"Fun" Surprises

[Miss O'Hara]

We just bought this Inn less than a month ago. Most of the rooms are full with out of state contractors working at a local nuclear plant. We have one open room so DH and I decided to sleep there last Friday night and get to know the quirks of the room. The mattress is awful! It was so firm my hips thought I was 8 months pregnant again! I don't understand how the previous owners spent all this money remodeling and then skimp on the mattress. So tomorrow I'm going to look for some kind of pillow top mattress cover and plan on buying new mattresses as soon as possible!
Then today I went over to shampoo the carpets, trying to get rid of the stale old smell. I picked up a rug ,that I had thought was curiously placed, to discover someone at some point had dropped a hot iron on the carpet leaving a burnt in impression. So a new prettier rug on the to do list... and some day new carpet.
I really don't mind these surprises though, I expected at least this much. I'm actually glad there are things that need my immediate attention so I get to put my spin/personality on the rooms. I imagine it's a continuous work in progress.
What are some suprises you encountered when you first became an innkeeper? Or other surprises along the way?

 

[scrambled_eggs]

Just a suggestion...if you want to get good beds Simmons make some good ones with a built in pillow top. You would need to call their hospitality division and they will give you a discount. If a guest really likes the bed they can then order them through Simmons and you get a commsion on it. Just something to think about. It is a good idea to go and sleep in all of your rooms. You will find out what works and what doesn't that way.

 

[muirford]

We had a bathroom that we renovated the first year that was in much worse shape than we thought - the PO had painted over wallpaper and the small bath had a nonworking fan for three years. When we took down the wallpaper there was a disgusting amount of black mold. We had other surprises, too.
I noticed at Sam's Club the other day that they sell gel top mattress pads for beds, about four inches thick. They are supposed to shed heat, also. They were not inexpensive but might work well. We had some mattresses that were too firm and put featherbeds on them but since then we've replaced all our mattresses/boxsprings, and some of the bedframes.

 

[birdwatcher]

We have been working at this inn now for a year and when we got interviewed we slept in one of the rooms and the mattresses were awful pulling up the sheet we discovered that the mattrasses in the B & B are at least 20 years old. We tried to tell the owner to buy new, but she has not and her upgrading in the 5 years that she bought the b & B has been NOTHING-that is saying something right? At least you know and its a great idea to sleep in your rooms.

 

[egoodell]

Just a suggestion...if you want to get good beds Simmons make some good ones with a built in pillow top. You would need to call their hospitality division and they will give you a discount. If a guest really likes the bed they can then order them through Simmons and you get a commsion on it. Just something to think about. It is a good idea to go and sleep in all of your rooms. You will find out what works and what doesn't that way..

We were warned against pillow top mattresses as you can't flip them (maybe they are different now) We bought ours from Sealy i think - got a hotel rate and they are great. We were advised to then put a two inch foam on top and everyone loves them.
RIki

 

[Generic]

All our mattresses are quite new. But we bought one that was a hotel model instead of a consumer model and it was like upholstered cinder blocks. We quickly ran to Costco and bought a 2.5" memory foam topper. Now, everyone raves about that bed.
I don't keep anything for extended periods. It just doesn't pay.

 

[Miss O'Hara]

We had a bathroom that we renovated the first year that was in much worse shape than we thought - the PO had painted over wallpaper and the small bath had a nonworking fan for three years. When we took down the wallpaper there was a disgusting amount of black mold. We had other surprises, too.
I noticed at Sam's Club the other day that they sell gel top mattress pads for beds, about four inches thick. They are supposed to shed heat, also. They were not inexpensive but might work well. We had some mattresses that were too firm and put featherbeds on them but since then we've replaced all our mattresses/boxsprings, and some of the bedframes..

We had a bathroom that we renovated the first year that was in much worse shape than we thought - the PO had painted over wallpaper and the small bath had a nonworking fan for three years. When we took down the wallpaper there was a disgusting amount of black mold. We had other surprises, too.
I noticed at Sam's Club the other day that they sell gel top mattress pads for beds, about four inches thick. They are supposed to shed heat, also. They were not inexpensive but might work well. We had some mattresses that were too firm and put featherbeds on them but since then we've replaced all our mattresses/boxsprings, and some of the bedframes.

Ewww....mold. I certainly hope we don't find that surprise! We do have wallpaper that needs replaced but the PO were smart enough not to wallpaper the bathrooms!
I looked at Sam's website and didn't see those gel top mattress pads. I think I'm leaning towards a down mattress pad though. I need to go somewhere to feel the difference between at least the foam and the down.

 

[muirford]

We had a bathroom that we renovated the first year that was in much worse shape than we thought - the PO had painted over wallpaper and the small bath had a nonworking fan for three years. When we took down the wallpaper there was a disgusting amount of black mold. We had other surprises, too.
I noticed at Sam's Club the other day that they sell gel top mattress pads for beds, about four inches thick. They are supposed to shed heat, also. They were not inexpensive but might work well. We had some mattresses that were too firm and put featherbeds on them but since then we've replaced all our mattresses/boxsprings, and some of the bedframes..

We had a bathroom that we renovated the first year that was in much worse shape than we thought - the PO had painted over wallpaper and the small bath had a nonworking fan for three years. When we took down the wallpaper there was a disgusting amount of black mold. We had other surprises, too.
I noticed at Sam's Club the other day that they sell gel top mattress pads for beds, about four inches thick. They are supposed to shed heat, also. They were not inexpensive but might work well. We had some mattresses that were too firm and put featherbeds on them but since then we've replaced all our mattresses/boxsprings, and some of the bedframes.

