A new homeowner was stunned to find every room of the property he’d just bought stuffed to the ceiling with junk after he told the sellers they could leave what they wanted.
James Cole was forced to clamber over piles and piles of belongings – some untouched in their boxes – which lay stacked on top of bags of rubbish and broken goods.
Computer games, dozens of toy cars, old televisions, an untouched clothes dryer and scores of packing boxes were among the items left behind in the two-bedroom bungalow in Lowestoft.
New homeowner James Cole was stunned to find every room of the property he’d just bought stuffed to the ceiling with rubbish after he told the sellers they could leave what they wanted
Computer games, dozens of toy cars, old televisions, an untouched clothes dryer and electric toothbrush were among those left behind in the two-bedroom bungalow in Lowestoft (above)
He was forced to clamber over piles and piles of belongings – some untouched in their boxes – which lay stacked on top of bags of rubbish and broken goods
He told MailOnline: ‘It looks like this couple threw almost nothing away and just could not help collecting stuff. It is worse than any of the hoarding cases you see on TV’
He told MailOnline: ‘I was flabbergasted when I first stepped inside the place. It has got to be one of the most extreme ever cases of hoarding.
‘It looks like this couple threw almost nothing away and just could not help collecting stuff. It is worse than any of the hoarding cases you see on TV.
‘There are a lot of things that are unused and still in their boxes – but the majority of it is just rubbish.’
Mr Cole, a private landlord who manages properties, first spotted the bungalow when he saw it advertised for £145,000 – £15,000 cheaper than similar properties.
But he became suspicious when he realised there were no internal pictures available.
He said: ‘Before I went round, the manager of the estate agents phoned me and asked me to be sensitive.
‘He warned me that the owners would be there and I would be shocked by the state of the place.
‘I expected it to be quite bad, but it was worse than anything I imagined. The couple kept apologising and told me they were not hoarders. They didn’t explain how things had got so bad.’
To ensure a quick sale, Mr Cole said the couple agreed to his offer of £130,000 after he told them that they could leave behind whatever they wanted.
Mr Cole, a private landlord who manages properties, first spotted the bungalow when he saw it advertised for £145,000 – £15,000 cheaper than similar properties. But he became suspicious when there were no internal pictures available. Pictured: The living room
He said: ‘Before I went round, the manager of the estate agents phoned me and asked me to be sensitive. I expected it to be quite bad, but it was worse than anything I imagined.’ Pictured: One of the bedrooms
To ensure a quick sale, Mr Cole said the couple agreed to his offer of £130,000 after he told them that they could leave behind whatever they wanted. Pictured: The kitchen
But he nearly cancelled the purchase after they failed to meet two completion dates for the sale because they had been unable to move anything.
They finally agreed to complete the sale on December 13 after Mr Cole threatened to pull out if they delayed again.
The estate agents even arranged to drop off piles of flatpack cardboard boxes for the couple to move anything they wanted.
Mr Cole thought they would take most of their possessions and leave the rubbish but they took almost nothing.
The packing boxes were left untouched and stacked up in the kitchen on top of the rubbish, already covering the sink, oven and all work surfaces.
Mr Cole said he was mystified how the couple who are aged in their 50s managed to move around or live in the bungalow with so much inside it.
He said: ‘It seemed like things must have got completely out of hand for them.
‘The rubbish hits you as soon as you walk into the hallway and you literally have to clamber on top of everything.
‘Apparently they ate out three times a day which is just as well because you cannot even see the oven or kitchen sink.
But he nearly cancelled the purchase after they failed to meet two completion dates for the sale because they had been unable to move anything. They finally agreed to complete the sale on December 13 after Mr Cole threatened to pull out if they delayed again
The estate agents even arranged to drop off piles of flatpack cardboard boxes for the couple to move anything they wanted. But the boxes appear to have been untouched and were left stacked up in the house
Mr Cole said he was mystified how the couple who are aged in their 50s managed to move around or live in the bungalow with so much inside it. He said: ‘It seemed like things must have got completely out of hand for them’
‘There are pieces of furniture including a leather sofa and bed but everything is piled up so high that you just have to clamber around on top of the boxes and bags.
‘It is a mystery where they slept or what they found to sit on. There is so much in the kitchen that you literally cannot get in there at all.
‘I was told that the local council’s environment health officers got involved and told them that they had to clear everything out.
‘Instead of cleaning up, they just decided to sell up and downsize to a smaller place in the area.’
He is now starting the massive task of sorting through the bags and boxes of random items and rubbish which fill the entire house.
Mr Cole now plans to sell what he can of the contents on Facebook Marketplace.
He is now starting the massive task of sorting through the bags and boxes of random items and rubbish which fill the entire house. Mr Cole now plans to sell what he can of the contents on Facebook Marketplace
He said: ‘It is a mystery where they slept or what they found to sit on. There is so much in the kitchen (above) that you literally cannot get in there at all’
He has even been told that there is a brand new 55 inch screen TV which the couple failed to take with them because they could not find it
But he believes that he will have to throw away most of the contents before he can start renovating the bungalow to turn it into his new home
He has even been told that there is a brand new 55 inch screen TV which the couple failed to take with them because they could not find it.
But he believes that he will have to throw away most of the contents before he can start renovating the bungalow to turn it into his new home.
‘They had a Nissan Juke car outside which had rubbish piled up in it. They could not find the keys for it in the house – so they had to get new ones from the dealer.’