To be miffed about my filthy house

It sounds like you hoped for all the benefits of a discount but without the drawbacks.

You can't expect a hoarded house to be clean or in decent condition - it's just not realistic, especially when you're receiving a huge discount on the property.

There's a reason a lot of the homes on those TV shows are condemned in the end - hoarding destroys homes.

The items not being removed is a clear cut thing

Clean and tidy is subjective, it cant be enforced.

It’s been a standard clause in the terms of the last three houses I’ve bought over 12 years (and with different conveyancers) so I’m not sure it’s that unusual. It’s in the property information form (which forms part of the contract). Section 14.4 of the standard Law Society Property Information form 4th edition specifically asks if the seller will ensure all rubbish is removed… and the property is left in a clean and tidy condition (see attached photo). Either way, it wouldn’t hurt OP to check her contract/terms and rely on them if the seller hasn’t left the house in a reasonable state.

Your contract would have said she agrees to leave the house clean and tidy with all possessions removed (except any you both specifically agreed she would leave on the list of fixtures and fittings).
That sounds really unusual as a clause. The standard English law inclusion is merely "vacant possession" (no extraneous furniture or rubbish), with stipulations that the property should be in the same condition as when it was seen (i.e. no new holes knocked in walls). OP explained the house was dirty when they viewed it, only they naively didn't realise that hoarded pules of stuff might also have dirt under them.

I had this exact situation when we moved into our current house. Your contract would have said she agrees to leave the house clean and tidy with all possessions removed (except any you both specifically agreed she would leave on the list of fixtures and fittings).

Unless they’re very good, your solicitor won’t really help you/care as their job of helping you buy the property is done.

Keep receipts and invoices that you’ve had to pay for the deep clean, any rubbish removal and skip. Take lots of photos if you haven’t already. Get a statement from your cleaner. Tell your solicitors to tell the seller about the state of the property and that you expect her to cover your expenses and that you will take her to court if she doesn’t. Give her a couple of chances to pay (with a deadline) and provide the receipts/statement etc. If she doesn’t pay by the deadline/doesn’t respond, raise a small claim through court. It is so easy, it costs very little and the judge will find in your favour. Not to mention it is very satisfying - people have no right to leave their rubbish and dirt for you to clean up.

Maybe one day you'll end up a lone elderly lady with no support. It is what it is. You're resolving the problem, it's not an ongoing thing, so just move on and enjoy your new home.

Of course doer-uppers are cosmetic issues, that is literally what it means!
'They are about safety issues like outdated electrical wiring, water/damp/mold damage and roof/structural problems etc' No, that is a renovation, not a simple doer-upper.

Get back onto your solicitor to get onto hers - you have paid for vacant possession of the property. Take photos of it all ASAP don't muck around here.

It is ABSOLUTELY up to her to pay to get all the shite removed. Yes, you will have to clean it and I doubt there is a way to make her pay for that, but removal of all the horrible shite, that is absolutely on the vendor and it is not uncommon that this needs to be chased up by the legal bods involved in conveyancing.

I haven't read all the thread but our house was even worse. There. Were windows you couldn't see through, layers of grease on the kitchen wall, a larder full of mouse droppings and when we ripped the bathroom out, underwear that had fallen behind the sink. It also smelt. Our then neighbours commented after we had been there for a few months that it was nice not having the awful smell when the back door opened. You need to rip out any carpets first. Just do it and live off bare boards. If the bathroom and kitchen are irredeemable then they need to go too. Decorate the kids rooms as a matter of urgency.

It will take a while and I think my husband really struggled with the awfulness of it. My PIL were amazing and stayed in the house while the bathroom and kitchen were done while we went away with our son. We could not have afforded our house had it been in good condition so focus on that. Good luck!

What’s any of that got to do with my comment? 🤔

Why do you keep pushing this incorrect definition of "doer-upper"? Have you just bought a shit heap house and feel the need to be competitive renovators or something?

Buying a house in usable livable condition is absoloutly not a doer up its just a house. You are expected to change dated wallpaper and kitchens/bathrooms to your taste but if they are usable they are not 'doer-up' and do not qualify for 'doer-up' prices.

Imagine thinking and bragging you 'did up' a house because you moved in a perfectly normal house and just re-wallpapered a 15 year old feature wall and put in a new roll top bath lol.

She had also left several things in the house- a huge wardrobe full of clothes, huge old dresser, dirty old fridge, oven, cupboards full of plates and food, and a shed packed full of broken tools.

^^THIS is the issue she can be compensated for. Having to get rind of all that.

It’s not always so simple as family allowing it to get in a bad state. She maybe wouldn’t allow them to clear it. Who knows? Awful for you though.

Doer upper does not mean "safety issue". It can. I can also mean "could do with a new bathroom", "the fence is falling down", "single glazed windows" etc.

Definitely get on to your solicitor funds can be halted until reparations for cleaning and dumping waste are paid. This happened us a number of years ago, place wasn't filthy but they left loads of stuff it was ridiculous. We needed 3 skips to get rid of it all. Solicitor negotiated the cost of the skips and payment for our time back from them. Both solicitors handled it all and estate agent was really helpful.

All the stuff she left behind isn't the OP's financial responsibility to dispose of

Chase them up.

And they absolutely have to pay for the disposal of all her stuff

Has your solicitor been paid? I'd be on to them hourly!!

Which raises the important point of what did your survey say OP?

If its still so cluttered now and was so bad you couldn't see obvious problems then theres no way they could conduct one as they all state they do not move property to investigate so did you just not have one?

OP viewed a hoarders house and bought it as such... it was never clear.

It was sold, discounted, offered on and bought in exactly the state she saw it in.

She can legally go after the cost to remove the items but expecting it 'clean' was insane.

Doer ups are not about changing cosmetics to your personal taste, all houses are sold on that basis lol. They are about safety issues like outdated electrical wiring, water/damp/mold damage and roof/structural problems etc... which are almost always present in hoarders homes.

OP says it was so cluttered she could not even see the walls and floor during viewing to see they where 'dirty' so I guarantee even if its miraculously got no maintenance or structural issues (highly unlikely, a proper survey can't even be conducted in a hoarded home) it will have black mold from condensation damp and ventilation issues.

We've been in our house 13 years and there's still a whiff of cigarette smoke in the utility that is noticeable when you come back from being away on holiday and the house has been shut up.

Most people buy a doer-upper fully expecting to put a new kitchen/bathroom in and repaint/wallpaper and change the flooring etc over time (at least in the circles I move in🤷‍♀️) and would definitely expect it to be as clean as the day they viewed it!
Most of us don't have a 'Grand Designs' type budget to rip everything out at start again whilst living elsewhere for the duration of the renovation.
Some sellers seem to cease cleaning anything on the day they accept the offer on their property - that to me is unreasonable and quite honestly a sign of a scummy seller. If you view it and offer on it when it is filthy then fair enough, you would expect to move into it in that condition.

Something similar happened to me when I bought my first house on my own in my 20s but nowhere near as bad as your situation.
The previous owners had just left a rusty lawn mower and a couple of kids bikes in the back garden and they left all their family pictures up bizarrely. I contacted the estate agent as soon as I got in and they said it was unacceptable and the man who previously owned the house came to remove it after the solicitor had got in touch with him. He then bizarrely said to me he left them as he thought I might want them??

Yes a single 25 year old female would love pictures of your family and two bikes with stabilisers...

When did you do the final viewing?
I would have arranged it for a day or so before moving. This is from experience from when a relative moved in somewhere that wasn't completely clear. So when we bought the next house we did final viewing the day before.