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Original poster

Would you buy a dirty house?

50 replies

whomovedmychocolate · 30/06/2011 11:38

This is a serious question - we've seen a house, it's fine. DH really likes it. But I'm deeply put off by the fact that the bathrooms are so grimy and the kitchen looks grimy too - it just looks uncared for.

There's light fittings missing etc.

I should add this is owned by a builder (a fairly good one by all accounts but I know builders tend to never 'get round to' finishing off their own houses).

DH says I'm being daft but I worry about what's underneath when I see such a shabby finish and lots of dirt.

WWYD?

OP posts:

Laquitar · 30/06/2011 19:37

I would have to clean it myself to make sure nothing is left (OCD alert) .

I wouldn't mind this but i would check the house deeper because neglect can cause other problems too.

People who don't clean usually don't air the house either.

Original poster

whomovedmychocolate · 30/06/2011 19:39

The photos don't show most of the frontage. It has a long driveway with beds (with no flowers) either side, followed by the wall with the ugly gargoyles, then to the right there is a whole other wing of house (not shown) with flowerbeds, there is a third garden behind it (don't ask - it looks like scrubland) and they took that photo in January just after the snow. Now the house is swathed in wisteria flowers and looks nicer (still no flowers in beds though) and that wall has to go clearly, the gates to the property (about 300 metres down) are sufficient boundary.

We are seeing other house on Saturday.

We have to move. We have no choice. There are only two houses which will fit in all our crap and this is the other.

If I took photos of it - I'd photograph the master bedroom which is amazing, or one of the really nice ensuites, or the balcony above the second bedroom where you can sit and have coffee before venturing downstairs.

Garden is not huge but location is great. 0.5 m from the school.

Kitchen is very good quality but ugly.

OP posts:

alliwant · 30/06/2011 19:54

We are buying a dirty house, carpets all ragged, finger marks on the walls, garden overgrown etc but as we plan to live there for atleast 10 years and it is a safe easy walk to an outstanding rated school I am overlooking it. Dirt will clean off, and its got 4 beds so each child has the option of their own room in the long run. I too think we have paid a good price and wanted it to be a bit lower (we paid 245 - does that sound good for a 4 bed detached in Cornwall???), but for the sake of a couple of grand I wanted to avoid the hassle and get myself (34 weeks preg) and the other 2 children settled.

If its the right house, you'll overlook the filth!

Paschaelina · 30/06/2011 19:58

Do you get a good feeling about it?

Original poster

whomovedmychocolate · 30/06/2011 20:03

Half and half Paschaelina. I have a funny feeling about it - it might be good but it's not necessarily bad. If a friend asked me for advice I'd say 'if you can get it for the price you want the rest is very fixable'

Alliwant that sounds bloody marvellous. Well done you :)

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MissMarjoribanks · 30/06/2011 20:05

Another one here who viewed a clean (on the surface) house, but moved into a filthy shitheap with an appallingly overgrown garden. I suppose that's what happens when it takes 7 months between offer and completion...

That's not to mention all the crap they left behind, including a broken dishwasher.

I'd do it again though as the house is utterly worth the three days it took to get clean and the year it took to redecorate.

alliwant · 30/06/2011 20:13

Thanks wmmc, I can't wait to get in now (and clean!!) mmb I agree a house can slide a great deal between offer and completion (looks sheepishly at own house - but i will clean it before I pass it on). One way to look at it, is that it is a blank canvas ready for you to make it really yours.

Original poster

whomovedmychocolate · 30/06/2011 20:17

Oh yeah my house was immaculate when we were doing viewings too. Which is why to have a house which has dirty pants on the floor is even more shocking really - especially at this price level - you know, you look at a studio flat which is going to have a student in, you know it's going to smell of weed/wee and be filthy. But.....

OP posts:

Paschaelina · 30/06/2011 20:24

I guess you'll know after Saturday's viewing the other house. Dh thinks this one needs £30-50k on it but he quite liked it. Mebbe it's a man-thing?

lalalonglegs · 30/06/2011 20:28

Hmmm, a bit of an odd layout, kitchen nowhere near utility room and sitting room has no natural light. Why do two professional sportsmen need a rocking horse - are they jockeys ?

