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 ?

It’s a bit of a woe is me post.

The fact you are considering pulling out without considering the cost and inconvenience to the vendor and EA as, after yet a third viewing, you are undecided. Your personal circumstances and age has nothing to do with the upset you may cause 🤷‍♀️
Unbelievable, if I was the vendor I’d be fuming 😡

The dirt wouldn't worry me - just book a deep clean to be done before you move in. They will do it very quickly as it'll be empty and you can move into a fresh place.

Re the workmanship, it depends on what sort of survey you have had done. I wouldn't necessarily expect them to pick up on poor fitting of cabinets as it's more cosmetic, surveys tend to be structural and well as looking at wiring and plumbing.

Do you want to still go ahead with it? If not then assess cost to pull out now and act quickly!

From a glass half full perspective, you know it's condition now and can set things into motion so that you get is cleaned and feeling fresh as soon as possible.

It must have been gutting to see it in that condition but it would have been much more of a heart sink moment had you only seen it on moving day as my sister did.

Identify a room that can be used for boxes that aren't immediately necessary for the first 3-7 days and unpack as little as possible whilst you get it feeling clean.

Day 1:
Priorities cleaning the kitchen sink, bathroom and your bedroom. Get your bed made early in the day so you have somewhere nice to retire too when it's all done.

Day 2:
Clean kitchen and living areas. Start unpacking essential items.

Then come up with a plan for what needs to be done and on what time frames

I certainly would not expect to clean a house top to bottom on 1st day there,there is enough to do! People should not put their house for sale till it is cleaned.
And how do you get a cleaner in? Where do you put all your furniture then while this goes on? Ridiculous.

“People should not put their house for sale until it is cleaned”.
Eh?

We bought a house late on in the year when the weather was dingy, so didn't notice they had painted over ALL the wallpaper,but so quickly the brush had flicked on the skirting boards. There was DIY electrics in ALL rooms which you can't see until you move cupboards, with live electrics coming out of a wall in bedroom hidden behind a unit! The cooker did not work at all. The shower advertised as electric was not. The kitchen tiles were stuck on with blue tack and came off if you sneezed,the garage door was painted with emulsion so the first time it rained it washed off,there was no ringmain on the electrics which apparently is just dangerous ( i am not an electrician!), some slabs had been laid end up in garden and pushed down which had severed the water pipes which WE had to pay over a grand to have fixedI could go on,but basically had we seen any of this we would never have bought this wreck,it took us 12 years to get it sorted. Don't buy unless you are super sure!!!

How helpful 🙄

I guess this is why there are a lot of over sixties on my new build estate. Yes, there’s always a snag list on them but at least there’s recourse with the builder to fix things, the electrics are good and everything’s clean and new. (There are always new build haters and I’ve heard all the negativity so don’t bother😫)

We only ever did this experience once when we bought and move straight in. - it’s crap I agree -we have rented ever since and always do 3 days crossover-

I only found out recently that removal companies will keep the van loaded up for an amount of time in order you can get the house deep cleaned 🙂

Well after a complete melt down last night when DH came in from work and also a quick look at Rightmove to compare what we are paying for our house to find at least half a dozen other properties of the same price and tbh far better and genuinely look like they’ve been looked after , we have decided to pull out .

We are not going to let the buyers of our house down and if it means we go into temp accommodation for a few months so they don’t lose their mortgage offer we will . It’s first time buyers buying our house . We are old timers and have our money so no big deal .

Of course we do feel bad for the people whose house we were buying , but along with all the extra costs of putting work right, digging up the front stony forecourt to lower it as it currently covers the damp course, putting a new kitchen in , re fitting a few of the poorly fitted windows and the bi folds as they’ve caused cracks which came up on the survey , the wall ties needing doing, having to make the garden presentable , de poo the piles of poo that have been left for what looks like years at the back of the garden….. amongst other things, we don’t want to be wasting money on stuff that should of been ok in the first place.
The sheer fact that the place had been left to get much worse with no attempt to tidy or clean (even a little bit) knowing your buyers were popping round just to check the survey results was a bit of a shock tbh , I know about adhd, depression etc being a reason for dirt and clutter but I suffer with bad mental health and I still managed to keep mine clean and tidy for viewings (with a lot of effort) ….. so I know we’ve done the right thing .

There’s always going to be those that disagree with me on this as some have nothing more to do in life to go on forums and cause conflict when they actually have no experience of the problem themselves. That why I’ve not replied to some posts . I don’t feed trolls .

But the vast majority have been helpful and supportive and know exactly how stressful it all is , thank you !

I think you've done the right thing. Maybe the sellers will learn from this for next time.

Think you're doing the right thing. Good luck with finding a better house quickly

I've moved into a similar house and the level of dirt was flabbergasting. I don't think the family had cleaned once since we'd viewed and offered and we had literally mopped our way out of our own home. The removal guys felt so sorry for us they offered to go and get some lunch so we could frantically clean a room to store boxes in.
So I'd expect the worst. Add to it overgrown garden and bins jammed full. If you go ahead you need to be really explicit about the state you expect it handed over in. But our sellers had paid for a cleaning service which did the equivalent of spraying a bit of polish into the air and some half hearted hoovering. If people are prepared to live in it, they will equally leave it all to you.

The difference is we expected to replace the kitchen and install new bathrooms etc. This was reflected in the price. If that's not where you are for this home then pull out or revise your offer. If the location and the house are what's important to you, then proceed. A good removal firm can put everything into storage for a few days/weeks/months if you can line up companies to blitz the worst of it. They just pack everything into a container unit instead of a removal lorry and lift it into a warehouse for the time you need it gone. If I ever moved into a massive fixer upper again, I'd send the vast majority of my stuff into good storage and live very basically. Much faster not to have move things around all the dust and dirt of refurb.

Oops cross posted. I see you've decided to pull out. That all sounds pretty grim and if there are other properties, then you have done the right thing.

It's a shame you didn't look at the house carefully before offering instead of pulling out at this stage.

You've done the right thing. It's not just the dirt. It's everything else. Especially those wall ties!
I think most people with conventionally constructed houses won't have cottoned on to the seriousness of that. It would be a real pain and a mess to sort out.

I had to clean three houses when I moved. I left my house spotless (with a bottle of wine and a note about local information). I moved temporarily into rented and had to clean that. Then two months later moved into our current home and it needed a clean too as the previous owner left it in a mess.

I don't understand why you could not have figured all this out early on. You will have caused a ton of stress and costs to your sellers by stringing them along to the last minute. The housing market has become very fickle and a worse place for everyone all round.

Agree 💯
I’ve been really surprised the amount of people encouraging OP to pull out. Poor sellers, lost their buyer and probably a massive solicitor’s bill to pay, and ahead plans in tatters. How goes she sleep at night? 😳

On the other hand, are you suggesting the OP buys a house she doesn’t want so as not to stress the sellers?

You totally did the right thing OP. I am a similar age and have just retired due to health issues no where near as serious as yours. I couldn't imagine moving into a property with those issues.
It is sad for the seller, but thats not on you.

Good call.
People who are prepared to allow a house to go to a dirty mess having secured a buyer, do not deserve your loyalty.

This is a huge investment.
It wasn't supposed to be a filthy doer upper.

I wish you the very best.

Yes!

Agree
all that diy stuff could have been picked up earlier. Including the state of the garden with poo.

I do think we need to change the way we buy houses.
An earlier exchange which could happen far sooner straight after the survey has been accepted

That way anyone who pulls out later, for whatever reason, is financially responsible to compensate for pulling out
The same goes for sellers who change their mind.