How to get over a bad house move?

[Sliverofdarkness]

We moved house recently, sold our house we'd lived in for about 10 years and managed to move somewhere bigger with lots of amenities and transport links. It seemed perfect and the survey didn't flag any major issues. However, since we moved in, we feel like we've been completely duped. With all the rainfall recently, multiple leaks started appearing, in 5 rooms, maybe more behind fitted wardrobes as there's mold in the wardrobe. Radiators don't work, plaster is now crumbling around 3 fireplaces, kitchen smells mouldy under the sink and beside washing machine. The lights are flickering like there's some kind of electrical fault. We found rotten timbers in the attic, hidden with fresh insulation. I feel so depressed as we pushed ourselves financially, thinking nothing needed to be done to the place. Now we don't have time or money to get it all sorted out. Has anyone else experienced this? What did you do? We're so angry as the house we sold was in great condition with nothing covered up. All we can think about is selling this sh*hole and moving on. What should we do?

Yikes. Sounds like you need a new roof. How did the survey not pick up anything significant?! What a nightmare :(

I might be naive but cant you complain about the survey? Is there an ombudsman?

I’m not sure if you can or how to approach this legally but home maintenance wise you start by fixing the roof immediately. It may solve the electric issue but concurrently that’s a safety concern and equally needs attention.

@Sliverofdarkness your seller should have completed a TA6 property info form, did they mislead? If so, sue them

You may have legal recourse against them and your surveyor if these problems weren't flagged.

You'll not be able to sell without exposing your liability should you choose not to disclose existing issues.

eta; an extreme example here but sellers should not legally misrepresent.

Sympathies from our little house of horrors. Water ingress in kitchen, living room and front bedroom, blown plaster in bedroom and bathroom, dodgy electrics in kitchen, poorly installed double glazing, damp floor joists, patio too high, no drainage = standing water = rising damp!!

We do feel like we over paid for what was supposed to be a building in good condition. Level 3 survey didn't show anything but once you read it you can see it's all just butt covering with comments like "no sign of damp but full survey would highlight any issues", "floor seems stable but full timber survey would identify any problems", electrics in working order but full survey recommended".

We're "lucky" in that we have some parts of the house that are fine and we basically live in them while we try to get the rest of the house fixed. It's going to take time and money to get there though and 2026 hasn't been the year we were hoping it would be,

Oh no. We also have poorly installed double glazing, with cold air blowing in around it. House is meant to be insulated, but I'd say the insulation is all sopping wet behind the plasterboard.
It all looked great on any of the viewings, but they were coming into summer. When I look at the survey, it's all just covering themselves, and emphasis on 'visual survey'. It mentioned the chimney needed to be repointed but that it wasn't an urgent job. Electrics and plumbing were stated as appearing fine but qualified electrician or plumber would have to advise.
We paid way too much for the stupid house too. I hope you can get yours sorted in time. You just never know what you're getting into when buying a house...

Similar to us, we viewed during what turned out to be a glorious summer. 90% of our issues are water related so we couldn't see what wasn't there.

Hi @Sliverofdarkness take a deep breath.
ok. What age is the property? This is really important before advising on the next steps as different approaches are required. It may not be as bad as you feel it is.

I also have a house of horrors. I've fixed as much as I could but what is left is too expensive for me to do so I'm looking to move again.

Same as you with everything looking good but actually it's not. For instance the bathroom was newly fitted and I thought great! Sealant wasn't working so it flooded downstairs during a shower, no heating so freezing in winter!, window not fixed properly, plumbing is at too tight an angle so water doesn't flow away quickly, the extraction fan wasn't piped to outside so the attic joists were soaked, the electrics weren't boxed in and just had insulation thrown over live wires. And the shower is over the non tap end so you are unbalanced due to the slope 🙄 That's just one room but every room has a money pit problem. It could be a lovely house if the previous owner hadn't been a cheap bodge artist.

Anyway... I hear you!