Hi everyone. What a relief to have found you's. I need help.

[amollenh]

The story goes like this.  I "inherited" a little less then an acre of land with a "house" on it from a hoarder that accumulated many many many many many many things and animals.  By "inherited" I mean it was dumped onto me.  And by "house" I mean a HUGE trailer that has one wheel left on it and has all these extra additions and compartments that have been accumulated over the years.  The house thingy is inhabitable due to nicotine and animal damage.  Everything reeks of smoke  and has been torn up  from animals.  Even brave people won't walk inside.   Anyhoodle, I decided it's best to get rid of this whole mess on the property.   I don't have much money so I want to do everything myself.  What should my first step be here?  Slowly tear everything apart and burn it?  Do I need permits to take down this thing and its latchkey compartments?  Thank you up front.

[glenn kangiser]

Likely there are salvageable things on it.  The skin may be aluminum - worth a bit at the scrap yard.  Wiring is likely copper in plastic -

Permits - hard to say - depends where you are at and outside exposure - maybe no one will look as they do here.  Possibly the frame can be made into a flat bed for hauling things.

Anyway, to the forum.

[bayview]

   I have a friend in a similar situation.   She and her sister have "inherited" a small building.   Nobody has really been in it for over 25 years. . .    The walls are crooked and the roof has collapsed in a few areas.

   Conditions are so bad that they are wearing rubber gloves and face masks.   Quite a chore . . .

   Well, after removing a bunch of old boxes that were falling apart, they found an old metal filing cabinet laying on its back.   Inside the filing cabinet they found 3 buckets of coins that are from the 1860s.   
Basically a treasure chest.   

   So, you never know about those hoarders . . .

/.   

[rick91351]

One thing you might do - do not do anything without protection.  Places like that can harbor a long list of things that can affect your health and life.  So boots, rubber gloves and masks are acceptable at this function.  Stylishly cover your arms and legs to prevent dust and dirt settling on exposed skin.  When you take a break wash very well, at night shower with copious amounts of water.  (Sorry read that on has-mat documents all the time and have always wanted to use that word.)  Anyway get cleaned up real well at the end of the day.  Take a long shower or bath and lots of soap and shampoo.

One mans treasure is another trash - but then trash is trash, it goes.  Never over look the value of old cooking tools and hand tools.  Not only for resale but for yourself.

Best of luck and stay healthy

       

[amollenh]

Thank you everyone.  The domicile is exposed to neighbors on the South side.  There's TONS of metals, plastics, wood, fencing, cages,  more cages, buckets everywhere, and don't even get me started on what's on the inside.  I found out we're only allowed to have 4 trash cans on pick up days.  That is twice a week.  And no more then 30lbs. of recyclables once a week.  Good to know.  I cannot burn because there is a burn ban at the property.  I can take things to the dump for a fee.  I've never been to a dump yard before.   

[kindrngentlr13]

When we bought our little property there was a large steel building chock full of collected stuff in it.  I rented a large dumpster for the main trash and by salvaging the rest I was able to pay for my fence that I built around the acreage.
Everything takes time but it all turns out for the best if you just stay consistent in your endeavors.
Good luck and be safe.

[325ABN]

"a dumpyard" Where are you?

[Tom]

As mentioned, scrap metal is worth money. You may be able to recover some of your expenditures with the scrap. With that, you may want to rent a dumpster.
Talk to your fire department. They will sometimes use a place like this for practice.

[NM_Shooter]

Have a good look through as much as you can, and pull out anything you want to keep.  Post an ad on Craigslist for folks to come and get the rest.  You'd be surprised what they haul off. 

[MikeT]

What are your future plans for the property?  The reason I ask is simple:  Even if you gut the interior, is there any value in keeping the shell and use the place as a tool storage/construction trailer while a subsequent building project is underway?   I would be loathe to get rid of something with a roof if you might need it downline....

[Rover]

As someone suggested earlier, get dumpsters.  It will cost a little more but really helps the process.  Talk to the local garbage bin company.  We sort our garbage and it minimizes the disposal costs.  We have bins for wood, metal (you get cash for that), cardboard and concrete.  Whatever doesn't fit those categories, is garbage where you pay a premium.  I doubt the neighbours would complain seeing the improvements.