Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

What "surprises" did you find after moving in?

357 replies

thekaratekid · 16/08/2021 15:27

I seem to find that most people upon moving into their new home discover something bizarre or something completely bodged (usually hidden) by the previous owner.

In our first house we found that the garage access door had obviously been broken during move day and as we opened it...it completely fell apart and was covered in still wet glue! Hmm

In the same house we also found the previous owners had lazily carpeted around large pieces of furniture...so two tone carpet in the bedrooms. Cue scrambling around trying to get new carpet fitted asap.

Current house, I assume that the vendors only ever cleaned what could be seen immediately at eye level or used useless cleaning products. The kitchen cupboards were a sticky, dusty mess of 15 years worth of grease and oil. The venetian kitchen blind was also sticky with grease. The sink drain brown with tea stains etc. I had to invest in heavy duty chemical degreaser and a drill brush and spent approx 10 hours scrubbing and breathing chemical fumes the day after moving in. Bizarrely the dirt was not particularly obvious when we viewed, I guess we didn't actually touch anything too much due to covid etc. Confused

I appreciate the above is probably not as horrific as what some people find, but it always surprises me what people see as "normal" or feel they can get away with.

Anyone else find any horrors worth sharing?

OP posts:
Scottishmarigold · 17/08/2021 18:57

A moth infestation!

Very difficult to get rid of.

Lclaytonuk5555 · 17/08/2021 18:58

Fleas

Carol44 · 17/08/2021 18:58

Upstairs flat loft contained a car engine and 4 car wheels. I'm ashamed to say the engine was still there when I sold the flat 4 years later.

ABitPerplexed · 17/08/2021 18:59

In our first rented property, we found a bag of miniature hotel shampoos collected clearly over many visits, in a transparent bag - you know, the fancy kind with spherical bottle tops. On closer inspection, they also had at least one set of anal beads camouflaged amongst them!! Confused Straight in the bin!

steppingcarefully · 17/08/2021 19:04

It took us 14 years to discover perfectly preserved 35 year old floorboards under the living room carpet! My husband told me it was a concrete floor and I didn't think to question it.

JellyNellie · 17/08/2021 19:07

My first ever home we found 3 black bag of cannabis leafs and used lady products,I've been moved around 4 years now and still to go in my attic as previous owners never cleared there stuff out

LadyMonicaBaddingham · 17/08/2021 19:08

Our house had been empty for the best part of ten years when we bought it. The wallpaper had been NAILED up in most rooms.

Staffy1 · 17/08/2021 19:12

Someone had painted around the bed.

FrenchBulldogsareFab · 17/08/2021 19:17

Left my
sold apartment pristine clean - washed kitchen units, skirting boards etc. I thought this was standard form! My 1960's house had sewage under the bathroom floorboards, windows covered in 20 plus years of grease and dirt and skirting boards the same. Pizza stuck on back of bedroom door. Kitchen cupboards covered in dust and grease film. Extractor above hob caked in grease and work surfaces to match. The downstairs loo boasted a horror beyond description. Garden embellished with a 2m high pile of garden refuse and discarded pot plants. Previous owner left a bottle of wine and a nice card describing gardens hedgehog. They live in same village and I did consider sending a card and bottle of something. Couldn't decide between Domestos or Tesco own brand bleach.

JudgeJ · 17/08/2021 19:18

We had a builder in the replace a bowing ceiling in the kitchen, as he started to remove the old ceiling a mountain of building rubble came down. When the extension had been built the lazy whatsits had stuffed all the rubble under the floor of the bedroom above, which is probably why the ceiling was bowing!
I have to say that when we moved into our current house it was totally immaculate, I don't know if they had had someone in but whoever had cleaned it was a very thorough job.

NotImpossible · 17/08/2021 19:20

The seller was an alcoholic who left (literal) rubbish strewn all over the place. I'm guessing family nembers had cleared the place for the viewings. It looked like a week or two worth of bin rubbish just strewn everywhere. And a LOT of empty alcohol bottles in various bags around the place.

2bazookas · 17/08/2021 19:21

Best ever find on moving in day, was when I opened a mystery (full size) door in the kitchen, expecting a cupboard. It was a walk-in pantry with floor to ceiling shelving round three walls.

It was a private sale, the vendor had written the very sketchy particulars himself and forgot to mention the pantry.

