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.

I don't understand why you assumed that? You've said there was loads of stuff piled up and a smell, you didn't say there was a specific cleaning agreement. It is purchase "as-is". Collection of items can be charged, but if you tell your solicitor you didn't know it would be dirty after seeing it dirty they'll be laughing at you.

Well according to some playing hell or words to that effect will fix it

My sister moved into a house like this. I think it took a week of cleaning and airing for the smell of dog to go and they had family to help with the cleaning and also put them up for a few days

In our first house we moved in to find that the front door had no key and was "locked" a piece of wood propped against it
We bought our current house from someone who's business is going into people's houses and helping them organise and clean their house to improve their wellbeing....based on how she left her own home I wouldn't be hiring her services!

You might be in for a long week but you will get it clean and smelling lovely and ready to make it yours

It's horrible that you had to move in with the place in a state but...

Two sons "let her live like that"!?!?! Hmm. It's not their fault and maybe they had no choice. My dad was a hoarder and lived in a horrible state... but I had to be very careful about ever mentioning things as he would prefer to shut down our relationship than change the way he was living. I felt a lot of guilt but couldn't do anything to change it. For example, I'd buy him new things like towels, but he would continue using his threadbare dirty towel, while the new towels just remained in the bag I brought them in... I'd help him arrange cleaners (he would refuse any help from me and become aggressive) but he would cancel the cleaners.

God, I really feel for you OP. This is one of my worst nightmares. People love to scoff at new builds but this is just one of many reasons I would never buy a second hand house and opted for a new build. What a nightmare.

I remember the day we moved into a filthy house and it broke my heart. In hindsight, the seller was an absolute cunt and we absolutely should have expected it. When we moved out of that house we left it spotless and they absolutely could have "just moved in".

It's hard to say what's "right" here. Personal belongings absolutely should not be left unless it's something that's agreed or is very likely to be something that is wanted and not just because you couldn't be arsed to get it out.

Clean - yes it should have been clean. The vendor should have paid for a deep clean from what you're saying. I don't think you would be able to move into that house and not be a bit disgusted tho. I think it will take a month or so for the smell to dissipate. Luckily the weather is ok so you can air it.

I'd chase the solicitors but really not expect much.

You'll be laughing about it in the future since you've got it as you like it.

Sorry unless you buy a house at auction you do not expect it "as-is". You expect it cleared out at a bare minimum. Maybe not clean, but certainly all the previous owners crap taken and disposed of. Which I know you've said...but then that's not "as-is", is it?

Sellers aren't obliged to pay fora deep clen or even to clean anything - although I'd argue they should be. It's horrible to move into your new home and not be able to do anything without feeling you need to fumigate.

Tenants are obligated to clean or get cleaned the property when they move out, even if it wasn't by choice. Sellers are not.

And whoever says a "doer-upper" you should expect not to live in it - let's be real here, "doer-upper" is on a scale. I'd consider a house that had not been renovated or decorated since the 70s a "doer-upper" as would most, but that doesn't make it unlivable. You also can't actually get a mortgage on an unlivable property, there are rules about running water and kitchens and stuff.

When did you do the final viewing?
I would have arranged it for a day or so before moving. This is from experience from when a relative moved in somewhere that wasn't completely clear. So when we bought the next house we did final viewing the day before.

Something similar happened to me when I bought my first house on my own in my 20s but nowhere near as bad as your situation.
The previous owners had just left a rusty lawn mower and a couple of kids bikes in the back garden and they left all their family pictures up bizarrely. I contacted the estate agent as soon as I got in and they said it was unacceptable and the man who previously owned the house came to remove it after the solicitor had got in touch with him. He then bizarrely said to me he left them as he thought I might want them??

Yes a single 25 year old female would love pictures of your family and two bikes with stabilisers...

Most people buy a doer-upper fully expecting to put a new kitchen/bathroom in and repaint/wallpaper and change the flooring etc over time (at least in the circles I move in🤷‍♀️) and would definitely expect it to be as clean as the day they viewed it!
Most of us don't have a 'Grand Designs' type budget to rip everything out at start again whilst living elsewhere for the duration of the renovation.
Some sellers seem to cease cleaning anything on the day they accept the offer on their property - that to me is unreasonable and quite honestly a sign of a scummy seller. If you view it and offer on it when it is filthy then fair enough, you would expect to move into it in that condition.

