To be miffed about my filthy house

Sorry unless you buy a house at auction you do not expect it "as-is". You expect it cleared out at a bare minimum. Maybe not clean, but certainly all the previous owners crap taken and disposed of. Which I know you've said...but then that's not "as-is", is it?

Sellers aren't obliged to pay fora deep clen or even to clean anything - although I'd argue they should be. It's horrible to move into your new home and not be able to do anything without feeling you need to fumigate.

Tenants are obligated to clean or get cleaned the property when they move out, even if it wasn't by choice. Sellers are not.

And whoever says a "doer-upper" you should expect not to live in it - let's be real here, "doer-upper" is on a scale. I'd consider a house that had not been renovated or decorated since the 70s a "doer-upper" as would most, but that doesn't make it unlivable. You also can't actually get a mortgage on an unlivable property, there are rules about running water and kitchens and stuff.

I remember the day we moved into a filthy house and it broke my heart. In hindsight, the seller was an absolute cunt and we absolutely should have expected it. When we moved out of that house we left it spotless and they absolutely could have "just moved in".

It's hard to say what's "right" here. Personal belongings absolutely should not be left unless it's something that's agreed or is very likely to be something that is wanted and not just because you couldn't be arsed to get it out.

Clean - yes it should have been clean. The vendor should have paid for a deep clean from what you're saying. I don't think you would be able to move into that house and not be a bit disgusted tho. I think it will take a month or so for the smell to dissipate. Luckily the weather is ok so you can air it.

I'd chase the solicitors but really not expect much.

You'll be laughing about it in the future since you've got it as you like it.

God, I really feel for you OP. This is one of my worst nightmares. People love to scoff at new builds but this is just one of many reasons I would never buy a second hand house and opted for a new build. What a nightmare.

It's horrible that you had to move in with the place in a state but...

Two sons "let her live like that"!?!?! Hmm. It's not their fault and maybe they had no choice. My dad was a hoarder and lived in a horrible state... but I had to be very careful about ever mentioning things as he would prefer to shut down our relationship than change the way he was living. I felt a lot of guilt but couldn't do anything to change it. For example, I'd buy him new things like towels, but he would continue using his threadbare dirty towel, while the new towels just remained in the bag I brought them in... I'd help him arrange cleaners (he would refuse any help from me and become aggressive) but he would cancel the cleaners.

My sister moved into a house like this. I think it took a week of cleaning and airing for the smell of dog to go and they had family to help with the cleaning and also put them up for a few days

In our first house we moved in to find that the front door had no key and was "locked" a piece of wood propped against it
We bought our current house from someone who's business is going into people's houses and helping them organise and clean their house to improve their wellbeing....based on how she left her own home I wouldn't be hiring her services!

You might be in for a long week but you will get it clean and smelling lovely and ready to make it yours

Well according to some playing hell or words to that effect will fix it

I don't understand why you assumed that? You've said there was loads of stuff piled up and a smell, you didn't say there was a specific cleaning agreement. It is purchase "as-is". Collection of items can be charged, but if you tell your solicitor you didn't know it would be dirty after seeing it dirty they'll be laughing at you.

People are completely missing the concept of a doer-up.

You get a discount because they aren't deemed livable, your not suppose to move straight in... OP was compensated for that by getting a house she couldn't afford cheaply.

Trying to live in it is her own fault.

Houses can be sold in an state even condemned, they do not ever need to be 'move in ready'.

OP got a house she couldn't afford really cheap specifically so OP would have the money to do the work.

That is litrally how doer-ups work. What OP is now spending was already accounted for in OPs big discount, you don't get discounts on discounts lol.

Our sellers left our house in a similar state including a used toilet brush with poo smeared on it. As well as broken chairs, Christmas decorations and all sorts that were not agreed to be left. I paid for a deep clean and the solicitor said he would get the cost back but nothing ever came of it. It’s gross and has left a stain (literally) on the whole thing for you, but just think in a few weeks you’ll be sorted and can put the whole thing behind you and start making memories in your new home

That's quite cheeky. Dirt is one thing but leaving a load of junk is unacceptable. Contact your solicitor.

So you can't afford the house?

Houses that are discounted are done so because bringing them back to livable condition will cost the full price, if you couldn't afford it at full price then you likely can't afford the referb.

You don't just get a magic house thats really cheap but just needs small jobs that could be done over time and assume that the big issues from viewing will have been sorted for you. That literally why its cheap.

Try and focus on why you bought the house over another one in great repair. No doubt you have bought what you could afford.

Sounds like where you have gone wrong is buying a house that needs work and expecting to just move in with a young family.

