the previous owners ...

[percival]

... left us only one set of keys
... left the attic bedroom STINKING of beer so that we will HAVE to rip out the carpet
... gave the wrong meter reading to the gas company, resulting in a bill for £127 for our first eight days in the property

well, on the plus side, they left all blinds, all light fittings, and the central heating is in good working order.

we will survive

now I can only hope that we can find the meter readings we took when we moved in, otherwise we will have to pay that unreasonable amount.

We'll move to another supplier soon, anyway, but it might make sense to monitor our gas use for a while.

ETA:

I am 58.1% LJ ADDICT! Can You Beat Me? View Info In Detail Take the LJ Addict Quiz Today After All, perceval did.

Comments

[soupytwist.livejournal.com]

Urgh. Inconsiderate eejits. I'm sorry - I hope you manage to sort out the mete thing at least. *hugs*

[jennlee2.livejournal.com]

Just keep thinking: "It's finally ours" and eventually the rest won't matter.

When I bought my house, the people declared bankruptcy a couple weeks before closing necessitating a lot of expense in lawyers and fears that we wouldn't be able to close and I would have nowhere to live, having sold my house. But we did close, and move-in day came and I arrived with my moving truck to find that they hadn't even half finished moving out... I had to pay the movers to store everything and give more time to move out while I had nothing - no change of clothes, nothing...

But once I was in and settled, how I got there ceased to matter and now it's just an amusing story to tell.

Good luck!!! Enjoy your home!

[guttaperk.livejournal.com]

I am 59.7% LJ ADDICT! Can You Beat Me? View Info In Detail Take the LJ Addict Quiz Today After All, guttaperk did.

[acusa-dora.livejournal.com]

What jerks. I think you'll be able to get it sorted out, though. As long as you aren't trying to get wallpaper down. . . (Urgh!)

[perceval.livejournal.com]

that is exactly what we will have to do in the bathroom and two bedrooms

tell me more, sister - I feel a bond

[acusa-dora.livejournal.com]

Well, you score the wallpaper first and then you either use a remover solution or a steamer. If your wallpaper is virtually welded onto untreated wallboard, you take off what you can, sand the rest as smooth as possible, seal it with a primer and paint. I suggest lots of cleansing breaths, meditation, and maybe a little alcohol because you will lose patience!

I think we need to persuade Changing Rooms to do a US/UK exchange.

[chrysantza.livejournal.com]

Zoinks! that's a high utility bill. I hope you can find your previous meter readings, or the utility company will let you negotiate payment.

On the bright side - it's yours, ALL yours, no more landlord hassles - you have your castle!

[sqellie.livejournal.com]

That sux about the previous owner's--especially the gas bill! I know here that they have meter men/women who come and check the meter every month. How does it work there?

Do you think that you might be able to steam clean the carpet? That might take care of the smell/ dinginess much cheaper than replacing it. Just an idea :)

[perceval.livejournal.com]

thank you, steam cleaning is definitely an option!

[calanthe-b.livejournal.com]

... left the attic bedroom STINKING of beer so that we will HAVE to rip out the carpet

~winces~ You poor things. It reminds me of my sister's problem, when she moved into her new house and found that the previous owner had a) not properly replaced the carpet underlay after a flood and b) allowed several large dogs to nest in the walk-in wardrobe, creating the most appalling smell and stain...she had to recarpet the entire house.

Best of luck with finding the meter-readings and so on.

[dragonintherain.livejournal.com]

on the upside... at least it's warming up, and you'll be able to open the windows to air things out...

we moved in our house in december, and the prev. owners left the garage smelling like a bar... beer and smoke. ick! i finally gave up and left the windows open - talk about freezing :P at least it helped.

good luck! and wallpaper is eVil! I'd volunteer to help, but there's that whole ocean thing in the way ;)