The above pictures are of a hoarder's apartment that my co-op will have auctioned off by the time you read this post. Several years ago, we became aware that this person wasn't paying his rent, nor did he keep his apartment in habitable shape.
A few years ago, we had to enter his apartment, in order to deal with a leak that affected the apartment below this person's apartment. We found the place in a total mess (much worse than this), and had to pay someone to clean out enough of the place in order for the plumbers to do their work. Over the years, we have tried to find the owner to serve him notice that he either had to pay the co-op the money owed to is, or surrender his shares in the co-op. It wasn't until the Spring of this year that we were able to send him the appropriate notice, and that we could put the apartment up for auction to recover our uncollected maintenance fees.
As you can see, this place is not habitable at the moment. As I see it, one would have to do a total clean out of the apartment, and then strip out everything in the kitchen and bathroom just to get started. Molding and trim work in the place would need to be replaced, floors sanded and refinished, walls repainted, as well as other work needed to replace fixtures in the apartment.
I can't see someone living in the apartment as it was when the plumbers first needed entry, nor can I see someone living in this apartment until a major cleanup and rehab is done to it. SJM thinks it needs $30k-$50k worth of work to make it habitable, and thinks we should simply clean it up and sell it as-is. As for me, I feel we can't do anything about this apartment until more pressing affairs are taken care of, and only then can we make decisions on what to do next if the place doesn't sell at auction. We'll see what happens at month-end when the auction is held.
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