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Hey Pandas, What Uncomfortable Things Did You Experience While Home Hunting? (Closed)
Whether it be something serious, such as blatant discrimination, or an awkward moment, an inappropriate inquiry. What has been a highlight of discomfort while searching for your humble abode and what happened afterward?
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#1
I was made homeless when my landlady passed away. I was advised to go to my local council and present myself as homeless. I did this and was denied for not having a local connection by someone that got to jump the housing queue because they worked for the council. I was born and lived my entire life in the area so this royally pissed me off. Now this was happening in january so I had no options for somewhere to even couch surf so after spending every penny i had on a bed and breakfast i was now broke and homeless in winter in scotland. As a last resort I borrowed a tent from someone and pitched it right outside the council offices door so nobody could enter without seeing someone camped outside, and called the local paper to say what was happening. I got a place to live the same day because they were embarassed at having to explain to everyone why I was there.
Final score:
28points
RELATED:
#2
When hubby and I were trying to get this house, we had to do a little painting on the back of the house and front porch to qualify for the loan we were trying to get (loan required no peeling paint, so rotten wood, good roof). Luckily there was paint was in the garage that matched. Why we were tasked with this and not the realtor, I don't know. It was minor issues that we completed in less than 3 hours.
While we're working on it, another couple comes by to look at the house, and asks if we're having an open house since the front door was open. Awkwardly had to tell them that we were in the process of trying to get it.
We did get it in the end!
Final score:
20points
#3
Bullet holes in the glass next to the front door. The manager tried to tell me the holes were from the mowing crews flinging rocks. Yeah right, I know bullet holes when I see them. I was already skeptical about the neighborhood but that definitely made me pass on that place.
Final score:
19points
#4
I'm the veteran, he's the family cook with a massive love for clothing.
I was told over and over how much people appreciated his service and how much they all just loooooved to take care of military veterans like him.
I lost track of how many times the features of the kitchen were highlighted and smarmy jokes made about me getting the massive closet and he can have the hall closest etc etc etc
It's 2021 y'all.
Final score:
18points
#5
When I was house hunting, I (female) brought my boyfriend with me. To be clear, I was buying the house. I walked into the realtor's office and a man sat us down at a table to look at what was available. He put the listings he had in front of my boyfriend and I said, "No, I'm going to be the one buying" and I took the listings. For the rest of my time there, the realtor wouldn't even acknowledge me even though I was asking questions and would only talk to my boyfriend. I stood up and said, "This isn't going to work" and I got up and walked out. I wish I had called to complain about him, and today's me would have, but I was just so mad I never wanted to deal with that company again. I did find a realtor who would actually look at me when talking about properties, but I'll never forget how angry that guy made me.
Final score:
16points
#6
While my, then, common-law husband/bf (whatever you want to call him) was working, I had the task of apartment hunting with our young kid in tow. Since we needed a co-signer, anyways, his dad (FIL, you could say) came along to the viewings. The places weren't in the most desirable areas, and so some of the caretakers we met gave me creep-vibes. One caretaker full-on assumed my FIL was my husband. Gross. No. When I corrected him he was confused. Super awkward.
I think the same day, we viewed another apartment. It was a small-ish building. As we were walking back to the car in the hallway, a half naked, middle-aged guy opened his suite door, showing his door plastered with porn, and trying to talk to the caretaker. Remember, I still have my young daughter with me and FIL. I think the caretaker was mortified, he was telling the guy to get back in his suite. Needless to say we scratched that place off the list.
We were having a lot of trouble finding a decent, affordable place. Another day, we went to look at a well-managed complex lot. The caretakers were strict. And discriminatory. He proceeded to tell me, er... lecture me about the 'no parties' policy. Again, I had my young daughter with me. I'm also a young parent, and I looked young for my age in my 20s, too. I assured him we don't party. The caretaker raised his voice at me, right in my face, threatening eviction if we had one party. I hadn't even filled out the application. They called later on saying they refused my application. I didn't mind.
