House of horrors - please help me see a nicer reason for this

[HouseOfHorrors]

Today I viewed a house, I knew it would be in bad condition and was a refurb job. It beyond disgustingly bad - even had a used needle on the floor.

However what has really freaked me out is every room in the house had a heavy duty anti-cut padlock on the outside of the door! Some rooms the padlock was still done up and the door had been broken to open the room and others the padlocks had been taken off and just hooked onto the one side of the catch.

Now all I can think is that people have been locked up their against their will and potentially drugged there. I've keep wondering if it was a unwilling prostitute prison house.

I'm a wuss at the best of times, so this has got me feeling sick. Please somebody come up with a reason why you would heavy duty padlock every room in the house from the outside, that doesn't include people being held against the will.

However what has really freaked me out is every room in the house had a heavy duty anti-cut padlock on the OUTSIDE of the door!

Be worse if they were on the inside, surely? That would mean the person who put them on was still in there!

Old bloke near us had a house like this, full of padlocks and bolts whilst being very dated condition and filthy. He had taken to urinating wherever too his fancy too. Explanation was he had dementia and as he had previously worked for a lock company he was obsessing about safety sometimes regressing to old war times so needed to keep safe. He had a load of “freebies” from his old work he kept in the shed to do odd jobs for neighbours. He would padlock doors then have to break them down as he didn’t remember where they keys were. Sad really, and his house must’ve been terrifying if you didn’t know the story.

@HouseofHorrors I'm looking for somewhere to settle down, so I want somewhere to do up and make my own. I'd definitely go for a pricey kitchen, but maybe I'm overestimating the costs of a bathroom? And it's possible that plasterers will be a little cheaper in Scotland than Bristol! You practically have to kidnap one here, then pay the ransom yourself

That house gave me a really bad feeling from the second I stepped in the front door - I don't think a feeling that instant would ever go.

I've experienced the same thing. Was hunting for a flat - I was actually homeless at the time so pretty desperate. But this one flat just had such a creepy vibe from the moment the agent opened the door... I knew I could never live there and just politely looked round quickly and got the hell out of there.

I've now lived there - here - for seven years. And it's lovely and cosy and not remotely creepy.

Watt That is incredibly sad poor bloke.

Dint know if this has been mentioned but if I was trying to secure a house I would put padlocks on the outside of doors simply because if someone broke in through a window then they only have access to that room. Does that make Sense?

It is horrible, just horrible. I got a bad enough feeling just from the photos, so Lord knows how it must have felt actually being in the place. And speaking of Lord, the cross on the wall is beyond creepy!

cherries Was it solely desperation that made you move there?

Arum very basic bathroom suites cost very, very little. I also have friend of the family who is a plumber and would plumb it in for hardly anything and I'll learn to tile myself (my bro did his first houses tiling after asking a mate who did tiling, to show him on a small section and supervise his first efforts - you couldn't tell it wasn't a professional job when it was finished. It just took him a lot longer than a professional to do it. so I'll get bro to teach me).

Kitchen wise I'd love to have a fabulous kitchen from the start but unfortunately I just don't have the budget - so it will have to be the nicest basic one I can find (possibly even an exdisplay one) or in the houses that have an adequate one already in I'll make do. But with what I'll save on not having to pay extortionate rent and having no mortgage, I'll be able to save up for my dream kitchen in a few years.

The house I buy this time I expect I will remain in. I don't expect I'll ever earn enough again to get a mortgage to move back up the property ladder.

Was it solely desperation that made you move there?

Yes, but I originally dismissed it instantly. It was a week or so later when I was feeling hopeless about my situation and crap flats I'd just viewed, that a (totally non-woo ) friend suggested I reconsider the creepy flat.

Others agreed with the creepyness, and there was ... oddness. I walked around telling whatever might be there that I wanted it to be a happy home, and so on. This isn't helping, is it? But it was a sort of ritual for me really, and it's been a really lovely home and rent is a bargain. So maybe you'll have the same financial luck if you talk to the ghosts nicely?

I'm getting awful, awful dark vibes from that place... It's like a 1960's Amityville horror house.

shudders

No vibes from me. But I’m used to seeing houses in a rubbish state. Good luck on the viewing tomorrow. The only advantage I see on the one you’re viewing today is that you could perhaps live in it during the renovations. The adtual bass cost will be the same if said old person hasn’t rewired or changed the plumbing. They may have added on fuse boxes etc but old wiring is old wiring. And the house you’ve linked isn’t old so you probably wouldn’t desperately need to rewire/change pipe work.

I would buy it - the little bird feeder in the garden tells me it was once loved.

I think you could DIY it for £15k. Get someone to take a look at the roof and at any issues with damp before you commit though. Also watch out for dodgy wiring.

Love your story of the unimpressed judge

www.getthedata.com/crime/cedar-close-TF3
Above link shows the crime stats for that road, looks a bit high compared to neighbouring streets,. Also gives details of type of crime.

Maybe google the address to see if you can learn about any crimes committed in it? Or maybe this site will have something about it?
www.police.uk
The house isn't great, but you could make it clean if you more or less replaced everything. Maybe flip it and make a profit to buy a differant house without bad vibes?

Shared house, occupants locked their rooms when out?

The amount of stats for violence and sexual offences for that road would seem to me to be coming from one possible source. Think you have found the answer

I have to admit being disappointed by the pictures. I had hoped for something more like Crimson Peak.

Hermit well done! I think user could be right. Hands tbh that would terrify me - I have a lot of issues dealing with nice seeming men in nice public places - I'm in counselling because of what ex did to me but it's like I've come to expect men to be cruel, manipulative, volatile, violent and sadistic - no amount of telling myself most men can't be that way helps unfortunately.

By comparison the main area I've been looking has very little on that site. I'm going to stick to my main area and bide my time.

Mummy the houses are both approx 30-35years old. I'm prepared that some rewiring may be needed on any house I buy and will be getting it all checked as soon as I purchase one, so if anything needs doing, it can be done before the rest of the house.

Tom I did say the pictures really don't look bad or show the horrors of it at all really.

I viewed the other house today. It's 7k less, in a nicer area and 1000x better.

It also needs all new flooring, new kitchen (although the existing one is basically functional but from pre-90's), wall paper striping and walls skimmed, new boiler and likely some electrical work - like the house of horrors one would too. But today's one the radiators are in good condition (no corrosion), doors and door frames are in good condition, bathroom is acceptable if a new electric shower is installed - (the sink and bath are a dated style but are white and tiles are just white - the toilet is fairly new) etc. Size is great, position is good. I'd say it was a very cared for house but elderly person who owned it so things had started to get a little grubby.

It had a good feeling too (despite the headache inducing patterned 70s style carpets and wall paper). Will get mom's opinion too but I think I'm definitely making an offer.

Big sense of foreboding coming from that house OP. Was the atmosphere in there oppressive?

That's great OP. Best of luck with it.

Is there any chance you could just ask one of the neighbours about the house?

House of horrors has now been reduced to £60,000 so looks like others agreed with me that it was in extra bad condition compared to the other cheaper development options.