so... what did YOU learn when you renovated (or heck, just moved into) your new home?

We learned...

1. They ran extension cords through some of the walls. They were very well hidden by the furniture previously, but they are now all cut out of the walls.

2. The carpet in one bedroom was laid down over another carpet. (ew, so dirty ) The bottom carpet was GLUED to the gorgeous hardwood floors. (We're having all the floors redone anyway, but still... grr!)

3. In the dining room and entrance foyer, they laid down parquet wood floors... beneath those was a tile floor... and finally beneath the tile floor were those lovely hardwood floors again.

4. They half-assed a lot. (Part of the bathroom wallpaper was held on with scotch tape)

5. You have no idea how dirty someone's house really is (and this one appeared clean) until you rip up all their carpets.

6. They didn't like where the outlet box in the dining room ceiling was, so they ran a HOT wire a foot across the ceiling and just attached the chandelier there. (Code requires a box)... They covered the hot wire with a fugly wooden fixture. Thankfully we have a good electrician.

7. Once we stripped the wallpaper in the master bedroom and started cleaning the walls in preparation for painting, we realized that there was likely a small fire in the bedroom at some point. There was soot on the walls and ceiling in a pattern that appeared to be like a smoke pattern. It had been cleaned, which is why we didn't notice it until we started deep cleaning. (There's no other damage, but there are TONS of smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, etc. in the house... Now we know their obesssion with them... Of course, their utter idiocy when it comes to wiring doesn't indicate the same fear of fire...)

There's so much more... but what did YOU learn about your house???

Re: so... what did YOU learn when you renovated (or heck, just moved into) your new home?

That move in ready is not really move in ready! Within the first year alone we had to put close to $50k into the house that we did not anticipate having to do!

Re: so... what did YOU learn when you renovated (or heck, just moved into) your new home?

that one of our windows was not really a window. they must have broke the glass and put a piece of plexi glass in its place. It had no lock and was barely sitting there.

It looked like a trophy case.

Re: so... what did YOU learn when you renovated (or heck, just moved into) your new home?

Re: so... what did YOU learn when you renovated (or heck, just moved into) your new home?

- They renovated and cut or did something to the Verizon copper wire, so we can never have regular phone service, only through cable or fios

- They lied when they said they "didn't use" the dishwasher...it runs and goes through the motoins, but doesn't really clean dirty dishes well.

We haven't pulled up the carpets yet.

Re: so... what did YOU learn when you renovated (or heck, just moved into) your new home?

Posted by codybear

Posted by Kara

4. They half-assed a lot. (Part of the bathroom wallpaper was held on with scotch tape)

Scotch Tape! LMAO!

Re: so... what did YOU learn when you renovated (or heck, just moved into) your new home?

1. that they may have done a great-looking job on the custom shower they built, but they never finished the top. We had to tile it ourselves after the fact.

2. warning - this is gross - that apparently someone peed all over the inside of the door to the bathroom, and I'm guessing it was more than once and a long time ago, because it took a lot of scrubbing to get that thing clean

3. that their dog was buried in the backyard (sadly discovered when we were digging to install new sprinklers)

4. that the garage light, bathroom vanity lights, dining room chandelier lights, etc. weren't burned out or broken, the bulbs just weren't screwed in all the way (maybe they liked the dark?).

Re: so... what did YOU learn when you renovated (or heck, just moved into) your new home?

Re: so... what did YOU learn when you renovated (or heck, just moved into) your new home?

Just that there are people who should own a house and people who SHOULD NEVER own a house.

Oh, and if you plan on keeping your skanky porno mags (his and hers) from the 1970's make sure you take them out of the attic before the new owner's contractor finds them.

We had a good laugh about that
At least there was one "Oui" and one "Playgirl"... one for each.

BTW: Those mags were way before plastic surgery and Brazilian waxing

Re: so... what did YOU learn when you renovated (or heck, just moved into) your new home?

I think the prior owners of my house should have realized where they hid the naked photos they took of each other. That was something I really didn't need to see.

