THE 1949 colonial house overflowed with stuff - piles on the beds, stacks along the walls, mounds in the basement. Clothes, junk mail, yellowing newspapers, a Family Circle magazine from 1999.

PEEKING through were hints that someone once took pride in this three-bedroom home in a middle-class neighbourhood: Ornate, gold-upholstered furniture was covered in plastic, to keep it clean; elegant figurines were lined up in a built-in bookshelf.

Originally published as Selling the homes of hoarders isn't easy