Weirdest thing a house seller has got upset about you changing?

[CruCru]

I’ve just been doing some gardening and was thinking about a woman who dropped by our house a few years ago. We were on our way out so didn’t ask her in. She told us some of the history of the house (interesting) but got quite upset when she mentioned some tiles she’d put in and we had no idea what she was talking about. Presumably the people before us had ripped them out.

We didn’t like to mention all the stuff we did to fix the dodgy electrics.

Another friend had some people get very cross when she changed some things in the garden (not concreting it or putting in that plastic grass). Just putting in some different plants.

What about you?

That evening the previous owner popped round as they had found another set of keys and nearly burst into tears on the doorstep

Were they intending to let themselves in if you'd been out?! Interesting how they suddenly 'found' another set of keys by chance when they apparently hadn't found them at the time just before the sale, when they should have been actively gathering them all ready to hand over

This is sweet and creepy in equal measure.

I was quite sad when the people who bought my Auntie and Uncles house sold off part of the garden and 2 massive 5 bedroomed houses were built on it. It used to be their vegetable/wildflower area, had a little stream run through it, and was where their 2 dogs were buried. They did, however, do a beautiful renovation inside the main house!

My cousin rented a house from a work colleague, when the colleague came round for dinner one night they were most put out that where they had once displayed some lovely vases/flowers/photos etc had become a baby changing area!

We have the opposite problem a family members house was sold after he sadly died, he had a young family and they moved away leaving all the garden play equipment and other bits there .
Our family still own some land which boarders his house and I find it so so strange that so many years later NOTHING has changed in the garden, it looks like they never left.

I'm very sure our buyers last year will have ripped out our hand printed wallpaper in the downstairs loo, it was an acquired taste perhaps but everyone loved it, along with changing lots of other bits I would imagine (we designed the house inside & out)

I could ask them as we only moved to the next village & still go to all the village events (was an event on Sunday & they were there) but I'm not precious, they paid us top whack 😂and we are still mates with the neighbours

In the same manner we bought a house in need of renovation (or def most ppl would agree that), the former owners were here 20 years, raised a family here but it's soooooo dated & the layout is horrendous. We have plans to extend & remodel & are friendly with the neighbours who I know report back to the former owners. As they are the same age and have made comments like "it's a beautiful kitchen" when everyone else goes 🤮🤢I can only imagine they tell them how we are going to destroy their home 😝. But we also want to stay here long term & raise our family here

I do hate it when people knowingly buy a house with lots of interesting period features (that specifically 'go with' the house and most people who like that kind/age of house would also love) deliberately to knock it down or gut it, to replace with/render it a nondescript new-build (or new-build-style) house.

Anybody can build a new house in very little time, but nobody can build an old period house: once it's gone, it's gone forever

Random decor and individual/personalised stuff that many people wouldn't necessarily like, though - and which contributes nothing to the house's objective/near universally-agreed sense of character and preservation of its intrinsic story in ongoing history - I can see why somebody would find it sad on a personal/selfish level, but in the scheme of things.... nah!!

I can only imagine they tell them how we are going to destroy their home

All they had to do to ensure that it wouldn't be 'destroyed' was to not sell it and do without all the lovely money that you paid them for it.

Why in your wildest dreams would you ever expect to pay somebody the full market value of their house all in one lump sum but then still live in it timidly as if you were their short-contracted tenant, unable to change a single thing?!

The attitudes of some people as reported on this thread sort of reminds me of a Channel 4 documentary from years ago called 'After Life'.

It went on the premise that the last human had just become extinct and they were endlessly specifically labouring the point that there would be nobody left to to preserve the great libraries, nobody left to keep the impressive landmarks shiny and in perfect condition, nobody to ensure that historical treasures were protected and didn't just rust down to nothing etc.

I spent the whole programme shouting at the telly: "But if all the humans are gone forever, why would it possibly matter if all the human-interest stuff is gone too? Who is going to care or would gain any pleasure from it all anyway? Certainly not the cockroaches!!"

It's absolutely none of our business but I do find it quite sad when I drive past my childhood home. It was a beautiful three storey Edwardian house and they have let it go to complete ruin; peeling paint, overgrown side gate and they still have the same nets up, seemingly unwashed in the 15 years since we moved out!

My Grandparents issued an instruction manual for their garden when they left! What comes up where, what to do when.
They moved down the road and went back to check they were following the instructions!!
They hadn't.
However, they could see my grandparents were upset (even though GP were being the unreasonable ones) and went round with some home made Indian food as an apology.
Now my Grandparents rave about the amazing Indian family who bring them food and have dropped the garden issue.

I do hate it when people knowingly buy a house with lots of interesting period features (that specifically 'go with' the house and most people who like that kind/age of house would also love) deliberately to knock it down or gut it, to replace with/render it a nondescript new-build (or new-build-style) house.