Final score:
11points
Leigh C. (Submission author) 3 years ago
For the last part, I just want to clarify we did at least sign an application despite how the caretaker spoke to me. But the caretaker grilling me about parties was before we had even viewed the suite.
#7
In my twenties I couldn't afford an apartment, so I resorted to renting a room....off craigslist. One place I looked an older gentleman rented to 2 other older gentlemen, best guess they were all in their 60s. The guys were mildly creepy, in that they didn't hide their attraction to me (not a deal killer, just annoying). But when I walked in the place was a disaster, it belonged on an episode of Hoarders. There were stacks of junk and papers everywhere. All the furniture was covered, the only clear spaces were paths to walk from room to room. The kitchen was unusable, they cooked on a hotplate. I couldn't get out of there fast enough.
I did find a place off craigslist, with a slightly creepy late 40s dude, who hoard car parts in the garage (clean house). Lived there 5yrs with no issues. He was really nice and we still talk nearly a decade later.
Final score:
9points
#8
Nice house, semi-secluded being set back from a dead-end road, a little distance from the neighborhood and no neighbors visible. But...there are a few 'Beware of Dog' signs, a locking gate, numerous outdoor motion-sensor lights, a security system, and key locks on every window, plus key locks on bedroom and even hallways doors. Very unusual amount of security, particularly inside the house. Based on the age of the owner, and my agent's firefighter experience, this was all but certainly housing at least one person with dementia.
Nope...just an old woman who grew up in a very unsafe country. This was probably her first time living without bars on the windows, so she took some extra precautions. I ended up getting the house and the biggest threat is probably a raccoon getting in!
Final score:
9points
DuchessDegu 3 years ago (edited)
I get that, being an old woman that grew up in a unsafe country!
#9
My son went to pet a small dog on a couch, but it was the homeowners abandoned toupee.
Final score:
9points
#10
What I don't like the most is that I can sense that they're judging if I'm not a drug addict, a felon, or something else.
Final score:
8points
#11
Appointments getting canceled or moved to another day when I’ve taken the time off from work to see the apartments
Final score:
8points
#12
This is so gross...but there was a used sanitary pad just lying on the bed for all to see. That was a big nope; couldn't get out of there fast enough
Final score:
8points
#13
I tried to buy last year during the midst of quarantine when the banks were offering super low rates…I’m talking 1.5% low! I didn’t have a lot of savings to put towards a down payment so I had to get a starter home, which was fine as it was just me, my husband, and soon to be baby. The problem was and to my understanding still is any house we even slightly liked or were within our price range would get sold within 24 hours of posting. Many people would buy them sight unseen even. The realtor told me that it was wealthy people buying them up to flip to see as an investment. I always knew the rich were greedy with money, but apparently they are greedy in every aspect of life to the point where they won’t let a family buy a home without seeing a way for them to get even richer. So we’re still stuck in an apartment. Maybe one day we’ll be homeowners 😏
Final score:
8points
AzKhaleesi 3 years ago
we were so lucky to buy last year. A new build. Bought for 290 and now it's going for 419 minimum.
#14
Racism. The kind that they look to your face and they say the house /apartment is taken. You come out, you call and because you have no accent since you actually grow up in the country, they say, you can come for a visit because the place is not yet taken.
Final score:
8points
WilvanderHeijden 3 years ago
Uncomfortable? Yes. Unexpected? Not at all. Just search "HOA racism".
#15
House hunting with my eldest daughter a few years ago. An empty house, needed some work. Didn’t mind that. But when we went upstairs there were dead flies everywhere- I mean a carpet of dead flies! Horrid! No thank you!