We've been in our house 13 years and there's still a whiff of cigarette smoke in the utility that is noticeable when you come back from being away on holiday and the house has been shut up.

OP viewed a hoarders house and bought it as such... it was never clear.

It was sold, discounted, offered on and bought in exactly the state she saw it in.

She can legally go after the cost to remove the items but expecting it 'clean' was insane.

Doer ups are not about changing cosmetics to your personal taste, all houses are sold on that basis lol. They are about safety issues like outdated electrical wiring, water/damp/mold damage and roof/structural problems etc... which are almost always present in hoarders homes.

OP says it was so cluttered she could not even see the walls and floor during viewing to see they where 'dirty' so I guarantee even if its miraculously got no maintenance or structural issues (highly unlikely, a proper survey can't even be conducted in a hoarded home) it will have black mold from condensation damp and ventilation issues.

Which raises the important point of what did your survey say OP?

If its still so cluttered now and was so bad you couldn't see obvious problems then theres no way they could conduct one as they all state they do not move property to investigate so did you just not have one?

Chase them up.

And they absolutely have to pay for the disposal of all her stuff

Has your solicitor been paid? I'd be on to them hourly!!

All the stuff she left behind isn't the OP's financial responsibility to dispose of

Definitely get on to your solicitor funds can be halted until reparations for cleaning and dumping waste are paid. This happened us a number of years ago, place wasn't filthy but they left loads of stuff it was ridiculous. We needed 3 skips to get rid of it all. Solicitor negotiated the cost of the skips and payment for our time back from them. Both solicitors handled it all and estate agent was really helpful.

Doer upper does not mean "safety issue". It can. I can also mean "could do with a new bathroom", "the fence is falling down", "single glazed windows" etc.

It’s not always so simple as family allowing it to get in a bad state. She maybe wouldn’t allow them to clear it. Who knows? Awful for you though.

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.

^^THIS is the issue she can be compensated for. Having to get rind of all that.

Buying a house in usable livable condition is absoloutly not a doer up its just a house. You are expected to change dated wallpaper and kitchens/bathrooms to your taste but if they are usable they are not 'doer-up' and do not qualify for 'doer-up' prices.

Imagine thinking and bragging you 'did up' a house because you moved in a perfectly normal house and just re-wallpapered a 15 year old feature wall and put in a new roll top bath lol.

Why do you keep pushing this incorrect definition of "doer-upper"? Have you just bought a shit heap house and feel the need to be competitive renovators or something?

What’s any of that got to do with my comment? 🤔

I haven't read all the thread but our house was even worse. There. Were windows you couldn't see through, layers of grease on the kitchen wall, a larder full of mouse droppings and when we ripped the bathroom out, underwear that had fallen behind the sink. It also smelt. Our then neighbours commented after we had been there for a few months that it was nice not having the awful smell when the back door opened. You need to rip out any carpets first. Just do it and live off bare boards. If the bathroom and kitchen are irredeemable then they need to go too. Decorate the kids rooms as a matter of urgency.

It will take a while and I think my husband really struggled with the awfulness of it. My PIL were amazing and stayed in the house while the bathroom and kitchen were done while we went away with our son. We could not have afforded our house had it been in good condition so focus on that. Good luck!

Thanks for all the great replies, I have been on to the solicitor today.

For more information for some PP- yes we bought it as a doer-upper- but only in that we knew it needed new windows, lick of paint, new carpets etc. Survey was quite in depth and came back with nothing major/worrying.

We can afford the house, we can afford these small jobs we knew about. New windows and doors add value to a house, I simply meant if all these things were already done for us, it would have been over our budget.

The seller assured us it would be cleaned and it wasn't.

The main issue though as most people picked up on, was the sheer amount of rubbish she left behind that we now need to get rid of.

Get back onto your solicitor to get onto hers - you have paid for vacant possession of the property. Take photos of it all ASAP don't muck around here.

It is ABSOLUTELY up to her to pay to get all the shite removed. Yes, you will have to clean it and I doubt there is a way to make her pay for that, but removal of all the horrible shite, that is absolutely on the vendor and it is not uncommon that this needs to be chased up by the legal bods involved in conveyancing.