So I bought a new house and it has come with some surprises!

[surferguy]

Originally Posted by kermitology

I bought a place like that.. but then I tore it down and built a new house.

1% er

[You Need a Thneed]

Of all the details, I think I'm most disturbed by the fact that people would apparently drop their kids off to a day home without apparently stepping foot in the place.

[Rhettzky]

You had a sledgehammer party without me and bigtime? Ahhh man.

[onetwo_threefour]

Originally Posted by Realtor 1

Did you not do a walk through 24 hours prior and request a hold back for all the stuff left behind?

Good luck and hopefully the parents can get their money back. I cant see it being too difficult!

Not to derail surferguy's thread, but the misconceptions that most people have about walkthroughs is a pet peeve of mine that I wish people would get better information about. (not calling you out Realtor1, I assume you write walkthrough terms into your deals) The current form of the AREA contract gives a Buyer zero right to do a walkthrough prior to closing and zero right to do holdbacks for anything. If you want a walkthrough, you need to ask your realtor to put it in the contract, and don't be shocked if a seller says no as it is not a terribly common term written in. Secondly if you want that walkthrough to give you any rights, you need to also add a term allowing for money to be held back if there is something unsatisfactory found on a walkthrough. If you don't do these things, you're pretty much going to have to close and sue later for most problems that you will find. There may be exceptions for the Seller not providing vacant possession, but in that case I wouldn't do a holdback, I'd suggest not closing at all until the place is cleaned out. Although that is a fairly aggressive position, since vacant possession is THE fundamental obligation the Seller has, I would argue that it is appropriate when you go to take possession and there are binloads worh of junk. In surferguy's case, I would probably have suggested delaying closing until the house was empty, but only if he knew there was a problem before his lawyer sent funds over to the Seller's lawyer.

Anyway, end derail, hopefully surferguy's renovation adventure doesn't contain any more nasty surprises

[4X4]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

Of all the details, I think I'm most disturbed by the fact that people would apparently drop their kids off to a day home without apparently stepping foot in the place.

Yes, how exactly do you not have an inkling that the place is a hoarder house/cat house? To be clear, I have nothing against people with stuff, and I actually like cats, but I'll be damned if my daughter is going to spend 9 hours a day in a fire hazard house of boxes, littered with cat feces.

[REDVAN]

Awesome story, bad luck... but I am dying to see pictures! Come on, I know you have some!

[kermitology]

Originally Posted by surferguy

1% er

More like 10%.. I only did it because we bought it with friends who developed the other side of our lot.

[surferguy]

Originally Posted by REDVAN

Awesome story, bad luck... but I am dying to see pictures! Come on, I know you have some!

I will see what I can drum up in the morning. I do have pics on my go pro somewhere.

[Sylvanfan]

I must admit, when I was searching child care for my son, I decided to spend the extra money on a well etablished a reputable day care. I always felt with day homes that it was far too reliant on one person. I checked out like 3 of them and every one had a warning of some type from inspections. Child care can be hard to find, but this is just scary. You probably had people asking if you'd watch their kids for them anyways even though you aren't a day home.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

I must admit, when I was searching child care for my son, I decided to spend the extra money on a well etablished a reputable day care. I always felt with day homes that it was far too reliant on one person. I checked out like 3 of them and every one had a warning of some type from inspections. Child care can be hard to find, but this is just scary. You probably had people asking if you'd watch their kids for them anyways even though you aren't a day home.

I am trying to remember the news story that happened not too long ago where the parents were actually upset because they couldn't drop their kids off, after a dayhome was closed down for some violations. I can't seem to find a reference for this, but the parents were trying to brush it off like no big deal.

[AMG_G]

Originally Posted by Wormius

I am trying to remember the news story that happened not too long ago where the parents were actually upset because they couldn't drop their kids off, after a dayhome was closed down for some violations. I can't seem to find a reference for this, but the parents were trying to brush it off like no big deal.

It was a CBC Marketplace report http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/episod...-the-kids.html

[surferguy]

After reading the thread again, I want to downplay the hoarder side of things a bit. It was not like what you would see on a TV show, but I did have to walk across a pile of clothes about 2 ft deep and 8 ft wide just to see the electrical panel. Here are some of the pics of the nasty filth etc on possession day.

under the stairs:


Front room blinds, this is where the kids played:


My new garage space, after two truckloads left. Also note that freezer was half full:



The garbage corral in the back alley: Was about 5x the size of this, all full of used diapers and fire pit ashes:




The bin: Spoiler for size.

Spoiler!

The oven, we god rid of it and bought a new one...immediately:

Spoiler!

Under the fridge!!




The greybeards in the vents!



This is what the kids were in, everyday for who knows how long. The neighbors even said they had a above ground pool at one point! Is that a common thing for a day home??

[burn_this_city]

I can smell the cat piss and shat through the pictures.

[Huntingwhale]

Wow, screw those people for leaving the place like that. That is why I will never ever rent my place out, ever. People are freaking disgusting. Hopefully the cops catch the people who stole the money from the parents. The parents also deserve a slap in the mouth for not checking the house first. Can't believe they would leave their own flesh and blood in that place without checking it.


Good on you surferguy for wanting to put your own stamp on that place, it'll be worth it. I went to check out a friend's new place in Ogden over the weekend. The house looks simple enough from the outside, but she really put her own stamp on the inside and it looks fantastic. It'll be well worth it in the end!

[TheyCallMeBruce]

It's got every horror scenario, like a funhouse! Are you sure this place isn't haunted too?

[surferguy]

Originally Posted by TheyCallMeBruce

It's got every horror scenario, like a funhouse! Are you sure this place isn't haunted too?

The thought did go through my head yesterday morning when I heard the knocking (it woke me up) at the front door but it was just parents dropping kids off at my new day home! lol

Furthermore, I found out last night from the neighbors that an old lady died here about seven years ago. Time will tell, perhaps it is??

[Misterpants]

Man that looks like a huge project, but from what I've seen from you on the site, I'm sure you'll make it look cool. I would be very interested in a "Surferguy's ongoing renovation" thread if you are up to it. Would be really cool to see how you progress!

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by surferguy

.

I like the flooring, hopefully you can salvage it.

The neighbors even said they had a above ground pool at one point! Is that a common thing for a day home??

There does not appear to be anything common about this "day home".

[Bigtime]

This shall be Surferguy's greatest triumph.

[Bill Bumface]

After reading all the bad neighbour threads lately, and people considering moving because their neighbours are so bad, I guarantee you everyone around you just breathed a collective sigh of relief when they saw the new guy and an empty dumpster.