Re: so... what did YOU learn when you renovated (or heck, just moved into) your new home?

Re: so... what did YOU learn when you renovated (or heck, just moved into) your new home?

Re: so... what did YOU learn when you renovated (or heck, just moved into) your new home?

I don't even know where to start...

1) When we tore out the old kitchen, there was no sheetrock on one wall... the cabinet was the wall.. right against the framing.

2) they had wires running over the beams, not through them

3) oh yeah dog poop all over the crawl space that was LOVELY

4) people are dirty and disgusting. they apparently don't care about living in filth.

Re: so... what did YOU learn when you renovated (or heck, just moved into) your new home?

That 1 out of the 4 air conditioners in the entire house actually works and works well. We found out one of the really hot weeks that our a/c in the master bedroom had no knob!

The husband hid some of his used flavored body gel in one of the ceiling tiles in the basement. We think he was having an affair...the couple was getitng divorced. DH found it b/c he was moving some of the wires around. I was so skeeved!

Re: so... what did YOU learn when you renovated (or heck, just moved into) your new home?

1. That their dogs pi s s ed all over the carpets throughout the whole house.

2. That the living room carpet had a whole in it and they glued the piece that ripped out in the hole.

3. That they painted on top of wallpaper in the kitchen.

4. That when they replaced the window in one of the bedrooms, they never sanded properly and the whole wall is uneven.

5. That they put nails in the brand new Trek deck (not the way it should be put together)

6. That the house was NASTY and not clean at all!!! We thought it was so clean when we bought it. Its amazing how dirty they were!

ETA: That they were too lazy too wallpaper the walls so, instead, they glued pre-wallpapered panels on the walls. When we ripped that down, we found a 5 foot by 2 foot HOLE in the wall

Message edited 10/10/2007 10:28:36 PM.

Re: so... what did YOU learn when you renovated (or heck, just moved into) your new home?

That wallpapering an entire house is never a good idea... NEVER!!!

Re: so... what did YOU learn when you renovated (or heck, just moved into) your new home?

1. The previous owner's dog was incontinent and had peed all over the carpets, which I was assured had hardwood floors under them. They did, but they were covered in so many dog piss stains we had to rip them out and put in new.

2. Our house is a small three bedroom and when we bought it there was only one bathroom. They had 12 people living here, according to a neighbor! After learning that we understood why the house was so trashed.

3. Some people like to tear out or cover up lovely features that give homes charm, and it makes you want to scream when you have to pay a fortune to try to repair or replace all the things they screwed up.

Re: so... what did YOU learn when you renovated (or heck, just moved into) your new home?

1. Their dog p1ssed all over the carpeting in the house and when we pulled up the rugs, there was mold under them.
2. When we pulled up the rug in the dining room, there was two different types of wood on the floor. In one area, oak and the rest of the floor in pine.
3. The basement was infested with crickets.
4. They wallpapered over 2 layers of wallpaper.
5. All of the walls had holes behind the doors where the doorknob had gone through the door. When we removed the wallpaper, there was nothing there, just a hole...they didn't even patch it up.
6. The front door was a wooden closet door...talk about safety.
7. There was curry powder all over the kitchen and lard or grease all over the side of the oven when we pulled it away from the cabinets.

Re: so... what did YOU learn when you renovated (or heck, just moved into) your new home?

That the previous owner opened up the chimney breast to restore the fireplace in the living room as a reward to herself for stopping smoking. We found an a$$-clenchingly embarrassing list of reasons why she should stop smoking (ie she's embarrassed to kiss men or talk to them in pubs because of her smokers' breath) and how she would reward herself at each stage of giving up behind the new mantlepiece.

That the eletrical sockets were wired upside down - just because...

That whoever lived there before either didn't know the difference between plaster and cement or just didn't care - they moved a light switch and then threw globs of cement over the wire to conceal it.

That a woman who lived in our house was Chinese and one of the last generations to have her feet bound. Our front walk was skimmed over with thin layers upon layers of concrete because her husband was worried the cracks and loose bits would hurt her feet! (found this out from a neighbor!!!)

