I bought my grandmother’s hoarder home for $20,000—I was stunned by what I found inside

An Indiana woman who bought her grandmother’s “hoarder house” for $20,000 to save it from being taken by the state has opened up about what she found inside—and how she is working to transform it into a stunning home for her family.

Brandy Hagewood told Realtor.com® that she purchased the three-bedroom home in Angola, IN, in December 2022 when her grandmother, Marian, was moved into a nursing home.

Under state law, when a person is moved into a care facility, the state takes over the individual’s properties and then sells them at auction upon their passing. Marian asked her family if they could purchase her home to prevent the state from taking it.

Hagewood, who was raised by her grandmother and spent much of her childhood in the Angola home, couldn’t bear the thought of losing it. She and her fiancé made the decision to purchase it for $20,000.

Marian died in August 2023 and Hagewood and her family began cleaning out the home in early 2024. She hoped to return it to the cozy, warm environment that she remembers.

“My mother was an addict who wasn’t around to raise me, so my grandma helped fill the role of ‘Mom’ to me. She was my best friend,” Hagewood tells Realtor.com. “I was raised in my grandma’s home, and it was a wonderful place to grow up. We had pet pigs, rabbits, raccoons, and all kinds of pets. Most of my happy memories are from that home.”

However, the purchase of the home and the cost of cleaning it have left Hagewood without any money to remodel the property.

On her GoFundMe page, she explains that she is now unable to afford the money needed to pay for dumpsters to dispose of the trash in the home.

“I’m at the point where I have a whole room of trash bags in the house that needs to be tossed in a dumpster,” she wrote. “However, renting a dumpster ranges anywhere from $600–$1,200. I currently cannot afford this.

“Donations will go towards getting a dumpster, and helping with cleaning expenses. Anything extra will go towards remodel and bills. Times are tough for everyone so if you can’t donate that’s fine, but if you can and would like to help me save my grandmother’s home, I would be forever grateful.”

Hagewood, who has been chronicling her work on the home on social media, says that she hopes by sharing her story, she can spread a message of hope to anyone else who is struggling with hoarding.

Her grandmother had not always lived in that kind of state, Hagewood shares.

“She wasn’t always a hoarder, so it used to be a beautiful, clean home,” she tells Realtor.com. “She was the most giving person I’ve ever known. She lived on the property most of her life, and she loved it more than anything.”

Marian began hoarding in 2010 when her husband passed away, Hagewood recalls. Family members made many attempts to help Marian clean and organize the home—to no avail.

“After my grandfather died in 2010 is when the hoarding started,” Hagewood says. “We tried multiple times to help clean out the home, but it would end up the exact same way. During COVID, her health started to decline and she had to have amputations, so she bought a tiny home and put it on the property as the ‘big house’ had become unlivable.

“She desperately did not want to go to a nursing home. She wanted to live out her days on the property. She did rehab, stayed with other family members, and stayed with me to try and stay out of the nursing home,” Hagewood says.

She has tackled the living room, bedrooms, and den, she says. A “big bulk of stuff” was removed.

“I still have to finish the kitchen, laundry room, and garage,” she says. “I want to get it emptied so I can evaluate damages. It’s taken a while because my partner works a lot of overtime to help keep us afloat, and I have three children.”

Her ultimate goal is to live there with her children.

“I’m hoping the home itself is salvageable and we can just remodel,” she says. “If not, we will have to rebuild on the property. I’ll have to sell our current home for the funds and stay with family to do it either way.”

She adds that she’s feeling good about bringing attention and awareness to hoarding and mental illness, because so often hoarders and their family feel so much shame.

“I want to help people know they aren’t alone. And if the TikTok keeps taking off, I’d like to help others clean their homes out for free,” she says. “Because it’s such a hard cycle to break, and if I can help even just one family, it will be worth it.

“I’ve also helped bring awareness to the Medicaid estate recovery program and help other families avoid this situation,” she adds.