Final score:
7points
#16
We were looking at an apartment in a beautiful historic building. We had found the lost cat of the managers and after meeting them they said there was a vacancy. The application was pretty thorough, but cats! so we proceeded to the interview and tour phase. It was all going fine until one of them realised that my working shifts was going to be a problem for the other tenants, who would not like the stairs being used during the night. Basically they expected us to be indoors by dark and to stay there until morning. I wish it was some kind of vampire thing. They were just unreasonable. I swear I could see the thought forming behind her eyes when she figured out that not everyone works daytime hours. The uncomfortable part was her assuming I didn't know how to walk up and down stairs like a grown-up, or to close a door without slamming it. Mind you, I was only 43 years old at the time.
Final score:
7points
#17
A basement with a false wall around the perimeter that had concealed observation ports. I found the entrance in a closet. There was barely enough room between the false wall and the actual basement wall to move, but the false wall went around the entire basement. You couldn't notice the lost space because there were several rooms down there.
It was very unsettling and my imagination went wild with the things that could have gone down in that basement. I did not make an offer on that house...
Final score:
7points
WilvanderHeijden 3 years ago
Who cares what went down in the cellar? If the neighborhood is good and safe and the house is structurally sound and reasonably priced, I'll buy it. When skeletons start coming out of the closets, I'm going to get rich on spooky tours.
#18
We got our house very cheap because the owner died and our realtor knew that his children were so keen to sell it that they would accept any reasonable offer as long as it would mean that they could lay their hands on some cash very fast.
And so we ended up sitting in the waiting room at the realtor's office to sign the contract and hearing 3 people talk about what they are going to do with the money we paid to get their house.
Final score:
7points
#19
I was looking at a vacant duplex apartment in a nice section of town. I could afford the rent, it was convenient for everywhere I needed to go, so, I went back to the office to fill out the application and forms to rent it.
I asked if I could go back and take some measurements for curtains and furniture. An agent accompanied me with the keys.
After we opened the door, we found a note on the floor from the downstairs neighbor complaining about last night's party and all of the noise and disturbance it caused. The nightly parties had to stop NOW!
The agent and I read it. The agent said that the place had been empty for 3 months, it was immaculate and there was no evidence of any "party".
The prior tenant had passed away in a care home, that's why the place had been vacant for so long and the locks had been changed after their property was put in storage. Truly, there was No evidence of a party, nor a break-in.
I withdrew my application.
Apparently the downstairs tenant was a real handful and I didn't want to participate in her antics.
Final score:
6points
#20
Years ago while I was in college my friend and I decided to find an apartment together. We found several to look at in one day. The first place we went, the landlord took us into a house that was still actively lived it. He said the occupants should have been out the day before and seemed genuinely surprised to find that they were still living there. The place was a mess. Clothing everywhere. Dishes everywhere. Garbage everywhere. Nothing was remotely packed. He proceeds to tell us to look around. We both felt uncomfortable about this but kind of peeked around the place. When we comeback to the living room the landlord is smelling some discarded panties and when he sees us shoved them into his pocket. We did not take the apartment.
Final score:
6points
BigOrangeTractor 3 years ago
And that's the guy that would have the keys to your home. Lovely.
#21
I live in an area where the housing is incredibly expensive. We were fortunate that we could afford to buy a modest house in one of the less egregiously expensive neighborhoods. One of the houses we looked at had at least eight people living in the two-car garage sleeping in bunk beds. We didn't end up wanting to buy that house for other reasons, but someone else did soon soon after. It was inevitable in that market. It made me so sad that they were living like that, but also wondering if they were going to lose even that meager housing when the owner sold.
Final score:
5points
#22
My BF decided to move in together and were looking for an apartment. Some were nice, some were not. But one was especially nice... as long as you didn't look too close. There were plenty of people applying for the apartment until my BF pointed out there was mould in some kitchen corners. Hard to see at first sight but after finding out it was there, we realized it was pretty much EVERYWHERE! In every single room, in every corner and by every single window. Subtle but still there. After hearing it, everyone else ran to the estate agent and more or less tore their applications out of his hands. He wasn't too happy about it. If looks could kill, we'd be dead now.
