Third viewing has left me worried about completing on this house

[Goldengamer]

We’ve been to view the house we are well on the way to completing on , surveys done, searches done etc .
It’s a 3rd viewing , we viewed for the 1st and 2nd time a couple of months back, this time was really to have a closer look. My goodness, it was filthy , cupboards dirty , floors not cleaned or swept . Unfinished DIY we hadn’t noticed first time round etc etc . The kitchen although newish has been very badly fitted and we are going to have to rip it all out . The survey picked up a few things but not the standard of work or cleanliness of the place . We are nearing retirement and it’s really daunting knowing we will have to start working on the house when we move in . Surely she will have to leave it clean and tidy when she moves out ? …. I’m sure when I filled in my forms for the sale of my house one of the questions was that it had to be left in a clean state . when my buyers dropped in to do a last viewing of our house it was spotless . I’m really having second thoughts but husband said don’t worry we can get a cleaner in to give it the once over before we move in but it’s the cost of renewing everything is bothering me . I’m 62 and really don’t want to be having to start again when I’m leaving a lovely house that’s been looked after. Can’t believe I didn’t notice it first time round . What do others think I should do ?

You're on your 3rd viewing, that's very unusual and very late in the game to bring up problems.

No, there's nothing contractual about leaving a place clean. You just have to move in and scrub every inch.

Sorry for late reply , been at work all day and had a lot to do when I got home . Some interesting comments and some really helpful
For the person that said they bought off a divorcing couple , your situation sounds exactly like mine, the couple we are buying the house from are divorcing and I guess she’s just lost interest in the house , she has kids and the husband has moved out . I have every sympathy and yes this could be a factor as to why everything was dirty .
I’ve had a hell of bad things happen in my personal life since my house has been sold and it’s been a real effort for me to keep mine clean and tidy and I work too. I’m almost retired, have a lot of ill health , a knee replacement which isn’t great so I’m in pain a lot of the time but when my buyers who came round for a 3rd viewing I didnt want to give them any excuse to not buy my house so I did my best to make it look nice when they came.
To the person who said 3rd viewings are unusual . Both us buying this house and our buyers had 3rd viewings after the survey as it always flags up stuff you don’t notice so basically we were going to check on what it had red flagged . It had a few things come up but mostly because things hadn’t been done properly i.e they the damp course was covered in places by a badly built patio which when we first looked round had furniture over the bad bits , a bi fold door which although was only fitted 3 years ago had really bad wear and tear due to bad fitting and didn’t close properly something we also hadn’t noticed , when I opened her built in fridge freezer the freezer part was completely frozen up with ice , it’s only 3 years old as that’s when they built the extension and put the kitchen in.
As to why I posted , I just wanted other views. I’m adhd and a massive over thinker and worrier and other peoples views really help me .
I was also suffering from a massive hangover on the viewing , my kids had taken me out the night before to cheer me and husband up as we’ve had a real hard time recently, and I was going straight on to work after the viewing so maybe that had a bearing on it all .

Invest in a cleaner. Get an end of tenancy style deep clean and get it absolutely blitzed by a team of multiple cleaners in a few hours.
IF otherwise the house suits you.

@Goldengamer i think you need to pull out. Losing a couple of £000 now is better than having to spend a lot more at a later date. From experience, rectifying damp is one of those unknown unknowns. It could be as simple as the patio being built up too high next to the wall (which you’d need to fix), but it could also be the result of building over drains etc. what did the survey say? The doors should be covered by the FENSA guarantee unless of course they don’t have one?

In terms of cleanliness, I’ve always left houses I’ve sold spotless..I’ve yet to move into or take over a clean property - and I’ve bought and sold a lot. Honestly, it sounds like you have buyers remorse and you’ll only now see the new house through that filter rather than through one of excitement and joy. You either absolutely love this house or you don’t. Only you know the answer to this. From what you’ve written, If you haven’t yet exchanged, don’t. And in your shoes I’d look at new builds only moving forward. You’ll have the peace of mind of the nhbc guarantee and it’s more likely to be clean and ready to move into without issue.

We had the same and are really glad we viewed again as sometimes it’s hard to really see things . Suggest a price drop as you will have to pay someone to do these things or look elsewhere is my advice x

Why are you moving? Location, downsizing, up sizing? Do those reasons still stand?

You can fix anything about a house if it's at the right price and within your energy capacity.

How much energy/health capacity would you have to get the work done to bring it up to scratch? If you can't face it, pull out, otherwise it will have an impact on your health.

If you could face doing it, then drop your offer so it's within your spending budget.

The condition you saw the house in at the third viewing will be the condition you will find it in on completion.

