Novice house renovators - the start ***UPDATED***

[3disneykids]

Your buyer sounds like a buyer from hell I really haven't heard of anything like this before.

[parisdisneyfan]

Originally Posted by 3disneykids

Your buyer sounds like a buyer from hell I really haven't heard of anything like this before.

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He really is! Trying not to get too upset at someone not loving this house as much as we do or be offended by him saying we had cowboys in to do work We did laugh when he paid an extra £700 to have a structural engineer in to investigate if the property had subsidence despite his first survey saying no evidence at all of any!
Ideally I wouldn't have sold to him but needs must and at least we are moving well away. We do feel for our neighbours though, we are just hoping it is that they are first time buyers and don't understand it all and are actually nice people

[Eeyore rocks]

Julia, finally you get a date! Hopefully the rest of your move goes without a hitch! 😘

[parisdisneyfan]

We have been in just over a week now and it is starting to feel like home. However it is going to take a long time to sort, probably over the year that we had thought we would need and no doubt over the budget as well! On the good side our bathroom and kitchen ideas are possible , we have internet and our drains, chimney sweep and roofing work is booked in!

Our move went very smoothly physically and even emotionally until we got our new house keys. We knew that it wasn't going to be in the best shape but nothing could have prepared us for how it was left, although we haven't said anything to the elderly couple that had lived here. I could have cried when I look back on how I left mine But we stayed an extra night in the hotel and our niece bought fish and chips, hugs and elbow grease which all helped. I cleared out the local supermarket of shake and vac and air freshener and by the time our furniture arrived it wasn't too bad!

Our buyer has emailed dh a few times but touch wood no complaints, still early days though The couple we bought from have also been on the phone a few times as some of the stuff they left was awaiting collection by friends/relatives. I will have to call them next week as we can't find the water meter or who supplied them with oil despite them leaving the details I also don't think they have set up a redirection as we have had lots of post for them, at the moment I am readdressing it but at some point I will stop - I know redirection is expensive but it is something you need to do!

So far we have had an architect out, a carpet fitting company, bathroom fitting company and their gardener came and talked me around the garden. We have more over the next couple of weeks and then it will be decision time. Hopefully we can get the lounge decorated and recarpeted before Christmas as we are crammed into the conservatory at the moment. Likewise if we can get bedrooms done we will be happy and then it will be full swing in the new year for the major works.

No real photos at the moment but all the curtains they left have come down, along with the tracks which were so old and brittle they just crumbled. Various built in units have been taken out and the plywood "wall" in the middle of the garage. Luckily they had left a half full skip so we filled that up with the stuff we didn't want. I have also started clearing the garden (until today when rain stopped play!) so we will probably need another one. There is a tip just a few miles down the road but it is only open certain days which I haven't got the hang of yet.

Anyway, a couple of pics to show you what we have dealt with so far!
This was the state of the living room

Fireplace now, and have just bought some grate polish to bring it up

Bookcase left on stair half landing

that went

Hallway now

New loo seats all round as couldn't cope with this!

Our room which we love

and the view we wake up to

Thanks for reading, will add more as it happens xx

[ClaireNJ]

It will look great once it’s done, the garden view is Amazing, glad you’re finally in, wishing you lots of happiness in your new home

[Mr Tom Morrow]

Well they left the loo clean

I love a blank canvas house as you know you are going to do major work and it gives you time to think and plan, then change again and again until you have a final product.

Nice view I must say..

Oh, how tall were they to reach the top of that bookcase!

[Pumpkin Pie]

It will be worth it in the end! You have achieved a lot in a short space of time. What a great view - just think how good it will be sitting out in that garden in the summer with a drink in your hand.

[BarryandCaron]

I can’t believe the state of the toilet 😱 Who lives with that? 😡

[3disneykids]

Will be amazing when it is finished

[parisdisneyfan]

Originally Posted by Mr Tom Morrow

Well they left the loo clean

I love a blank canvas house as you know you are going to do major work and it gives you time to think and plan, then change again and again until you have a final product.

Nice view I must say..

Oh, how tall were they to reach the top of that bookcase!

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Originally Posted by BarryandCaron

I can’t believe the state of the toilet 😱 Who lives with that? 😡

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At the risk of their daughter being a dibber and seeing this! She was supposedly helping them move! I would have got them out and then cleaned the house myself! No way would I have let my parents leave the house in the state this was. The loo seat and stains were almost the least of it, all the skirtings were covered in something the consistency of golden syrup mixed with dust from probably the last 20 years. It smelt like they had eaten boiled fish for the last 2 weeks. The kitchen cupboards were filthy literally like they had just lifted their stuff out , thick greasy layer on the shelves although the oven and hob were ok, but not even looked at the cooker hood, it is going and not using it at the moment as it vents into the garage

Yeah no idea how they reached the shelves on the bookcase. It really put up a fight to get it down but we needed it down to get furniture round the bend in the stairs plus it meant we could dump it in the skip!

Anyway we have our dd and ds here this weekend and mil, sil, and bil visiting tomorrow so it really is starting to feel like home