Final score:
5points
WilvanderHeijden 3 years ago
There are reasons why consumer organisations keep telling you to hire a professional to check your "dream house" before buying it. A lot of dream houses ended up being horror houses.
#23
When my husband and I were house hunting, our realtor took us to a house where an elderly couple lived. She told us their children were forcing them to sell their home and move into a nursing home. When we walked into the house the elderly couple were sitting on their couch crying and watching people walk through.
Final score:
5points
#24
18 years ago I was looking for an apartment to rent. There were a lot of people applying, they all wanted to rent the appartment. But the owner was only interested in me. He even didn't ask if I had a job or the money, he said to the other candidates they could leave because he decided to rent it to me. I needed bad a place to live, but I was so afraid. I refused and said I wasn't interesed anymore. The owner was very disapointed, maybe he had other things in his mind. A young woman on her own has to be careful. Later that week, I found an other apartment and a very friendly landlady.
Final score:
5points
#25
i have a good one, we were moving to a new state so a lot of the time we looked on zillow. well we saw a house that i loved, it had a cute yellow kitchen, and one of the rooms was purple with a pink window. well in the week that we visited we looked at the house. the kitchen wasn't yellow, the room that i saw, the purple was so light it looked white and the window was painted pink instead of stained glass. speaking of stained, there were brown stains all over the house along with random squares of chalk paint and worst of all there was something like oil dripping from the ceiling.
Final score:
5points
#26
Another one I thought of. We were first playing with the idea of buying a house after living in apartments.
I found this country house for sale, and it sounded really good... Online.
We show up, just the hubby and me, and this place almost looks abandoned. The yard was so overgrown. We decided to peek in the windows as obviously nobody lived there. On the back door there was a note. What did it say? It said "Don't enter. Chicken giving birth". Still have no idea what that was supposed to mean. We still laugh about it, tho.
Final score:
4points
#27
Two stories come to mind:
- A real estate agent was showing me a few houses I had picked out. Part way through one as we enter the basement he casually says this had been the scene of a young boy's murder. No thanks and you could have mentioned this earlier, no?
- Apatment hunting with a friend. Walked into one place where the couple moving out had several cats. The smell of cat urine was "breathtaking". I had to leave.
Final score:
4points
AzKhaleesi 3 years ago
I don't understand why people shy away from murder houses. It's sad yes. But that's it. I never understood it.
#28
We visited an open house being sold by two university professors. Throughout the house they had naked photographs of themselves and their small children, unposed, just standing staring unsmilingly at the camera.
Final score:
4points
#29
Looking to buy my first house about 20 years ago and went to view a home that was an investment property for the owner, so renters were living in it. They did not want the owner to sell and kept putting off our agent. Finally went to see it and there were gross porn magazines EVERYWHERE - like on the kitchen table, every bedroom, living room, etc. Also dog crap in every room. Super gross. Did not buy it.
Final score:
4points
#30
My realtor offered a room at her house while I looking for a house in a new state. We had talked many times over the phone and she had been recommended by a friend, so I took her up on the offer.
When I got there, I was unpacking a few things and she happened to step into the room. She walked over and poked her nose into my bag to see what I had (um... okay?!) and commented "oh, I only ever wear thong panties. That kind just isn't sexy enough." What do you even say to that kind of comment?!
Also, her husband kinda weirded me out with all the descriptions of how easy it would be for someone to break into a home with a number of features. I get the need for safety, but good grief!
Final score:
4points
#31
My husband and I were touring a home with our realtor. Opened the door and walked into a large voodoo shrine complete with ceramic hands with embedded eyeballs, candles, chicken bones? and feathers and alcohol. Turned around and walked back out.
Final score:
3points
#32
Viewed a house once that had no flooring (just subfloor) was nasty and dirty and stank (which was kind of common for my then price range) but the worst part was the fish tank with black water and a big dead fish just floating about... and there were people living there and present while we viewed. How can people live like that???
