Dirty Pigs!

sarah_elton

clg86 wrote: »

I'm dreading having the electrics checked. This guy was apparently an "electrician", but now all there furniture is out of the way, there are wires for allsorts coming out of the walls! Nothing dangerous I don't think, but if he's done it himself like he's done the heating system, we're screwed!

Get an electrician in ASAP to check it out!!

A couple of years ago, I had the storage heaters at my flat replaced, and some new light fittings put up, by a friend who is an electrician. Read my old thread below for what they found the previous owner (amateur DIY enthusiast) had done:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/861659

maninthestreet

What were the names of the previous owners - Pinky and Perky ???

neas

IM completing this friday, sooo hope our house isnt as bad... then again when we viewed (4 times we viewed it) we checked water system, showers, toilets, bath taps and the cupboards etc to see general state... we even looked in loft.. we did find heating overflow was overflowing water and got the seller to fix before we exchanged... Then again our house is some 18 years old so not as bad i guess.

clg86

pawpurrs wrote: »

Its prob just old rusty pipes, my water was the same.

I wish it was, but the fact that the water tank has bits missing and the pipes don't go where they need to, and there's pipe leading to nothing(!!!) worries me But the thought of geeting a whole new heating system worries me even more...

I've calmed down alot from before and I know it's just one of those things, but running the taps and looking at the water tank when we viewed the house wasn't something I thought was needed.

We viewed it 3 times, and yes, they were a messy family but there was nothing to start ringing alarm bells in our heads. On the outside from what we could see and inspect, everything looked like we just needed to put our stamp on things and give it a general clean, like you would moving into anywhere.

The next door neighbours were quite friendly with them it would seem and they said the sellers used to cook for them and everything... I should have shown them the state of the oven, maybe they wouldn't have been so cheerful about it :rotfl:

clg86

neas wrote: »

IM completing this friday, sooo hope our house isnt as bad... then again when we viewed (4 times we viewed it) we checked water system, showers, toilets, bath taps and the cupboards etc to see general state... we even looked in loft.. we did find heating overflow was overflowing water and got the seller to fix before we exchanged... Then again our house is some 18 years old so not as bad i guess.

I wish we had done that now! But as FTB, I didn't really know what I was looking for and I think I (stupidly) expected the seller to mention anything we may have needed to know. Even the lid on the back of the toilet is in half, but when we viewed it they had a pile of towels over it. I wouldn't have even thought to look at something like that!:o

When we viewed it he did show us the water tank in the bathroom, but I didn't think i'd need to check that the water was running clear. He also showed us under the stairs where the pipes run down, but as far as we were concerned, pipes are pipes, and looking at them, they looked fine. My uncle just laughed when he saw them but said if we didn't know what we were looking for, we wouldn't have known they were all back to front, upside down, and inside out!

Anybody know what the lottery numbers are going to be...:)

Congrats on the completion by the way x

not_loaded

clg86 wrote: »

…I thought the surveys would have picked up on this but apparently they don't…

I am SO sorry to hear this tale of woe! I’m sure you’ll cope and you will eventually be able to look back at this madness, hopefully with a smile.

It is surprising what standards some people have. (remember the How Clean Is Your House prog?) It appears you’ve unfortunately found a family like that.

As regards the quality of the survey, the guy that did our buyer’s survey failed to spot things that were there, and spotted things that weren’t there. So that’s hundreds of £s wasted by our buyer. That was a Homebuyer’s survey and if they’re all like that, then it’s a complete waste of money.

At least I can guarantee to leave our house a hell of a lot nicer than your seller.

Good luck with sorting it out!

Owain_Moneysaver

BTDTGGTS.

Had, in the first couple of weeks:

Kitchen venetian blind fell off wall.
Kitchen cupboard fell off wall.
Bathroom cupboard fell off wall.
Curtain rail started falling off wall.
Wallpaper in lounge started falling off wall.

If you tie up the ballcock you can bale out the water tank, scrub it with Milton. A wet vac can be useful for getting the sludge up. It's probably only dead pigeon.

avenida

Sounds like the previous owners needed to have Kim and Aggie round!

NEH

It's a nightmare when that happens.

I can't u nderstand anyone living like that, i mean i knw I am not the neatest person but i would never let it get that far.

I had this problem once when buying a house...

My now ex had only a home buyers report done by the building socitey that was giving the mortgage...When i found out i was less than happy so i got in a proper surveyor asap to do a full survey....Glad i did as we found there were problems with the electrics. It held up the sale but it taught my ex a very valuable lesson and it saved a fortunte in getting the electrics fixed...

RuthnJasper

Ewwww... How gross! You have my sympathy.

I moved into my house (an HA Property) just over a year ago, and had similar problems to you. A large stain on the bedroom floor which can only have been the site where someone had p*ssed, repeatedly and regularly on the floor over MANY years; smears up the wall which could only be described as sh*t; etc. It was offered to me as 'fit for habitation'. The gas-fired boiler was nothing short of lethal and, on closer inspection, revealed that the last time it had been serviced was "May 1998"!!!:mad::mad::mad:

I burst into tears when I saw it and even my dog refused to sit on the floor, which was covered by at least an inch of thick dust. The HA lady was so embarrassed by it all.

I didn't really have any comeback on the previous occupant, as he had been admitted to somewhere "secure", which I now suspect was less to do with his numerous health issues than with him being a convicted p**dophile... (Which actually explained why I had so much trouble getting a 'phone and internet set up at the property). Urrrrggh. I shudder to think.... I'm not religious - but I did seriously consider at one point getting a priest in to exorcise the place!

Plus, the HA eventually did put in a new combi-boiler (but only after dog and I had spent a Winter with no heating there...:(:mad::(), and coughed up a bit of compensation for the troubles they caused.

However, with you being a homebuyer, I would have thought that, if you had evidence in the form of photos and/or video clips of the state of the place when you moved in, then it may well be worth reporting the previous occupant to your local council's Environmental Health department. If said hog and his family of hoglets is still resident in the area, the council may wish to keep an eye on him.

Good luck. One day, it WILL be your dream home - but I'm sorry you've had the hassle. I'm OK in my house now - as long as I don't accidentally think about the stain... Or the other stuff...