Whether you're renting or own a home, I think we can all agree that finding a place to live can be an absolute nightmare.
Even if the actual leasing or buying process goes smoothly, there can be trouble down the road, when you're (legally) in too deep.
Here are 18 horror stories from renters and buyers that might make you want to just go find a cave in the woods to live in:
1. "Last winter, I briefly lived in a house in North Belfast which had big Victorian-sized rooms and single glazing windows, and the doors/window frames were all old and drafty. Putting the heating on full whack barely did anything, and the moment it turned off, the heat was gone in no time. I always had to walk about the house in a coat and had to sleep in pajamas, a dressing gown, gloves, and a hat.
"I thought our house in Stranmillis from my student days was bad, but it was nothing compared to that. Never again."
2. "Used condoms...under the bathroom floor...pulled up the floor to fix some plumbing and...condoms."
3. "I have a client under contract right now for their dream house, but the foundation is crumbling. And a squatter decided to camp out in the backyard."
4. "After we bought the house, we planned on flipping it. While going through the house, we discovered a FULL-SIZED door in the middle of the floor in the back room. With a heavy chain on it so you can pull it open.
"It looked like something out of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. It was a challenge to relocate the hole that luckily just lead to the water heater and furnace and not to corpses hanging from hooks. We sold it and have moved on to another, but that was an interesting discovery."
5. "I was supposed to pay $1,970/month, but after random-ass fees, I ended up paying $2,369/month. Ended up subleasing."
6. "Once had a landlord keep a $700 damage deposit because there was 'human hair' on the floor. It was a tiny dust bunny."
7. "The day after closing on our first house, the front awning literally fell off the house. Carpenter ants."
8. "The meth dealer living next door. My property was bank-owned and vacant for a couple years, and his clientele developed the habit of parking on my property."
9. "My landlord literally entered the property and even bedrooms whenever he wanted.
"My housemate was asleep totally naked when the landlord busted open his bedroom door to show someone the property."
10. "Living in a moldy flat in New Cross with no working radiators. I got told to open the windows and wear a jumper as the radiator was too expensive to fix."
11. "Early 1900s house which still had the in-wall gas pipes for natural gas-powered lighting. The pipes were still live, and each was sealed via a gob of plaster at the tip."
12. "The tiles in the shower fell on me, revealing black mold."
13. "We had a rat in the roof, showed up a couple of months after we moved in. The landlord did the minimum and cheapest thing possible, which probably cost them the most in the long run. The rat died in the ceiling somewhere. The smell and the blowflies made the house unlivable. Negotiated breaking the lease.
"That was two years ago. They rented after us and broke that lease after five months (this is all public record). We found all this out after we drove by and saw it for sale. It's been on the market since. We went to an open house, and all our rat and insect traps are still in place in plain sight. There are dead blowflies on the stove. The price has been reduced several times. This is a hot market where a tear-down will sell for a half million, and they can't get rid of this place. Fuck 'em."
14. "Three-family house, the outlets for the air conditioners from what was the owner's unit were wired to the tenant's meters."
15. "Was evacuated from my home due to flooding, home was uninhabitable due to water seepage. Was out of my home for an entire month, and the landlord refused to reimburse me for that month's rent.
"Before they had even taken a look at the mold problem, the house was wiped out in a second flood, and was told I would still have to pay rent because I wasn't giving them a 30-day notice to move out."
16. "Out of my $1,500 security deposit, I got back $12.11."
17. "Nearby large factory sewer backed up into our house basement. Had to put waders on to get the washer and dryer out. Called the landlord repeatedly for weeks, and he kept saying he would handle it. I tried to explain it was a health hazard, to no avail. Called the housing authorities, and they were on my side 'til I said his name.
"Apparently, he was a big guy in town. They told him I called; he called and threatened me, said, 'Little girl, I can make your life hell.' He finally got it fixed and found a root in the pipe covered in tampons, and tried to blame me and tried to make me pay for the repair. I didn't cause it; I don't flush tampons ever (grew up with a septic tank and know better), so I refused. We moved out not long after, and he didn't pursue it, or make my life hell."
And finally...
18. "When I was living with an ex up in Massachusetts my landlord was this 90-year-old man named Fred, who didn't care much about tenant laws. Massachusetts is one of those states that has some pretty strong laws, like one where you have to give a certain amount of notice to the tenants before showing their apartment to potential buyers."
"Fred didn't give a fuck, and would bring people over with no notice, and expect me to let them into my apartment when I was chilling on a Saturday afternoon. Once he came by, opened the door to my apartment, and brought some people by, while my gf and I were having sex in the living room. Not cool Fred." —Anonymous