Final score:
3points
#33
We were house hunting in the early 90's. Realtor opened the door to a nice house in a nice neighborhood. It was an open floor plan, so we could see quite far from the doorway. The carpet and walls were bright pink, and there were so many piles of dog poop, it would have been impossible to walk around. Urine too, I'm sure. Smell was unbelievable. Did someone move away and leave a dog there? Said 'nope' and closed the door. We saw quite a few homes where we just couldn't believe how some people live. It was sad.
Final score:
3points
#34
Not my story , but the story of a friend.
The landlady wanted to know if the couple in interest was married, because she was living in the groundfloor with her children and did not want to give them a bad example by renting the house to an couple out of marriage!
Final score:
3points
#35
My realtor and I went to see a supposedly vacant house. Inside we found some dude, all his stuff, which appeared to be dumpster salvage, and his really big pitbull type dog. The air was fragrant with the smell of growing marijuana. We left quickly and reported him.
Final score:
2points
#36
my friend's experience: the toilet was not flushed and the whole house was stinky
Final score:
2points
#37
Looking for digs around Munich... went to an arranged viewing of a one room flat, aka "Wohnklo" for 1400 Euros a month and 700 people in front.
Final score:
2points
#38
There was a huge sump pit c/w large pump in the basement and fluorescence on the foundation walls up to about 30". "Was there a flood here at one time?" we asked. "No no, this is just a precaution" we were told. Uh huh. Sure.
Final score:
2points
#39
Looking at a house that looked pretty good in pictures on Zillow, and when I went to look at it with my realtor, it was a complete disgusting mess. It was like they pushed the mess to one side took the picture and moved it back. When we looked at the basement, it looked like a spider hole, or hostage room. Ran out of there quickly.
Final score:
0points
#40
My son went to pet a small dog on the couch & it easier the homeowners' toupee.
Final score:
-3points
What do you think ?
marianne eliza 3 years ago
I already posted my experience viewing a house. Here's something that happened during the open house of the home I was selling. Some lady, after viewing the house, stood in the driveway telling all the new arrivals that it was a pit and not to bother. Turns out she was wanting the house herself and trying to scare away competition. Didn't help as I got 5 offers over asking price the next day. She was one I turned down.
Loveyiii 3 years ago
My husband and I went to look at a house and we were told by the real estate agent that the couple that owned the house recently divorced and the house was put on the market so the assets could be divided. The husband still lived in the house and did not want to sell. The house needed some work and was messy but when I went to look at one of the bathroom there was a huge turd in the toilet. If the house was what we were looking for it would not have deterred us from making an offer but it was not. It was just a $#!++y thing to do.
Seabeast 3 years ago
I had a similar experience last time I was house-hunting. The house was only a year old and the seller was a young man. It was filthy, and the toilet was... not clean. If a person were trying to get money back on their investment in a new development, wouldn't they want to at least hire a cleaner to make it presentable?
Load More Replies... marianne eliza 3 years ago
I already posted my experience viewing a house. Here's something that happened during the open house of the home I was selling. Some lady, after viewing the house, stood in the driveway telling all the new arrivals that it was a pit and not to bother. Turns out she was wanting the house herself and trying to scare away competition. Didn't help as I got 5 offers over asking price the next day. She was one I turned down.
Loveyiii 3 years ago
My husband and I went to look at a house and we were told by the real estate agent that the couple that owned the house recently divorced and the house was put on the market so the assets could be divided. The husband still lived in the house and did not want to sell. The house needed some work and was messy but when I went to look at one of the bathroom there was a huge turd in the toilet. If the house was what we were looking for it would not have deterred us from making an offer but it was not. It was just a $#!++y thing to do.
Seabeast 3 years ago
I had a similar experience last time I was house-hunting. The house was only a year old and the seller was a young man. It was filthy, and the toilet was... not clean. If a person were trying to get money back on their investment in a new development, wouldn't they want to at least hire a cleaner to make it presentable?
Load More Replies...
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