That 40 year old women with no DIY skills whatsoever should not live in a damp-ridden Victorian house if they're not going to take care of it!!! (see bathroom pic!)

Why people move FROM London TO Miami and not vice versa!!!!

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Message edited 10/11/2007 6:43:53 AM.

Re: so... what did YOU learn when you renovated (or heck, just moved into) your new home?

Granted we bought a newly rennovated house from a contractor, but that didn't save us from some nightmares:

1) the previous owners were so dirty & disgusting that they used their backyard as a garbage disposal When we started to clean up, we found rugs, posters, bottles, belts, you name it, we had it buried in the backyard.

2) the contractor didn't insulate the outside wall in the kitchen so our kitchen pipes froze twice the first winter there. It took us cutting a hole in the back of our cabinets to find this out. Now it is all better

3) the master shower has all tiles. Well the contractor must have been in a rush bc after a year, we noticed water spots in our kitchen (bathroom is above it). The grout in the shower had disinegrated, therefore water was seeping through the walls. we have to still fix this (master shower has not been used in 1 year)

4) The washer & dryer was a nightmare from the previous owners. It was so dirty & had stuff stuck to the sides that I would not even wash my rags in it. Needless to say, that was our wedding present to each other!!!!

5) The contractor didn't take care of the grounds on the property, so the day before closing, we went to check things out. Our backyard looked like a forest!!!! My DH & I refused to sign the papers until someone came & took care of it. Needless to say, 2 years later, we still get bushes growing in the middle of the yard! I guess we need to rip it all out this spring!

Re: so... what did YOU learn when you renovated (or heck, just moved into) your new home?

that my DH is useless when it comes to doing any renovations around the house

seriously, people are dirty and lazy...

Re: so... what did YOU learn when you renovated (or heck, just moved into) your new home?

Our house was apparently a 1 story house originally, and there was a fire many years ago. Most of the roof was only scorched, and not burned all the way. They took part of the roof, and reused it for the new roof.... When you go into the attic, you can still see part of the old roof (including the shingles), and a lot of the beams have minor smoke/fire damage....

Re: so... what did YOU learn when you renovated (or heck, just moved into) your new home?

we learned that some people should never own a house or have kids. They let their childern do anything. We have found drawing and writings on the walls.

We found out from neighbors that they sold drugs out of the house right through their front window like a drive up for drugs. (and of course found evidence of this when cleaning)

We found out that one of the big reasons we bought the house (enclosed deck off the back of the house) isn't in very good condition and we will have to rebuild it when we have the money.

We found out that it isn't that easy to rip up carpet that is glued down to a cement slab.

We found out that all this work we had to do to the house is taking a lot longer then we thought because we keep finding new things to fix.

We found out that they really liked to drink a lot because we keep finding beer bottles in the backyard. I guess they didn't know what a garbage can is.

We found out that who ever did the electric in this house didn't really know what they were doing.

We found out that they let their animals pee anyway they want.

I think that is it.

Re: so... what did YOU learn when you renovated (or heck, just moved into) your new home?

We learned that the son of the owner was a real do-it-yourself type....but not very good at it. Lots of faulty makeshift wiring etc.

We learned that the wife/mother was a cheater and apparently had lots of men in and out of the house and it was public knowlege. Apparently she was a really heavy smoker too which accounted for some of the discoloration of the walls and the smell.

We learned that the back yard deck was built by a man who apparently owed some form of debt to the owners and in lieu of paying them back he built the deck for them. Although it looks lovely it is the reason that it is not very stable, doesn't have the right sized supports, nor is it to code.

We also learned that taxes can go up over 22% from the time you go to contract to the day you move in about a month later

Re: so... what did YOU learn when you renovated (or heck, just moved into) your new home?

reading these stories, i cant believe it.

Our house was in perfect condition, everything was amazing, the sad part is that FH knocked the entire thing to the ground, but we lived in it the way it was for just about a year until the permits were approved and then we knocked it down.

But there were NO issues, they kept the house perfect! They even have a gorgeous shed, with electric that we are knocking down soon too