A PREGNANT mum has revealed how she was left devastated after her family was duped into buying a rat-infested home.
Sarah Arthurwears even explained that she had an extensive survey carried out which didn’t reveal the pests were in the home.
Sarah started looking at houses when she and her partner were planning to have a third child and came across one that seemed suitable.
She realised it needed some work, but “nothing urgent,” and the pair thought the house was habitable since someone was living there at the time.
Taking to her TikTok and blog pages, Sarah has now shared her story to urge others to be more vigilant when buying a property.
The mum revealed that it was a deceased estate, and the children of the elderly couple who had passed away were selling it.
Sarah adds: “One of the children, a man much older than me, was still living there. So, we assumed it was okay to live in.”
Sarah had a full and extensive survey carried out on the house, and the “only potential concern was that the surveyor couldn’t fully inspect the loft due to a sign indicating it wasn’t safe.”
She continues: “He did manage to poke his head up and saw a few droppings, suggesting we query it.
“The vendors responded that a few years ago, a squirrel had gotten into the loft via the eaves.
“The hole had been blocked up, the squirrel removed, and there were no further issues.”
“The sale progressed steadily, but towards the end, the vendors stalled, causing us to miss the stamp duty holiday.
“Consequently, we ended up paying thousands more than we had intended.
“Eventually, we completed the purchase and moved in. I was six weeks pregnant at this time.”
But within the first three days of moving in, Sarah began to notice a strange smell, which she could only describe as “cabbagey.”
She explained: “The smell seemed to be getting stronger, but my husband insisted it was because I was pregnant. I also started noticing other unpleasant smells around the house.
“There was a cupboard in the kitchen with the boiler, and when you opened the door, the musty, musky smell was sickening. It was awful, so my husband agreed to call a pest controller to be on the safe side.”
That night we could hear rats in our bedroom wall scratching furiously as if they were trying to break out
Sarah Arthurwears
“Within five minutes of the pest controller’s arrival and a quick inspection, he confirmed that we had not only a historic rat infestation but also a current infestation with live and decaying rats and numerous droppings.”
Revealing on her blog, Sarah explained that the expert checked the perimeter of the house for entry holes and concluded that the rats were getting in via a drain rather than a hole above ground.
A SURVEY gives a detailed inspection into the condition of a property, highlighting any major repair work that’s needed.
It can also help you decide whether or not you’re paying the right amount for your home.
The reports are carried out by qualified surveyors and costs vary from company to company. There are also different types of surveys depending on the depth of the report that you want and your budget.
These are the different types of surveys and their typical prices, according to the Homeowners Alliance:
Condition report, £300 or more
This gives a traffic light report to indicate the conditions of various states of the property – green for okay, orange for cause for concern.
The report provides you with a sumary of defects and possible risks but won’t provide any advice or valuations.
HomeBuyers report, £450 or more
On top of everything you get in the condition report, you’ll also get a valuation and an insurance reinstatement value – which is an estimate of how much you’ll receive if the building were to burn down.
Home Condition survey, £400 to £900
These are carried out by the Residential Property Surveyors Association (RPSA) rather than the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and includes information on broadband speeds, a damp assessment and boundary issues to consider. The price depends on the valuation of the property.
Building survey, £500 or more
These are extensive reports where the surveyor will go into places such as the attic, check behind walls and look between floors and above ceilings. It will also provide advice on repairs, estimated costs and timings, and what will happen if you don’t carry out the repairs. Prices depend on the size of the property.
They were advised to get a full drain survey done to locate the entry points.
She continued: “He laid down some more rat poison but made it clear that unless we found the entry points, this would be an ongoing issue.
“He also advised us to try and get hold of the reports from the previous pest control company which the vendors used, to find out exactly what had been done and where the hole was that was sealed up.
“He made an appointment to come back in a few days and lay a different type of liquid poison in the loft once the entry points had been sealed up.
“That night we could hear rats in our bedroom wall scratching furiously as if they were trying to break out.”
Fast forward to now, with lots of work and spending over £2,000, the family has managed to eradicate the issue and rat-proof the house.
Sarah explained: “We have put extensive measures in place to ensure that the house is now rodent-proof.
“Such as: a full drain survey and drain repairs, one-way drain valves installed, all points of ingress filled in, water tank and boiler relocated from the loft/kitchen to the garage, full loft decontamination and re-insulation, new reinforced toilet waste pipes, and removal of encroaching foliage around the house.”
ONLY first-time buyers can purchase a home under the First Home scheme and it’s not available in Wales or Scotland.
As the scheme is aimed at helping buyers on lower incomes get on the property ladder, you won’t be eligible if your combined household income is over £80,000, or £90,000 if you live in London.
Those who can afford to buy one of the homes without a mortgage will not qualify for the help.
Buyers must use a mortgage for at least 50% of the price of the discounted home.
However, further conditions can be set by local councils so the eligibility criteria may vary depending on where you’re looking to buy.
For example, some authorities may give key workers first dibs.
But after the first three months of the homes going on sale, extra conditions set by the local authority will be removed for any First Homes which haven’t been sold or reserved.