That’s what’s sad about my GPs former house, it was full of beautiful 20s features but now looking at rightmove it could have been build in the 2000s, no picture rails, the old doors and windows gone (they were sound), the old fireplaces gone, it is just bland modern plain walls and fireplaces and laminate flooring, uPVC windows and doors, no character at all. Kind of “homes under the hammer” look.

A beautiful old wisteria …. ripped out and thrown in a skip.

Haha. I agree that feeling a bit sad isn't unreasonable but complaining is. Our house looks completely different now to when we bought it. If the previous owner had something to say about that she'd get v little joy.

My childhood home has been almost co pletely gutted and rebuilt. I don't mind but am DESPERATE to see it properly. Not least because I think they converted the garage to an amazing open -lawn entertainment area which I always thought would be good as it was, weirdly,the spot in the house with the best views.

The guy that bought our old family home 3 1/2 years ago hasn’t replaced the bedroom carpet my DF laid about 30 years ago - the carpet wasn’t the best quality but not the cheapest either; it was an off cut/remnant so was too long one way and too short the other so DF cut it and there’s a join that we always hid by putting the bed over it. He also kept the curtains we’d left to make it less obvious the house was empty. And, despite updating the bathroom, he didn’t update the toilet (separate room) or even change the glass globe lampshade that had been there since my childhood in the 1970’s!!

I've been told that our houses old owners drive by regularly. We haven't changed the kitchen or downstairs massively but the bedrooms are all decorated and we've updated the carpet in one of the bedrooms. Our front garden isn't as nicely kept as it was when it was sold. They also used the decking at the back for relaxing. We've not got around to buying garden furniture yet. I've got the mud kitchen out there, we have a trampoline and playset. When they lived here they had one child aged 9 and left when she went to uni. We moved in with an 8 month old and 18 month old. We now have a 9 month old and our house reflects that it's a kids home. It's quite colourful in the kids bedroom and there is lots more storage.

Houses reflect their owners so I don't see why there wouldn't be changes when a new owner buys it.

We ripped out the allegedly “much-loved cottage garden” which the neighbours told us would have upset the neighbours if they knew.
Except it wasn’t lovely. It was an overgrown mess that you couldn’t even get into and much much worse then when we offered.

Given it was only a narrow terraced garden, I filled a whole skip with broken toys and rusted tools that you couldn’t even see under the plants until I’d started to cut them back.

I spent a week digging out every single Russian vine root and then we laid a patio and lawn and can actually use the space.

no regrets

*which the neighbours told us would have upset the previous ownersif they knew.

Got to say it, you’re all bonkers. These aren’t your houses anymore. You’ve sold them and it seems a bit weird and stalkerish to obsess so much over what the new owners are doing.

I agree with you @CruCru. My DB described the much needed updating done to DParents old house by new owners as a 'desecration'.

Totally bonkers!

In his mind it should have been preserved in aspic just as it was.

I’m sure the previous owner- if she wasn’t dead - would die if she saw her garden.
there were six large conifers - square cut like balcony bras.
they are gone. So are her roses and ground cover plants and weird random circular beds with tiny pathways. I’m a very keen gardener so there are new (baby) trees: rowan, magnolia and birch and once our extension is done there will be more.
I’ve done loads of work in the garden but can’t do bc as much as I ultimately want - think it’s displacement for how much I want to rip out the interior (can’t do it til the council decides on our disability facilities grant).
I loved my old house and garden but I know the new owner will love it and I know he’s doing sympathetic renovations (Victorian house).

I've had almost the opposite this year, our buyer wanted to know where all the fittings were from, who the builder was for the renovations, who our cleaner and gardener was an bought 3/4 of the furniture! She then said the dog was welcome to use the garden ( after hearing exh say to the dog, you'll miss the big garden) it's like she wanted to take over our life. She's very nice according to the neighbours and her parents have moved in, quiet but offers to help them (they are older)

We had to get rid of a beautiful wisteria growing up our old house, rats were using it as a climbing frame to get in the loft.

I remember when new neighbours moved in opposite us and came to collect a package we had held for them. They saw our original parquet flooring and smirked, 'Oh that old wood was in our house when we moved in but we had new floors done.' I had to bite my tongue. If I'd known, I would have asked for their old flooring and put it down where ours runs out. Not even my house but I was sad for the old neighbours that their beautiful original 1930s parquet had been ripped out.

Homes are changed to meet new residents needs/wants/taste

If they weren't, peope living in Edwardian terraces would still be using the outside privy and washing in a bath in front of the fire, lit by gas light.

If you don't want your old house or garden to change then dont sell it.

I had to sell my childhood home to pay for DMs care.
Got guys in to clear everything out/take furniture to sell etc. seeing it without any furniture made me realise it was no longer a home, it was just a house. And for some reason, that hurt so very much. It was like part of me was gone. I spent a lot of that day in floods of tears.

my one regret is that I didn’t take any plants from the garden, as they ripped everything out and installed ugly, grey concrete slabs. Their choice, but it looked very strange, as the house is a Grade B listed building.