Vbree · 17/08/2021 19:22

We found an old vase full of dog poo at the bottom of the garden!Confused

JudgeJ · 17/08/2021 19:22

@Highfivemum

Walking in the front door and seeing an old lady sitting on the stairs. She was the aunt of the previous owner and they hadn’t told her they had moved. !!!! She had a key as it used to be her house until they put her in a nursing home along the street and she would visit every Friday. I cried as I couldn’t believe anyone would be that cruel. We kept in touch and she still came round every week until she passed away. Her DN never told her where she moved to. !!
How very kind of you. In one of our houses we got a Christmas card addressed to the previous owner WIth Love from Mum for about 6 years. Poor woman not to be told they'd moved.
Danikm151 · 17/08/2021 19:22

@rosyAndMoo

Current home, bought 17 years ago. Electric spaghetti junction… had several sockets that blew within hours of moving in. Had to get the house rewired (thankfully hubbies best mate is a sparky so got mates rates), have a random stop cock in the dining room. Still have no idea what it is for
I have a random stop cock in my smaller bedroom! I think it’s from the old heating system as it connects to the chimney breast but definitely does nothing. Currently being used as a coat hook haha
Youhadmeathello1 · 17/08/2021 19:24

Sheep bones, including a jaw and oyster shells in an under stairs cupboard which used to be the drains to the abattoir from 100’s of years before. Also, same house, the majority of the windows painted shut!

Clovacloud · 17/08/2021 19:25

A live electric cable behind the shower on/off knob....and the house wasn’t earthed and didn’t have a modern consumer unit. I’m not sure how any of us didn’t get electrocuted Shock

We only found it because I hated the bathroom so much, and persuaded DH it was the first thing to change. I dread to think what would have happened otherwise. So ended up with a new bathroom and a re-wire. That was an expensive couple of months!

SedentaryCat · 17/08/2021 19:25

Sheets of asbestos in the garage.
Cracked soil stack that had been leaking for a while and which had soaked the plaster.
Ancient boiler (which we knew about) with a broken controller (which we didn't). Meant DH someone had to nip downstairs in the cold and put the boiler on.
Beautifully sealed bath....except they used grout not silicone so it cracked the first time the bath was filled. As the water went into the overflow it leaked out through the downstairs light fitting as the joint had cracked.
Lamp wire, rather than the properly rated stuff, running from the light switch in the kitchen. DH had often commented there was a 'funny sensation' when he used the switch.
They kindly left the carpets which we spent a weekend running a rug doctor over. It was only the nicotine and tar holding them together I think!

Gubanc · 17/08/2021 19:28

@Highfivemum

Walking in the front door and seeing an old lady sitting on the stairs. She was the aunt of the previous owner and they hadn’t told her they had moved. !!!! She had a key as it used to be her house until they put her in a nursing home along the street and she would visit every Friday. I cried as I couldn’t believe anyone would be that cruel. We kept in touch and she still came round every week until she passed away. Her DN never told her where she moved to. !!
This is the worst so far. Poor old lady, how heartbroken she must have been!
Wam90 · 17/08/2021 19:32

We also had lazy carpet fitters who carpeted up to the furniture, and they had a bit of a theme going because they also painted around all the furniture too 🤦🏼‍♀️. I think we were very lucky though compared to other people on here 🥴

HandlebarLadyTash · 17/08/2021 19:33

Our house was filthy, the previous owners had left loads of stuff. They looked like normal people when we met them, but they cant have cleaned the house since we viewed it. The bathrooms were like stereotypical student digs beyond grim.
We sold some of it, binned some of it & gave away some of it
Luckily I loved the house & still do so it all worked our. Beware if you are purchasing a property from the Dunlops & you live in the East of England😄

Hopeisallineed · 17/08/2021 19:36

A secret cupboard/attic space in one of the rooms that they had obviously been growing weed in. All papered with that silver stuff and some old hydroponic light things in the corner.

Wam90 · 17/08/2021 19:39

@Highfivemum

Walking in the front door and seeing an old lady sitting on the stairs. She was the aunt of the previous owner and they hadn’t told her they had moved. !!!! She had a key as it used to be her house until they put her in a nursing home along the street and she would visit every Friday. I cried as I couldn’t believe anyone would be that cruel. We kept in touch and she still came round every week until she passed away. Her DN never told her where she moved to. !!
😭💔 I’m so glad she found you and your lovely family there instead of her niece 🥺
youlookingatme · 17/08/2021 19:39

Not my house but was clearing out an elderly friends flat after he died and found his stash of 500 porn dvds and videos.

lotusbell · 17/08/2021 19:39

Nothing massively horrific but when we moved into our last house, the couple moving out had left a huge round marble table randomly which was not on the inventory (and not wanted). They'd filled the bins with stuff that shouldn't be in there (toaster in recycling bin for example). All my tenancy agreements have stated you need to leave the wheelie bins empty for new tenants. We had picked the keys up from the agency so they weren't present when we moved. I got straight onto them and complained because they should've checked this! They sent the couple round immediately so we had to move our stuff in while this couple bickers over who had put what in the bin. Very awkward. They'd also annoyingly cut down the washing line and things like satellite cables and wiring.

Then the house we moved into this year, the previous tenant was a lady who had gone into a care home not long after moving in so the house had sat empty for the best part of a year. The landlord wasn't local and the lady's son would occasionally travel up from down south to check pipes etc. In the end, the daughter had to come over from America to empty the house.
Much of the cleaning was very cosmetic so things like cupboards and drawers needed a thorough clean. The front and back gardens hadn't been touched for years so we've been gardening ever since.

Swipe left for the next trending thread