After you bought your house what unexpectedly good things did you discover?

[Shouldbeworkingnotreadingtalk]

Inspired by another thread I've just read .... but let's have the good bits.

We call our house "the house that keeps on giving" as even four years on, we are discovering good bits.

House was derelict / complete renovation job when we purchased - a house the estate agent described as "thought to be mid 1700's two workers cottages knocked together" ... we didn't look into the house construction in any detail, we didn't care what it used to be ... . It was perfect location / size etc for us, we had a decent renovation budget, so we built it regardless. .....

well, after starting the renovation, finding dead straight walls, perfect roof timbers, central heating pipes all hidden perfectly. walnut parquet flooring under every grotty carpet, and immaculate double glazing which had been covered with Ivy/ trees/ plants/ apparently this house was not 200 years old ...

the central chimney was 1750's, but that house burnt down in WW2. Leaving only the huge central chimney and stack. ... What we'd bought was a replica of a "Sussex House" - that was built around the remaining stack. . it's got very old beams from the manor up the road, lots of features, but none original except the central chimney..it was a 1960's replica!!

not gutted, overjoyed in fact. It's been a dream to renovate as essentially it's only 60 years old, so was only cosmetic stuff that needed doing.

We've also found a fully working well, hidden under Ivy, (house was on well water til 1963), and lots of lovely insulation insides walls and lifts.

Receipts left by the deceased vendors showed a new roof for £60k just 6 years before we bought it, snd £20k on a conservatory - Both were hidden by Ivy / trees or covered in moss when we bought the house. (Think Hansel and Gretal house in the woods). A quick (ish) jet was snd all looks brand new.

Very chuffed and thank the previous old ladies who lived here for 50years almost daily.

What good house discoveries have you found?

Thank you @teaandsleep - you inspired this thread

Fabulous neighbours - turns out I love living in a close of retired people- quiet, kind, watch out for your house, always happy to lend a ladder, remember my children’s birthdays every year. Incredibly lucky

That the light moves beautifully across the old glass in the windows….and streams in in the morning.

That made up for the crap plumbing

I can’t believe you bought a house thinking it was 200 years older than it was!

A butlers sink just outside the kitchen door with hot and cold water. Just the right size for washing dirty roasting dishes and Jack Russells. Not together obviously.

Great neighbours.

Oh and the most stunning sunsets from the front of the house during the bleak winter months.

You found a while conservatory? That is definitely overgrown!

We found a guitar in the attic

@JustJam4Tea - I know .... it sounds bonkers writing it down ... but the chimney(s) are all there - they are bloody ancient. There's old oak beams "holding" ceiling up. (They aren't holding anything it transpires ... ). . For the first year our house insurance was much higher as I had it as 200 year old house. Came down about 20% when I called to renew for 1960 house

The world's best neighbours. Sadly we're now in the process of putting the house on the market as we need more space and when I told them yesterday I cried, full blown sobs, snotty nose the works.

Honestly wish we could take them with us, we're unlikely to hit the neighbour jackpot twice.

It’s so light. I didn’t realise how much I appreciated this. An extra utility room was a really smart move that I probably wouldn’t think to put in where it is.

How lovely a south(ish)-facing garden is. And how it's easier to keep the house cool in summer, because the sun is high when it's on the back of the house so doesn't stream in through the windows as much as it did in the old west-facing house (although it does in the winter when the sun is lower).

The well-planted back garden.

A secret door in the back of the wardrobe that leads to a little carpeted room - tiny but perfect for storage

@Aroundtheworldin80moves

You found a while conservatory? That is definitely overgrown!

We found a guitar in the attic

We knew it was there, but we're going to demolish it as it looked so crappy. . But seeing how much it cost, (1980 price of £20k) and it was solid mahogany, we jet washed it. . It's stunning - except the crappy polycarbonate roof which we'll replace this year I hope. . .

In my Georgian dump underneath the stinking, rotting carpets are original, wide floorboards with no wood worm and in good condition throughout the whole house . Removing the layers of paint and varnish on the stairs has been a nasty job though

@BritInUS1

A secret door in the back of the wardrobe that leads to a little carpeted room - tiny but perfect for storage

That is just the sort of thing I meant - wonderful little finds - that sounds fab!

5 raised beds in the very overgrown garden. Lots of runaway herbs, potatoes, and carrots from when the garden was looked after. A plum tree with the nicest fruit you'll ever eat.

And absolutely amazing neighbours who do loads for us and think we're incredible because we showed them the wonders of middle eastern food!

We discovered that the garden was 6ft longer than we thought. It was so overgrown with leylandi trees that we think the estate agent only measured as far as he could reach. We also uncovered a back gate . Unfortunately it opens straight onto a school carpark. (House predates the school by a couple of years).

That it’s home

We discovered we could sit in the garden listening to wolves howling at night, lions roaring and sea lions barking.

We knew the zoo is close, but that was an unexpected shock!

An antique Compactum wardrobe (complete with shelves labelled "lingerie" and "hats" and "sundries", and a lockable box) built into one of the bedrooms. It's lovely.

Nothing as exciting as narnia style extra rooms, but we bought this house new build in lockdown which meant we never actually set foot in it (and no show house of this kind) until the day we completed. It was a massive gamble but we could see the development was lovely, we already lived in a townhouse style rental so we knew we liked that, and it was an opportunity and price we couldn't let go us by. I was incredibly nervous, and worried we'd hate it, but nearly a year on we love it

@BritInUS1

A secret door in the back of the wardrobe that leads to a little carpeted room - tiny but perfect for storage

Oh that sounds like a child's dream xx

@spacehardware

Nothing as exciting as narnia style extra rooms, but we bought this house new build in lockdown which meant we never actually set foot in it (and no show house of this kind) until the day we completed. It was a massive gamble but we could see the development was lovely, we already lived in a townhouse style rental so we knew we liked that, and it was an opportunity and price we couldn't let go us by. I was incredibly nervous, and worried we'd hate it, but nearly a year on we love it

Omg. That's bonkers .... but completely understandable in pandemic times! Glad it's all good.

A new-found appreciation of rolling stock. We thought living next to a train line might be annoying but I have grown to like it and find it interesting!

It dies sound a bit bonkers doesn't it! But we did at least the outside of the same house type on the development which had already been built, and the show house (different house layout tho) gave a pretty good indication of how the joinery etc would look. And we got to choose the flooring, kitchen, tiles etc. Just had no idea how it would all hang together - the sales lady said she'd never seen two people pick their options so easily!

The countryside on our doorstep with lots of lovely walks.