To be miffed about my filthy house

[constantlylactating]

Bought a house with DH and 2x young DS (5 and 5 months), moved in last Friday. It was an older lady living here alone, the house was too much for her, and as such we expected to have to roll our sleeves up and do some serious cleaning.

On moving day we didn't get the keys until 4.45, so when we arrived we were shattered. The house was so filthy when we were moving our stuff in, I could have cried. It stank of dogs (still does a week on) and every room was caked in layers of filth and grime- the kitchen and bathroom were so bad, I wouldn't even take the baby in them.

She had also left several things in the house- a huge wardrobe full of clothes, huge old dresser, dirty old fridge, oven, cupboards full of plates and food, and a shed packed full of broken tools.

We ended up in a hotel that first night, and we booked a deep clean with a cleaning company for the next day. Cleaner arrived and was horrified at the state the house had been left in. It took her 4 hours just to do the bathroom- she unearthed piles of dirty razor blades tucked behind the sink.

We need another deep clean as she didn't get round to most of the house. We also need to book a skip to get rid of all her crap stuff.

We expected a certain level of work, but honestly this last week has been really hard going, and it's still nowhere near clean enough for us to unpack most of our stuff.

AIBU to have expected better, or is this just standard?

This is the second house we have bought, we didn't have any issues at all the first time around.

Your solicitor reclaims the cost of moving the stuff left behind from her.

Exactly.

When you saw the state of the house at the final viewing, you should have told your solicitor to agree with the vendor’s side that the house would be completely empty of possessions on completion day, and that it was to be deep-cleaned. Alarm bells should have been ringing when you saw the state of the place. Failing that, on completion day, when you saw the state it was left in, you should have taken photos of everything before allowing a cleaner in, and should have rung your solicitor immediately to complain strongly. If you phoned your solicitor a week ago and have not had a response, you should be phoning them every hour on the hour until you speak to someone! You’re being far too soft about this. Insist on charging the vendor for all the deep cleaning and the removal of any furniture/items left behind. Do not pay your solicitor’s bill until they have negotiated this for you. Take photos or a video now before you do any more cleaning/clearing

No it's not standard and you should be able to expect a basic level of cleanliness . But as you bought it off a lady who sounds like she wasn't coping , lots for her sons to deal with , you knew it was dirty from what you saw, you got good value for the space etc it doesn't sound surprising. With a baby I think you were optimistic to think you'd all be able to move in and live from day 1.

Our house was in a state when we moved in. The surveyor had advised he had seen a sign of mouse droppings in the under stairs cupboard but we never imagined a house as overrun with mice as we found. There were mouse droppings in the (dirty) fridge ffs. Kitchen inside cupboard doors were covered in layers of years of grime. The outside ones clearly cleaned for viewing and not cleaned after.

It did make it hard to begin with. We did everything we could to get it clean and free of mice (professionals and ourselves) and the smell lessened over time. Then worked on getting a room at a time how we wanted it starting with the living room so we had somewhere to retreat to and relax.

You’ll get there and down the line this will be a distant memory, but I really feel for you - it’s so unpleasant and must be even worse with smaller kids

But isn't part of settlement where you agree to buy it as is, I would assume the vendor has to remove their belongings because of vacant possession but I don't see how they can legally charge them cleaning?

You can’t. Especially as my ‘clean’ might vary with your expectations. Possessions are one thing, not arriving to a spotless house is another.

I have had exactly this, except not able to move in for a full week due to even worse issues (and also the pipes under the sink were hanging off).
I had to fork out for a full day deep clean, rubbish clearance, emergency plumber etc.

Solidarity.

Did you specifically communicate through agent and solicitor prior to completion that you expected the house to be empty? The previous owner sounds like a hoarder so it would be reasonable to make specific comments about this. Contact solicitor again and request reply today, even if you need to do this by phone conversation. I don't know what the law is on disposing of her belongings yourself.

Get the furniture out into the front of the house and it will miraculously disappear within a few hours, that will reduce your need for a skip.

