Brandy Hagewood purchased her grandmother Marian's three-bedroom home in Angola, Indiana, in December 2022 after she went into a care home and had started hoarding
A woman purchased her grandmother's "hoarder home" for $20,000 to "keep it in the family" and spent eight months renovating it to raise her children there. Brandy Hagewood, 31, bought her grandmother Marian's three-bedroom home in Angola, Indiana, in December 2022 after she was moved into a care home.
In Indiana, when a state resident is moved into a care home, their home is taken over by the state and sold when they pass away. Brandy, who grew up in the house, wanted the property to stay in the family, so she bought it from the state for just $20,000.
Towards the end of her grandma's life, Brandy says she started hoarding, but she wasn't prepared for how many items were stashed in the house - including gifts, newspapers, antiques, and old mementoes. Brandy has spent eight months clearing out the property - getting rid of hundreds of trash bags full of furniture, newspapers, clothes, and old gifts but still has a way to go before they move in.
The mother-of-three, a former purchasing agent from Angola, Indiana, said: "My grandma had helped raise me - we were extremely close. I grew up in that home - it wasn't always in that state.
"Later in life, her health started to deteriorate and she started hoarding. We would go in and clean but she would start hoarding again - it was a constant cycle. My grandma went into a nursing home, and the state took the home over. She wanted it to remain in the family so I bought it."
In December 2022, Brandy's grandma's health began to worsen. Brandy, a resident of Indiana, shared her experience when her grandmother moved into a care home. In Indiana, the state takes over and sells the homes of residents who move into care homes after their death to cover the cost of care.
Brandy revealed: "When my grandma went into the care home, the state was going to take her home away and we didn't want that."
Her grandmother, aware of the impending takeover, asked if any family members wanted to purchase the property to prevent it from being auctioned off by the state. Brandy and her 31-year-old partner, who works in manufacturing, decided to buy the house for $20,000.
After acquiring the house in December 2022, her grandmother passed away in August 2023. Brandy chose to wait before starting the cleaning process, which began in February 2024.
She explained: "In February we started going on the weekends sorting room by room and we are still at it."
The house was in poor condition, filled with items accumulated over her grandmother's lifetime, including newspapers, unopened gifts, antiques, and mementos. After eight months of hard work, only the garage and laundry room remain to be sorted.
Brandy reflected: "She had lived there her whole life, some of the stuff was from her kids and grandkids."
Brandy found a treasure trove of antiques, old keepsakes, and unopened gifts in the house. "There were lots of Christmas decorations - she was the embodiment of Christmas," Brandy said.
She also acknowledged that hoarding is a mental illness and often brings shame to those who suffer from it and their families who feel helpless. Brandy's goal is to clean up the property, make necessary repairs, and move in with her three children.
"It is a beautiful home, it is an acre property in the middle of nowhere," she said. "I am hoping the house itself can be salvaged, and we are emptying it out to evaluate the damage."
She added: "The whole point of buying the property is to keep it in the family. My grandma would be absolutely ecstatic, like I said the house wasn't always like that. It was a very happy, clean place to grow up. She would be so happy that it didn't get auctioned off and sold to other people."