I have done the same - ours was vacant though so we got the keys in advance to go in and clean. It didn't feel nice though until we had redecorated and changed the carpets bathroom and kitchen.

I don’t know why youre surprised. It’s generally not worth pursuing legally for the stuff left behind; it’ll cost you more in legal fees than in paying to get rid of the stuff. And there’s no contractual requirements for cleanliness

Surely you knew the level of dirt and smell, you must have viewed it right? We instantly discounted a house because the owner was a heavy smoker with a dog who lived their decades and it would take too much work to 'fix' that.

Was it bought at auction? if so theres no recourse as its buyers job to empty the lot.

If it was bought via estate agent then what does your contract say about fixtures and fittings? usually sellers are not allowed to leave random stuff behind and you CAN actually sue for the reimbursement of disposal costs unless it was stated in the the contract that it was being left.

You might be able to to claim back your money for the hotel, removals and/or skip fees but I don't think you'll get anything for cleaning when the house was likely clearly in that state for a long time so bought with knowledge and priced as such.

Good luck op, that sounds really hard especially with a baby. Definitely leave some of furniture of it is ok condition out the front, hopefully some will be taken. You definitely need more than one person for a proper deep clean though, I have a small, tidy and clean house and once got a deep clean and there were two people.

Ultimately hoarding (which is what this is) is a recognised and very complex mental health condition. She probably felt she could manage the move and to let cleaners in etc but in reality moving was likely significantly harder for her than she ananticipated. People who hoard often find it extremely distressing letting people in to their home, her sons may not have been allowed in for a long time to see how she was living. She may not have felt able to let cleaners in at all. Op has been ill informed and naieve to think an old lady living in that condition would leave the house clean and shiny.

Gunz
Ours was also a bank repossession. Ex council, owned by a young family. 32 years ago.

The carpet in the lounge and hall way were black, where I guess people viewing or perhaps even the previous owners hadn't wiped their feet, bedrooms not much better.
The walls on the stairs, grimy. The kitchen work tops were yellow with grease and cigarette smoke, as was the living room ceiling.

The back garden, you couldn't actually see as the grass was so long, and around the side of the outhouse where the back gate was, was full of broken and half full milk bottles, dirty nappies, car/engine parts, tins, dog faeces etc

The outhouse was about the same as the garden, full of their

rubbish.

DH and I were still living with our respective parent/s at the time so we were able to clean, decorate, new carpets and do something about the garden, it took us a good few weeks before we moved in though.

Older people have the same desire to run their own lives as younger people.

We bought a house like this. Ripped all the carpet out as we walked through the door. Couldn't afford to pay a cleaner so we did one room at a time. It took a while but it's been a lovely home for many years. The bathroom was first as there was a hole in the bath 😂

Well good for you eh

Pretty depressing for most people to be faced with such a task though.

We moved into a similar house when we had babies. We just rolled up our sleeves and got on cleaning it and taking things to the tip. It’s annoying but it would never have occurred to us to complain or sit wailing about it. All the shit and crap we went through is part of the family’s history and story telling now.

But did you not do a final inspection before settlement?

Are you in England/Wales? I've never heard of people doing this, nor it being called 'settlement'.

Our house was similarly gross, including fleas and several holes in the roof which we found out later on. This house must be truly massive or filled with hoarders crap for it to be taking so long to clean. Surely a deep clean should have more than one person?

Unfortunately, this phenomenon is more and more common as our society and caring infrastructure prioritises the elderly remaining in their home. ‘The only way I’m leaving this house is in a box’ type thing. The previous owner’s sons and their families were probably completely worn out from years of caring and just wanted shot of the place. They possibly had next to no energy left to go the final mile and empty the property.

I would say that for every property in this state, there are perhaps 10 more in a milder state of disrepair and filfth that new owners face. I used to work in pensions. It was not uncommon for the newly retired to see their tax free lump sum as an opportunity to buy a boat or go on a world cruise. People do not think about the fact that they will live another 30 years and how, during this time, their most precious asset would need a new roof, or drive, or windows.

If I were the OP, I’d be assuming that the visual state of the house was indicative of more deep rooted problems: get the boiler, the oil tank, and electrics looked at.

Our house was so gross when we got the keys, thank goodness we weren't moving straight in. They hadn't so much as wiped the sides down since we viewed 6 months previously. Kitchen soaked in dog piss, floors sticky, bottom of the toilet literally caked in shit where it had overflowed. Don't know how people can live like that! No idea what we would have done had we been moving in that day. Hotel I suppose.