Alternatively call British Heart Foundation or Scope and see if they want them for their furniture charity shops.

Then just start with a bucket of hot soapy water and start scrubbing a room, pick one that will give you a communal space to enjoy when it's clean so kitchen or living room. It will clean up quicker than you think. Sometimes looking at the problem makes it get bigger, just attack it.

Yep, one room at a time. You’ll feel such a sense of achievement.

Film it and send it to your solicitors office.
Of course the house has not been left as agreed?
Full of shit to be removed and filthy.
Tell your solicitors you will make a complaint about them if they do not sort this out on your behalf.
This is a huge extra expense for you.
You were told the house would be cleared and cleaned.
Kick up a fuss.

Kick up a fuss only works if it is legal to demand this

Do people just go through life thinking never mind what the law says just kick up a fuss that will make it all go away?

Like people have said there’s probably nothing you can do about the filth but you shouldn’t have to pay to get rid of her furniture and clothes. Contact the solicitor and they will advise you and claim the money back from the seller.

Don’t book a skip. The vendor needs to arrange for it to me moved. Speak to your solicitor

The standard wording in sales contract is the house is to be left 'free of possessions and swept clean'. Unfortunately you can't just throw her possessions out. You need to write to her (through her solicitor) what she has left and that you are storing these items at X cost (ask a storage company how much they would charge) and you expect items to be removed by Y date or else you will dispose of them. And hopefully you took photos of the state of the house and that it was uninhabitable so you had to stay in a hotel.
Best case her lawyer convinces her to get someone to remove the junk.
But let's assume date has passed, she did not collect her stuff, you've hired a skip and chucked her items. Then add up all your costs (hotel stay, storage and removal) and ask yourself is it worth the cost and effort pursuing the costs. Generally if under £500 it isn't.
As for cleaning - there's no legal requirement, 'swept clean' is a wooly phrase so unlikely you would recover costs there but if you do decide to pursue costs I'd add that in too.
I've moved in to a couple dirty places, one one couple removed all the light fixtures (you are required to leave a light source, even if that's just a bare bulb hanging from the ceiling). But fortunately no junk. It made my skin crawl but had to deal with it.
Now I try and get a place cleaned before I move in, even if it looks ok.

Yep, carpets and curtains were the first thing to go 😂

Thanks for this, it's very helpful!

We moved into a flat that stank of dog a few years ago and honestly the smell probably took a couple of months to get rid of, it did eventually go though. I wouldn't be letting the estate agent just ignore the email if I was in your position! Her / her sons need to be getting rid of her stuff.

I’d go for the living room first, as it’s likely to be the barest- strip the carpet and wash it down.

The babies can sleep in it too, as can you if you have big enough sofas!

Look for carpet offcuts- people will often give them away- and make a patchwork temporary covering for the floor while you get started on sorting things out. That way you’ll have a fresh clean room to hang out in while you sort the rest.

FYI BHF quite picky they rejected our old sofa !

If you're having to rip out carpets and remove curtains surely you can't live in it, not with small children.

Oh for gods sake, this smacks of privilege, how many houses up and down the land do you think either dont have curtains or carpets or who dont at various times due to renovations, all while young children are living there.

When we moved in, we ripped up all the carpets and just threw down cheap rugs and we put a bed sheet up at the windows temporarily as there were no curtains.

So precious!!!

Why?

When we moved into this house it was left utterly filthy, but had been empty for ages so were prepared for that.

What did chap my arse though was the loft full of wasps nests the vendor had agreed to have removed prior to us moving in, was still there.. solicitor had provided us with paper 'proof' it had been dealt with, which was obviously some forged document.

We ended up getting a local pest controller in and dealing with the problem ourselves as by this point we had , had enough of the vendor and his dodgy dealings ( gas leak hidden by turning off the gas supply before we moved in.. we had young kids and the whole place could have gone boom).

Guy was a wanker, but we wanted the house and got it at a reasonable price.