it was transferred to its new owner. Issues at the property have now been completely abated and it looks vastly different from how it did when we were appointed. The new owner is using the property as a rental, providing further housing options for city residents.