How to fix previous owner DIY nightmares
Previous homeowners often disguise shoddy work with surface-level cosmetic updates that hide hazardous and poorly executed projects. Uncovering these hidden defects week after week leaves new buyers feeling like their house is held together entirely by caulk, making it impossible to trust the home's fundamental safety.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Fixing things as you come across them or adding them to a master list
- 2Prioritizing critical safety issues like electrical and moisture/mold risks over cosmetics
- 3Learning to do repairs yourself using YouTube to save money on contractors
- 4Pacing yourself to avoid draining all savings at once
- 5Doing home improvement projects DIY instead of hiring contractors
- 6Researching building codes and industry standards independently to check contractor work
- 7Inspecting work closely during walkthroughs and demanding corrections
- 8Setting up a dehumidifier
- 9Funneling water to the sump pump
- 10Digging french drains
- 11Adding extensions to all down spouts
- 12Consulting with a foundation company or real estate lawyer
- 13testing the surface by jumping on it
- 14using caution while walking on roofs
- 15Ripping up the bad flooring and redoing it
- 16Ignoring the cosmetic flaw if the rest of the house location, layout, and square footage are desirable
- 17Turning off the circuit breaker
- 18Capping exposed wires manually
- 19Hiring a different professional to redo the installation
- 20firing the contractor and attempting to finish the remaining trim and soffits independently
- 21Living with the makeshift repair until a full remodel can be done
- 22Planning to install proper fixes during future renovations
- 23Fixing the shoddy work yourself using proper materials
- 24Hiring professionals to undo and repair dangerous previous installations
- 25spending days chipping away paint and scraping popcorn ceilings
- 26living with the poor modifications and choosing not to fix them
- 27venting frustration through humor or imagining revenge
- 28Hiring a licensed contractor to help pull retroactive permits
- 29Consulting a real estate attorney to pursue the previous owner or check title insurance
- 30Negotiating with city building inspectors for variances or timeline extensions
- 31Tearing down the unpermitted work and converting the space back to its original state
- 32considering repainting the full house to improve curb appeal and mask the mismatch
- 33trying to determine if the patches are flush or if they need physical correction before painting
- 34Using transition strips or specialized molding to cover the gap
- 35Walking away from purchasing the house
- 36Fixing issues correctly the first time even if it is expensive
- 37Prioritizing high-risk issues like water, electrical, and gas while leaving cosmetic problems alone
- 38Learning to handle repairs through DIY methods
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“water is leaking through the foundation in the basement, I just went and bought/set up a dehumidifier. I've been trying to funnel the water to the sump pump but I'm at a loss of what to do.”source ↗
“We bought our first house last fall and I am slowly realizing the previous owner was that DIY guy from YouTube who thinks he is a master contractor. At first it looked cute and "updated". Now every week I find one more cursed project.”source ↗
“I feel like I need to call an electrician and just say "assume everything is wrong". Has anyone else bought a house that was basically held together by vibes and caulk.”source ↗
“Pointed it out to the realtor. She legit said she didn't even notice. bruh. Tell me I'm not insane. This is so obviously bad???? How would you not notice this???”source ↗
“So they went to put in this fixture and realized they couldn’t fit the wiring in the pancake fan box, so just remove the box and wire it up all rawdog style in the ceiling”source ↗
“After spending two days removing the popcorn ceiling, chipping away the painted popcorn, and sanding the walls so primer can adhere to it, I’ve decided it’s time to fight.”source ↗
“Well I had convince my roofer to create opening at the soffits which were totally closed,and he questioned it but ultimately did it.”source ↗
“Having gone through one roof and walked on 100s each year, you know when you're in danger.”source ↗
“We just bought a 5 year old house that had poorly designed hvac and to remediate a lot of pest insect problems we needed to install a whole house dehumidifier in the upstairs HVAC.”source ↗
“Had the same bullshit with our first home.”source ↗
“Please be careful. I have a buddy who lost his ability to be a roofer last year due to almost exactly this. Rotten roof gave out, he fell 15 ft onto a desk and completely shattered his ankle.”source ↗
“It feels like everything little fix we try to make turns into a huge ordeal because we inevitably uncover some crazy DIY that the previous owners did that inspections missed.”source ↗
“It’s just getting overwhelming realizing that so many things that were “updated” or “fixed” recently are likely unreliable and now I don’t know where to start with addressing them.”source ↗
“Now the city is giving us 90 days to either bring it up to code or return it to a functioning garage. Which feels insane because we didn't do the work—we just bought the house.”source ↗
“I have spent every weekend for the last month crawling through the tiny attic of my bedroom fixing the terrible DIY insulation and HVAC job the previous owner did with some very similar thoughts!”source ↗
“I hired a contractor to do my siding and probably picked the wrong guy. he completed most of the work, although poorly.”source ↗
“i couldn’t take anyone of the bad work so I let him go.”source ↗
“at this point I think I should just finish it myself.”source ↗
“my issue is with the top row of the flat wall. this is the only section I’m unsure how to complete.”source ↗
“The home I live in today was mismanaged and neglected by both the original occupants and the 2nd owner.”source ↗
“i had an electrician install a mini split for me. and this is how he left it. said he was going to come back. but never did. how bad is it?”source ↗
“when inspections happened the seller was instructed to remove a pony wall and this is how they “patched it” 💀 In hindsight we’re floored that our realtor allowed us to accept this and we wish we could go back in time to have them do it correctly.”source ↗
“It’s been an eye sore for years but now that we’re finally settled in and been able to address some other things we’re trying to brainstorm how to improve this.”source ↗
“We are not experienced with stucco and this is our first house so any advice is appreciated!”source ↗
“Southern California. Exact same issue about a year ago. We tried fighting it with a lawyer but it was a waste of money. The city will force the permit.”source ↗
“I’ve dealt with something similar. The city would not budge. They wanted to see everything down to the studs and plumbing underground. It was impossible to permit the existing structure. I just demoed it.”source ↗
“This is under my kitchen sink. When the kitchen gets remodeled we’re gonna have all of this tore out but in the mean time, this is what we’ve got.”source ↗
“I would look at another house if this is the level of work they were ok with in their home.”source ↗
“Every house that I’ve seen a boomer work on ALWAYS has that shit.”source ↗
“My issue is less with the things I expect from the house being old and much more with the renovations that we know are recent because they were advertised as being so.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2Why do older houses have no outlets?
- 3How to stop renovating and just enjoy a new house
- 5How to fix laminate floor damage before moving out without losing deposit
- 2Ceiling popping noises and drywall screws showing after roof repair
- 17How to get a contractor to fix damage they caused
- 4Water damage in a brand new construction house