So angry at sellers, left the house FILTHY

[Oldperithia]

I feel so sad for DS and his GF. They’ve saved and sacrificed so much for 3 years to scrape together a deposit on a house. Finally were able to buy a small 3 bed semi. Viewed it, offered 5% under asking and it was accepted.
They’ve been no trouble during the process whereas the older (60’s) sellers (who are apparently moving to Spain) have dragged their feet throughout the whole process to give them as much time as possible.

Well, DS and GF finally got the keys yesterday and were so excited but that soon turned to dismay when they got there to find everything really dirty, like they’ve not cleaned for months.

Carpets, skirtings, blinds thick with dust, walls all grubby and marked, light fittings greasy dusty, light switches black with dirt, the kitchen thick with grease and food stains and spatter over cabinets and cooker. Wasp nest in the roof.

Floors are sticky and grimy, the whole house is just dirty.

How do people live like that and how do they think it’s acceptable to leave like it for the next person.

We will all muck in and help clean and decorate but I feel so sad for them, it’s really taken the shine off the whole thing.

I know that they are fortunate to be in this position but it’s still made me so angry. If you know of an older couple moving to spain soon know that they’ve lived like dirty pigs and they’ve no thought for the people they’ve sold to. I hope karma bites them!!

That kitchen looks old

We had a similar experience when we bought our first house 25 years ago. It's very frustrating at the time but it was soon forgotten and we realised how lucky we were to have our own house, which we were able to clean and upgrade at our leisure. Congratulations to them on their new home!

Yes... 😅

I had that feeling too from our sellers. Those ghastly people could at least have removed the dried turds from the basement floor when they moved to their swanky new digs.

Please name so we can all boycott.

Where I live, you are expected to leave a house clean. It is normally written into the contract, and it is enforceable with financial penalties.

We had to clean immediately, with a crawling baby, toddler, and small child, so after staying up almost all night removing the visible biohazards, finding out the kitchen floor was white, not gray, and cleaning the putrid shite from the fridge, we had no evidence of the filth to make a claim for a cleaning company.

If I ever move again I will not hesitate to take photos and get estimates from cleaning companies.

Exactly what I was thinking too!

I sincerely hope everyone is mucking in not just "us Mums". It's shit that it's in a mess but this sort of thing is part and parcel of home ownership. And tbh if it's only a weekends work then it really isn't that bad!

Er when I moved out of my last place it was pretty well spotless. I got a message from the new owner thanking me for leaving it so clean. It’s not impossible to do.

Not very much time between furniture going and handing over the keys usually. Also your own dirt never seems so bad. Plus at the moment probably got a really bad deal on the price...

Shocked you’re shocked. By the time you buy your third project, you’ve got the cleaners on standby, you send them in and take yourself to the pub.

Our current house had been professionally deep cleaned when we moved in. It was lovely being able to put our babies cots up on a beautiful fresh carpet. Our two houses before that were manky. I already know I will get this house deep cleaned for the new owners when I next move.

It's not very nice and I can understand why you are all angry/upset.

I've moved house 7 times and have always left the properties spotless - literally hoovering/mopping myself out of the front door as we vacated the house.

In return I've most of the houses I've bought have been ok (but not as I would have left) but I did have two that were filthy- much as you describe where it would seem in the two month between last viewing an purchase the owners had given up cleaning anything.

It's annoying and poor behaviour but it can be fixed with some hard work and cleaning supplies.

Realistically if you all pitch in it will end up spotless and fresh and it won't be long before they want to start decorating to put their own stamp on the house.

Sadly I don't think this is that uncommon though I'd be mortified to leave a house in such a state.

Every house we've moved into has been absolutely disgusting! I actually expect it now. Our current house was vile, I found used sanitary towels in wardrobes, carpets squelching with pet urine, and rats! What was going to be our 5 year old dds room had swearing graffiti on the walls. This was covered with posters when we viewed the house. The oven could not be saved so we just ripped it out. It took an army of us 3 days to get in to a point where my dc could even visit. We had to get pest control in, and in the end we just ripped everything out, bought a few cheap rugs and painted the walls so we could move in. The nasty surprises continued for months, this house just kept on giving 😂 It was worth it though and I was glad of the clean slate to rebuild on.

They've got a foot on the ladder, that's what matters.

I think if you move into an old house you have to accept filthy.
It's very unlikely that any normal level of cleaning will remove grime.
Our latest house had been 'cleaned' but the general grime and dirt was insurmountable bar ripping things out and re installing

Where I live, the night before money is transferred and keys changed we do a walk through to make sure it’s clean. If it’s not we tell our agent who tells theirs and it’s clean by morning or they owe te buyer money back for cleaning

@Propertyshmoperty Elbow Grease spray should really improve those shelves!

We have obviously been very fortunate. We have moved twice and each time the house was immaculate. The sellers of our present house had also, very thoughtfully, left a folder of useful information and telephone numbers.

I feel for you. When my sister and her husband moved into their first apartment, we all went round to help them clean as the seller was a couple with two small kids, dogs and free flying birds (in a tiny 2 bed apartment) and they didn't clean anything.

My SIL and I spent the entire day cleaning budgie shit off a bedroom door (both sides) because the budgies would perch on top of the door and just shit down the sides. Years of shit build up.

I hope it's not as bad as that, definitely get a company in to deep clean if you can afford to.

I suspect some people are so sure that they are going to have to clean their new place that they don't bother too much with the one they are moving out of. Some of these tales are just downright horrible though, and it makes you wonder how some people live (and I am very, very, far off having the hygiene standards of many MNers 😅).

@ComtesseDeSpair I just want to say that your post and the approach you're advising are both absolutely brilliant. The "one day this'll just be another one of your funny stories to tell in the pub" thing is something both DW and MiL have said to me more than once over the years, and it can really help put things in perspective, plus take the edge off a little bit. It's a great attitude to have! 🙂

Aw I know that disappointment, how I wish someone warned us too:

I still remember how happy and excited me and DH were to get the keys and move in. We walked through the door and I was in tears. It was so filthy, full of dog hair in carpets, trash left behind and bascially just not the warm cosy house we viewed a couple of weeks before.

if we ever move again, we will make sure to book an end of tenancy clean before we enter the property!

Brilliant idea!

Im really shocked at these stories.

We’ve really got to know who this is!

I just bought a flat and not only was it impeccable but the previous owners had left post it notes telling me where the switches were and how to turn on fuses.
it was so so so clean. I am still grateful to them.
my house before -
sat on the stairs with a sinking heart as when they'd moved the fridge it turned out there was a big hole in the floor for mice to scamper in and out
rhey will clean it and make it their own

Same here. I’m shocked that you’re shocked OP