Submitted by Adventurous-Style563 t3_10ytl5z in personalfinance
My husband's mother is in the final stages of terminal illness; his father has never been in the picture. He is an only child, so everything will go to him, including their home which is on year 16 of a 30 year mortgage. The home is in Charleston, SC; my husband and I own a home in the Atlanta area that we purchased this year.
His mother is a severe hoarder. The living room and front entryway are floor-to-ceiling junk to the extent that only the back entrance is usable. The kitchen is unusable except for fridge access, the full bath is completely full of junk and only the half bath is accessible. There is also some roof damage, although I don't know the full extent of it, and the whole property is unmaintained, overgrown, and strewn with piles of junk.
I don't have the slightest idea how to deal with this situation. Should we put money into cleaning and repairing the house in the hopes that it can be sold? Can we simply decline to take ownership of it and let the city do with it what they will? Is there anything that we should try to find inside the house, e.g. documents? My husband has not lived in the house for 10 years and has not needed anything from it so far. Any help is appreciated.