Anyone who was invested in the cleanliness of their home would clean it extensively before the viewing, as you did with yours.

After exchange - no chance.

I’m going to speak to out solicitor and see if they can drop a few k as there’s questionable wall ties anyway

This is the part that would concern me. A lack of cleaning can be easily and quickly resolved for a few hundred pounds. The badly fitted kitchen, etc may be able to be fixed, ripping the whole lot out seems an overreaction.
’Questionable’ wall ties could be a major issue and the only part likely to make me walk away from the purchase.

By any chance was it your husband that wanted to move in the first place and you’d like to stay in your current home?

Filthy houses, as we’ve found, are disheartening and frustrating but can be sorted.
It sounds as if she’s divorcing Mr Botch-it. The kitchen, patio and bi-fold door would put me off but what would clinch it for me would be the wall tie. In my 30s I’d have reluctantly dismissed the property. Nearing retirement I wouldn’t entertain it at all.

You’re about to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds. A professional deep clean would be £200 at most so this seems a bit disproportionate and you seem much more focused on that than the kitchen etc

can you separate out the ‘unclean ick’ and try and work out if you’re really going to have to do bigger work?

Wouldn’t be a deal breaker for me. The last house I bought had been tenanted and there weee so many things that were broken and neglected but it was still the best available property for location, size and layout.

It’s not as if there are infinite numbers of properties and we can pick ‘the clean one’. If it’s still the best one for you overall it’s just one of those hassles of moving. You may just have to throw some money at it for a few months.

This is too big a purchase to get wrong. And the concerns sound legitimate (not cleaning, that's easy to sort) but the other stuff will coat money to rectify. Either ask for a reduction or pull out. It's shit but you can't afford to get this wrong

I don't think the surface level uncleanliness is the real issue here, that can be fixed with a deep clean. From what you have said, OP, there are a lot of other issues that would need fixing, and you have to consider the disruption and time taken to get all that sorted out in the light of your health (it always takes far long than we think, I know that from personal experience, and inevitably brings more problems to light). Personally, I wouldn't go ahead with the purchase, do you really need all that stress?

it will be empty when you move in so you don’t need to
worry about tidiness

and you will soon have it clean , dont worry

I had big regrets as soon as I moved into my old house; it was more grubby and badly finished than I thought. Needed more money and time spent on it, than we anticipated. Wouldn’t have bought it if known, and was annoyed that we naively didnt notice, until too late.

Sounds like your current house is well looked after and tidy, and you thought you were moving into the same; but the last viewing has brought big doubts.

I would pull out. You are now not excited about moving, you are worrying!

You don’t need that. You are reaching retirement; don’t waste money on a house that you are going to have to fork out loads for, when you really don’t want to! Save money for your retirement, pull out, and getting the immaculately finished and clean house you really want. Will save stress and disappointment down the line.

We bought off a divorcing couple where the dad had stayed in the marital home. He was either ND or wallowing in an extended dirty protest. He left moving out to the very last minute. His ex wife had to support him emptying the place of his things and there was no time to clean. She was so embarrassed she left some cash to pay for a cleaner. It took me three days to clean just the bathroom. But we loved the house. I think lowering your offer is fair enough. I hope water hasn’t drained into the property from that patio and you’d probably want to update the kitchen to make it yours anyway?

Definitely negotiate hard on price. Also consider viewing what else is on the market, your perfect home may still be waiting for you!

Cleaning doesn’t bother me
you say badly fitted what are the issues
if the units are 3 years old and ok it’s a job to be sorted but possibly not a major one

Surely it doesn’t need to be ripped out? Just fix the badly fitted bits it will look amazing

Honestly I’d pull out. Nothing worse than botched DIY it’s harder to deal with than a house that needs full refurbishment. The dirt can be dealt with but not the poor workmanship and botched jobs. You’ll lose a few hundred pounds and feel a bit awkward pulling out but bite the bullet and do it. It’s a buyers market they’ll be better things around. Just say the report findings are too worrying. You’ll have years of rectifying if you move in.

Book a cleaner for completion day afternoon. I hired a cleaner to clean my house on day of completion but when I saw the state of the one I was moving into I redirected them to the new one, (I ran the hoover around the old house). A cleaner in an empty house can make a big difference in a short time

The need of a deep clean wouldn't bother me - and something I would probably do regardless.

However, it sounds like there are too many botch jobs which would trouble me tbh. I agree with a pp in that you should be excited about the move, not stressed and feeling dread.

I would pull out unless the price means it is still a bargain, and you otherwise find the house fully met your criteria.

You should pull out and let them find a serious buyer. Divorce is stressful enough without nit pickers

It won't be clean. They'll do the bare minimum to live in it now. Sorry 😞