Homeowners: did any of you discover your new place had a surprise feature AFTER moving in?

Brie

Hadn't thought about things discovered when moving into rented accommodation..

Decades back I rented a ground floor flat that had been previously rented by lads at the local uni....it was in a bit of a mess when I looked at it but the owner said not to worry it would all be cleaned up - including all the remains of McD styrofoam burger boxes in the fireplace.  (the chaps would chuck them in there and then throw in a match to get rid of them....)

True to his word the place was absolutely pristine when I moved in - lovely!

I was pleased that there was access to the cellar for the stuff that wasn't needed - like boxes for the stereo etc.  Left the lights on when I came back upstairs and discovered on going into the living room that light was shining up from under the fireplace.  The base of it was simply some slates on the floor joists - no fire bricks or anything to keep sparks or burning whatever from dropping into the cellar where the cardboard boxes were stored.  Cue call to the landlord about the fire hazard.

Next discovery was that the fridge wasn't working. Easy to remedy as it simply wasn't plugged in.  Less easy to remedy was that when doing all the work on the place no one had looked in the fridge before unplugging it - a month earlier that hot summer!  Cue another call to the landlord to advise that there was no way I was about to try and clean out the nearly pulsating life forms that were in the fridge nor what was originally blueberry ice cream in the freezer section.  Said he had 24 hours before I would move out expecting a full refund of my deposit as well as compensation to sort out moving expenses to a new place.  Charming fellow promptly sent his elderly father to clean up the mess.  Pleased to say he did an excellent job.

gozaimasu

Brie said:

Hadn't thought about things discovered when moving into rented accommodation..

No, because MSE titled the thread "homeowners" so they want to create some content from that.

rexmedorum

gozaimasu said:

Extremely strange to have a trellis attached to a window!

well just above it obviously, yes strange but prime location for bird watching, which is why it's still there

Jimifan

Snookie12cat said:

[Deleted User] said:

Thrugelmir said:

[Deleted User] said:

What the hell would disguise a swimming pool that well ?

Aren't swimmimg pools kept covered when not in use. Sounds as if the purchasers never looked around the garden. 

Agree with you  @Thrugelmir
Covered, yes, unrecognisable though - come on, anyone can identify a swimming pool with its cover on, especially as it was a 'giant' one. 
I wonder if the OP omitted a relevant piece of information though, maybe they meant it had actually been filled in 🙄 

Take it from someone who fell in a pond, its very easy to disguise them. Lots of fallen leaves and moss etc, undisturbed and it looks just like the rest of the ground. 

Even when in plain sight can be a problem - I am looking after a gentleman whose neighbour's dog thought it could run across the lily pads and pondweed ... needless to say one very wet dog!

Snowdrop08

My BIL bought a house left to the Cats Protection League and found a garage beneath the brambles complete with an old Vauxhall Victor! Someone paid him £600 for it!

He also discovered quite a few other valuable items amongst heaps of rubbish.