SpringHeeledJack · 30/06/2011 20:31

wmmc aren't you the one who lives in the cute-but-spooooooky house?

if so, yes

bibbitybobbityhat · 30/06/2011 20:35

Oh, hmm, what do you like about it?

Indigojohn · 30/06/2011 21:06

What price are you hoping to get it for?

Original poster

whomovedmychocolate · 30/06/2011 21:15

Very odd layout lalalonglegs - but there's a reason for it - it was built by a builder and then extended. No architect has been involved. Apart from the futility which is against the workshop (which is why it's not near the house kitchen - note there is a second kitchen in the annex), it does sort of work though. And the sitting room has natural light - it's complicated though, they've got furniture in front of windows etc. Take out the weird config, which is actually fixable if you aren't tied to the current layout (and we aren't).

Not jockeys no. Rocking horse, probably DC/GDCs of owner. I see pics of kids anyway.

Springheeledjack yes I do, yes I want to move. It's spookier these days.

Bibbity - space, the dining room, the sun room, the lounge, the bedrooms, the annex, the spiral staircase in the annex is pretty special too, the main staircase is amazing, the large oak windows, the double garage, the second bedrooms ensuite is just amazing (though missing an architrave), the location.

IndigoJohn - that would start with an 8

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bibbitybobbityhat · 30/06/2011 21:29

The pictures aren't great are they? For a million pound house, if I was the seller, I'd want much much more on the website.

Its obviously been for sale for a while. Why not take a cheeky punt on the price? Doing something with the gardens would be a wonderful project.

Original poster

whomovedmychocolate · 30/06/2011 21:44

We are going to make a very cheeky punt on the price. Realistically I think it's at least £100k over. It's worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Nothing in that road has sold over £800k for two years.

I've done the background on Zoopla and everything. And yes having a blank canvas which can only get better is a good thing. Thank you for your positivity Bibbity - it helps. :)

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hksi · 30/06/2011 21:45

According to property bee it's been up for sale since April 2008 and started at 1.1m.

bibbitybobbityhat · 30/06/2011 21:56

Its such a big house and such a lot of money, with so many plus points, I'm surprised a bit of dirt would put you off. Tenanted properties are never presented as well as the ones where the home owners are resident and keen to sell. And, sadly, even tenants who presumably pay a shed load of rent are sometimes guilty of leaving their scants on the floor.

JackieNo · 30/06/2011 21:56

Our house was horrible when we moved in - had been empty for a year since the elderly couple who'd owned it died, and had been flooded while empty, so it was stinky and mouldy too. But we still both fell in love with it and wanted to sort it out. I think you need to feel at least neutral about somewhere you're going to buy, even if you're not in love with it. So I'd say if a survey doesn't uncover anything structurally wrong, and you can get it for the right price, why not?

Original poster

whomovedmychocolate · 30/06/2011 21:56

Well I know it's been up since Jan because that's when we started looking - I guess it was up with another agent then. Weird.

OP posts:

Original poster

whomovedmychocolate · 30/06/2011 21:59

2008 - it's been on the market since 2008

OP posts:

bibbitybobbityhat · 30/06/2011 22:02

PropertyBee and PropertySnake - both terribly useful websites when househunting.

Original poster

whomovedmychocolate · 30/06/2011 22:05

Thank you hksi - that was v helpful. Sort of explains a lot.

OP posts:

trixymalixy · 30/06/2011 22:15

Another one who bought a house that didn't look too bad, but moved into a stinking pit. I nearly cried as we had left my immaculate flat spotless.

I remember the carpets being dirty when we looked round, but not the weetabix encrusted on the ceilings and floors that was horrendous to get off.

I also wasn't expecting the infestation of larder beetles. We used to sit watching the tv with a bottle of insect killer to nuke the larvae as they came up through the floorboards.

Once it was clean and free of infestation it was a fabulous flat though.

AitchTwoOh · 30/06/2011 22:21

the only reason we could afford our place was because the vendor was mortified at the state it was in. cat shit everywhere, fag butts on the ground etc. brilliant for us, a week of cleaning and it was perfect.

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