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Original poster

Shit stuff in the house you just bought

381 replies

TheFrozenCanal · 21/01/2023 21:21

This is a semi lighthearted thread, hopefully popcornable.

We recently moved house. Buyer beware is of course the rule at play here.

We offered when houses were being snapped up within a day, and eventually found a house though had to go 20k over the asking price for it. We desperately needed to move - work and no space for dc. We had no money left in the budget for anything more than a quick coat of paint.

We moved in and the:

Boiler is dead. It's -2 outside and I've had two plumbers over to quote on a replacement and they've both told me they fixed it, only for me to discover it isn't fixed.

In bringing the furniture down to move they gouged chunks out of the stairs wall. It's not even that tight to come down. To make space, they took the handrail off (and discarded it I presume) leaving huge holes in the wall. I now need to replaster the wall really.

The upvc windows are extremely draughty for some reason - I didn't think that would happen it wasn't noticeable when we first visited last May!

The whole house is papered in a paper that really needs to come off. But in taking the paper off I see that it was put up to hide some really shonky plastering. Between that and the wallpaper paste gloop that I'm struggling to scrape away, we can't decide if we ought to replaster the whole house (as a DIY job) or sand it down with an electric sander.

What delights were in store for you when you moved in that were not picked up by the survey?

😄

OP posts:
SquashesPumpkinsAutumnBliss · 21/01/2023 22:04

The original 1960’s boiler that meant we had icicles inside out windows the first winter! New boiler and windows went to top of lost for replacing!
wallpaper that kept falling off the wall in the lounge - parts seem to have been blu tacked up!
the nice light fittings we saw on viewing had been replaced with what must have been the original ones the first owner had ( we were buyer 3) - and light fittings were down to be included!
the cooker could not even cook a pizza without the top burning and parts still were not cooked!!!

AlwaysGinPlease · 21/01/2023 22:04

Tiffan · 21/01/2023 21:59

@Isseywith3witchycats I can't believe you sent the puppy back with them. You could have taken it to a rescue!

Great minds... shocking.

Orangesare · 21/01/2023 22:04

Well I didn’t bother with the survey and what I found compared to others is quite minor but very annoying. The kitchen sink taps are plumbed in the wrong way round so the hot is actually the Cold and vice versa. Quite manageable, the bigger problem is the dishwasher and washer are plumbed in to what appears to be the cold pipe but is actually the hot feed.

WigglyGlowWorm · 21/01/2023 22:04

TheFrozenCanal · 21/01/2023 21:59

Noooo!

Show quote history

We had this, they jumped on our legs 🤮 Also, the whole house stank of dog. Took ages to get rid of the fleas and stink.

Greentime101 · 21/01/2023 22:05

We moved a wardrobe they had left behind & discovered they had just painted round it!

RewildingAmbridge · 21/01/2023 22:05

Anaglypta wallpaper and artex everywhere, full time full of shit faux mahogany furniture that was massive, we ended up needing a skip. Anil seventies faux wood panelling but that was a bonus as it was hiding 9 original Edwardian doors!
Totally shit insulation, we put some in and then got terrible condensation....

PointlessPoster · 21/01/2023 22:06

Oh god this brings back memories... When my mum moved into her house (15 yrs ago or so?) there was a smell and a dark patch on the lounge carpet. So I did the only sensible thing and stamped on it and my leg went right through - the smell was dog wee and the dark patch was the dog wee that had soaked through the floor.

When we moved into our house we realised about a day later that the carpets were absolutely infested with fleas, and had to rip them out of the whole house. The carpets were only a year old, we couldn't afford to recarpet so went without for about 18 months.

We also discovered a big bin hidden behind a bush in the garden that was full to the brim with dog poo. 🤮. I just find it staggering that someone could leave that behind.

ShakespearesBlister · 21/01/2023 22:09

When I moved in my dog found trotted off to explore and found a half eaten kebab in the living room.

