Summary:
If you’ve been in real estate long enough, there’s a good chance you’ve run headlong into a hoarders—hoarders are everywhere!—and your next client could be one. Listen as today’s guest Sharon McRill shares her outrageous experiences with hoarders—from finding a single ruby earring in a room with piled up stock perspectives, to discovering photos from the 1930s and tracking down the original owner.
Please subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or in the Podcasts App on your phone. Never miss a beat from Leigh by visiting The Leigh Brown Experience.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
- 00:30 – Introducing Sharon McRill
- 00:41 – Sharon is the owner and founder of Betty Brigade
- 00:58 – Sharon works with hoarders
- 01:43 – You have no idea what you’ll find in a hoarder home
- 02:18 – Sharon got hired to an estate sale inside the house and get all the stuff out
- 02:32 – Her client hoarded stock perspectives from 1960s until she died in the 2000s
- 03:02 – There were two rooms full of perspectives
- 03:11 – The crazy part? There were actual live stock certificates and Sharon and her team had to go through each pile!
- 03:25 – They found $8,000 cash, a gold coin collection, and loose gold
- 04:36 – The daughter asked Sharon’s team to find a single ruby earring in the room
- 05:08 – They found the ruby earring that had been in there for 30 years!
- 05:43 – Hoarding is an illness
- 05:53 – Sharon also worked with a lady who hoarded things she dumped out of her purse
- 06:06 – There were gum wrappers, candy, half pens, crumbs, cookie packages, and all kinds of ridiculous stuff!
- 06:35 – Sharon would put the blank receipts in the trash and the client would get it back because she couldn’t let it go
- 07:55 – Real estate agents walk away from listing these houses
- 08:22 – There is a way to get the hoarded items cleared out quickly without having to put them in trash
- 08:36 – Calling up an estate seller is not always the best way to go
- 09:04 – Sharon is picky with her staff and makes sure they are fully background checked
- 09:16 – There is no special insurance, just a bonding certificate
- 10:31 – Sharon is in the tool room of another client which hadn’t been cleaned for 50 years!
- 10:48 – The tool room had layers of dirt and a lot of mice
- 11:00 – Sharon found a cupboard with a tool shelf full of bank statements from the 1960s and 1970s
- 11:41 – There were photos of the home owners from the 1930s which Sharon gave to the daughter
- 12:17 – Reach Sharon at Betty Brigade
- 13:00 – Are you a listener with a crazy story to share? Ping Leigh at crazyshitinrealestate.com
3 Key Points
- Hoarding is a disease.
- When working with a hoarder, always return what you find.
- Secure a bonding certificate to protect yourself and your clients from liability.
Credits