Margo34 · 21/01/2023 22:10

We discovered (unfortunately) that the waste removal plumbing in the loft conversion had been installed level, i.e. waste was not being removed from the bathroom in the loft conversion. We had to rip out the whole lot and have it reinstalled so the waste actually drained away! At huge expense! Plus scaffolding.

OnceRuralNowUrbanbliss · 21/01/2023 22:11

So sorry this has happened to so many of you! I thought it was just me.

I took great delight in telling people that after 10 years of renovating I was moving to a new build so would never need to hire a tradesman or do diy again. Not so. Even though I bought it from the guy who'd built it then loved in it with his family for three exact years (so he could avoid new house build duty - sod)

En suite is entirely out of action as loo leaks as does shower into living room where there is now a hole in ceiling because I didn't know it leaked. It also can't be turned off scalding hot.

Bathroom has weirdo plumbing to restrict temp of hot taps to be just tepid. A have a go boyfriend has now adjusted this but took him hours to get to weird plumbing behind tiled in bath panel.

Boiler keeps overheating and cutting out.

I can't afford to fix any of it. Moving wiped me out. I'll save for next year.

Margo34 · 21/01/2023 22:11

Oh and wallpaper on top of wallpaper - 5 layers thick. Every. Single. Room.

JenniferAllisonPhillipaSue · 21/01/2023 22:13

Shonky electrics. The previous owner was very keen on DIY and did most of the wiring himself. We have extension upon extension upon extension hidden behind panelling that then ends/eppears like a normal wall socket. We had a socket positioned immediately below the boiler's overflow pipe. It all needs professionally re-wiring but we don't have the money. We just pray that nothing goes wrong, and try to live with the situation whilst making sure nothing is ever left on just in case!

Clevs · 21/01/2023 22:13

A roof that leaks.
A leak from the shower somewhere that's getting under the flooring.
Damp in the bedroom.
Damp coming in through the windows making the curtains go mouldy.
A bedroom that's an ice block despite the heating being on all day.
An LPG tank in the garden that needs moving to comply with current regulations that neither solicitor nor surveyor notified us about.
Decoration that looks like it's come out of the e80s.
Bodged DIY jobs done on the cheap.
A leaky car port.

The joys of buying an old house. Yes it's quirky and has character but I feel it's going to be a money pit (we've been here 6 months).

Loveatortie · 21/01/2023 22:13

I can't believe you sent the puppy back to them 😱

NameNotRelevant · 21/01/2023 22:14

Heartsofstone · 21/01/2023 21:58

Fleas in the carpet

We had this too! We ripped the carpets up the day after we moved in.

We also had:

A filthy kitchen, when I say filthy I mean I was scraping grease off the cupboards
DH was in the back porch, heard a crack and his foot went through a floorboard where their freezer had been
Two locks on the outside of a room the previous owners children used to share
Mouldy towels under the bath when we investigated a rancid smell wrapped round leaking pipes
3 stables that must have been deep littered for at least 3 years including 3 years worth of horse shit

On a good note, we found parquet flooring under the carpets that we restored, 3 boarded up fireplaces that we opened up, original hall tiles hidden under carpets and a cellar.

Tiredmamma8 · 21/01/2023 22:15

We found:

Skirting boards around windows with towel rails instead of curtain poles. Wtaf.

dado rails for picture rails.

the kitchen had gaps that were then filled with tiles packed together and painted.

bedroom window didn’t open.

when it rained the rain poured into the bedroom from above the window - maybe why they had the skirting board.

painted bathtub?!

when we took the awful paper off the walls the plaster came off.

3 layers of tiles under the kitchen floor.

Some skirting boards around the walls were skirting boards some were planks of wood in the same room.

there’s definitely some floorboards missing under the laminate.

they hadn’t put the lights up properly they sparked and blew all the electrics.

Liberal with silicone FOR EVERYTHING. I am still finding it in unsuspecting places.

Boiler was good though!

OnceRuralNowUrbanbliss · 21/01/2023 22:15

Oh and they took Every Single Curtain Pole.
I've moved 30+ times in my life and have never been sans curtain poles. Might not have liked the style and changed them later but to take them with.

Also each sink - kitchen and bathrooms leaked underneath on arrival. I tightened up nuts and thought they can't have lived with leaks like that so must have loosened them as they left

SiobhanSharpe · 21/01/2023 22:16

Our house was spotlessly clean when we moved in but the oven and hob were cheap and nasty. The grill reaches a certain temperature and cuts out. The pan supports on the hob are so flimsy they are actually dangerous unless you are super careful in placing pans or moving them. They slide or tip at the drop of a hat.

The en-suite loo had a macerator (yes, it does what you think it does) which made the most fearful noise not only when you flushed but also just about every time you peed in it. While you were still peeing, in fact, but you could never tell exactly when -- it would start up with a clatter making me jump every single time.
Ensuite has been re-done as a priority.
(Seriously considered a name-change to WetlegsSharpe. )
Kitchen will be done this year.

NameNotRelevant · 21/01/2023 22:16

I forgot about the wallpaper, 4 layers of the stuff including wood chip and once we got it all off hand stencilled patterns on the walls.

xyzandabc · 21/01/2023 22:19

Showers with very little water pressure and if someone else flushed a toilet, turned on a tap, put the dishwasher or washing machine on whilst you were in the shower then you immediately had a freezing cold shower.
Conservatory roof that acts like a sieve when it rains.

Been here 5 years, we've fixed the showers but not the conservatory roof, just make sure we don't leave anything underneath where the water comes in !

xyzandabc · 21/01/2023 22:20

Oh and the kitchen sink didn't drain at all. The u bend was totally blocked.

House was immaculately clean though so that was a plus

HowDoYouOwnDisorder · 21/01/2023 22:23

We had some surprises:

cluster flies in the attic

court warrants out for previous owner and crown court banging down the door at 6am on a Saturday

Electricity wired so our neighbours were paying our bill

kitchen units held together with bits of sellotape

For years we’d have fun with things such as a couple of heavies blocking me in my drive and saying my husband owed them money (me then having to explain I was not conman’s wife but new owner. it was like something out of a movie)

so it looks like we bought of a very dodgy guy. So many things we discover to this day! He was a great believer in sellotape

Pollywoddles · 21/01/2023 22:26

Ran the oil heating until the tank was dry and the system was air locked. Had to hire a plumber to get it going again.

Took the washing machine that was advertised as included in the sale. Had to buy a new one, luckily we had already hired the plumber.

Took the blinds advertised as included in the sale.

Could have been worse I suppose but they dicked us around with the sale and between them and our incompetent solicitor we nearly ended up homeless.

thinkingGirls · 21/01/2023 22:26

Mines a bit different as it was rented, but when I went to look around the previous tenant was still in and in the process of moving so everything was piled high with boxes etc!

I accepted the house, came to move it and found that the window sills were so low with fire escape windows so I couldn't actually open them without my toddler trying to climb out🥴

I had ZERO storage as they'd knocked all the cupboards out and added extra kitchen units and everything was so crooked I couldn't actually fix a baby gate on to any wall as there wasn't a straight wall anywhere near the stairs! It was a disaster

ImNotWhoYouThink · 21/01/2023 22:27

Too many things wrong but what immediately comes to mind…
Boiler broken
Dishwasher broken
Electric sockets not working
Underfloor heating not working
Took the washing machine when they said they were leaving
Brown stained toilet seats! (although we would have changed regardless)
House generally very dirty and carpets full of dog hair (we have a dog but I left my carpets clean!)
Hole in the ceiling
Missing and loose skirting boards
First time it rained heavily we had to use buckets in 2 bedrooms because the rain came through … including the one their DD used to sleep in!
House smelt of sewage when the toilet was flushed so we had to have the drains immediately looked at… I could go on