Ewww....mold. I certainly hope we don't find that surprise! We do have wallpaper that needs replaced but the PO were smart enough not to wallpaper the bathrooms!
I looked at Sam's website and didn't see those gel top mattress pads. I think I'm leaning towards a down mattress pad though. I need to go somewhere to feel the difference between at least the foam and the down.
.

I looked at Sam's website and didn't see those gel top mattress pads. I think I'm leaning towards a down mattress pad though. I need to go somewhere to feel the difference between at least the foam and the down.

And then, painting over wallpaper makes one eligible for one of Dante's circles of hell, IMO. It's terrible to get off the wall.
I have down on most of the beds now, but they will need replacing soonish. One good thing about the gel or foam is that it's hypoallergenic. I have to take off the featherbeds if someone has an allergy (happens about once a month). You can check some of the bargain websites - overstock or smartbargains often has them. I would not recommend the hypoallergenic fiberfill featherbeds - they get very lumpy.

 

[gillumhouse]

I have 2 pillowtops I bought in 1996 and they are flip-able and the third was purchased about 5 years ago. By flipping them fairly often (couple times a year, they are still good. Of course we are not running a bigtime occupancy every year either.

 

[Tom]

We had a bathroom that we renovated the first year that was in much worse shape than we thought - the PO had painted over wallpaper and the small bath had a nonworking fan for three years. When we took down the wallpaper there was a disgusting amount of black mold. We had other surprises, too.
I noticed at Sam's Club the other day that they sell gel top mattress pads for beds, about four inches thick. They are supposed to shed heat, also. They were not inexpensive but might work well. We had some mattresses that were too firm and put featherbeds on them but since then we've replaced all our mattresses/boxsprings, and some of the bedframes..

We had a bathroom that we renovated the first year that was in much worse shape than we thought - the PO had painted over wallpaper and the small bath had a nonworking fan for three years. When we took down the wallpaper there was a disgusting amount of black mold. We had other surprises, too.
I noticed at Sam's Club the other day that they sell gel top mattress pads for beds, about four inches thick. They are supposed to shed heat, also. They were not inexpensive but might work well. We had some mattresses that were too firm and put featherbeds on them but since then we've replaced all our mattresses/boxsprings, and some of the bedframes.

Ewww....mold. I certainly hope we don't find that surprise! We do have wallpaper that needs replaced but the PO were smart enough not to wallpaper the bathrooms!
I looked at Sam's website and didn't see those gel top mattress pads. I think I'm leaning towards a down mattress pad though. I need to go somewhere to feel the difference between at least the foam and the down.
.

gel top may be very cold in winter. Consider your climate. They do also make electrically heated matress pads which might work with gel, but you have all that "gel" to heat one way or another to be cozy.

 

[Joey Camb]

Surprises would you like a list? just about all the mattresses were down to the springs all had to be replaced, in room 10 they had tiled ontop of wall paper so all the tiles were dropping off and water was leaking down the back, when we dug up the car park when we were converting the basement found the sewage pipe was held together with duct tape and could have gone at any time, Tiles in 8 also all fell off in the shower, radiator in 3 only works when it feels like it, windows all falling to bits (mind you anyone with eyes could see that), they had put in a new gas fire in what is now room 12 and it is a legal requirement you reline the chimney for safety there was no lining at all, (this chimney rang through their bedroom as well so they could have been killed with CO2) took up the floor for various jobs and found all plumbing held together with tape and they are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head!

 

[Alibi Ike]

I like to tell aspirings to pick up all the throw rugs and have a look! Also move the art work on the walls. And that dresser you're just itching to move? Yup, have a look behind it...there's a reason it seems like it's very oddly placed!

 

[Joey Camb]

I like to tell aspirings to pick up all the throw rugs and have a look! Also move the art work on the walls. And that dresser you're just itching to move? Yup, have a look behind it...there's a reason it seems like it's very oddly placed!.

and bounce on all the beds! cos if you have to replace a full set of mattresses it aint cheap!

 

[Alibi Ike]

I like to tell aspirings to pick up all the throw rugs and have a look! Also move the art work on the walls. And that dresser you're just itching to move? Yup, have a look behind it...there's a reason it seems like it's very oddly placed!.

and bounce on all the beds! cos if you have to replace a full set of mattresses it aint cheap!
.

We are getting our 5th new mattress set tomorrow. One/year. We still have a few years left to go!

 

[JBloggs]

I invite anyone who wants to toss rugs and move artwork around who is interested to come and see us! See we actually took down quite a bit - esp in our owners quarters, as we filled nail holes and painted and don't want to put more holes in the walls.
Unfortunately as MOST of us have experience dishonest former owners. I am an open book, in fact I just sent all of our figures and more to a B&B Broker. Our other contract expired and we are giving it a NEW outlook to sell. All they are doing right now is kicking the tires though...Looking at for sale inns it seems they are the same ones for years and years, some are there from when WE WERE LOOKING in 2002-3!

 

[EmptyNest]

I invite anyone who wants to toss rugs and move artwork around who is interested to come and see us! See we actually took down quite a bit - esp in our owners quarters, as we filled nail holes and painted and don't want to put more holes in the walls.
Unfortunately as MOST of us have experience dishonest former owners. I am an open book, in fact I just sent all of our figures and more to a B&B Broker. Our other contract expired and we are giving it a NEW outlook to sell. All they are doing right now is kicking the tires though...Looking at for sale inns it seems they are the same ones for years and years, some are there from when WE WERE LOOKING in 2002-3!.

I agree...no movement in price either..so that is why they are still for sale. Guess they don't have to sell. Good luck with the inn agent. I tried to talk my friend into using him and I thought he was..but went with a realtor who in 3 months has still not even listed the property on one B & B directory! I would be screaming at them to do so...not a good thing.
YEah it is kind of funny for us here. We had one of those whole house intercom systems. Husband took it out a few years ago to do some wall work but 3 rooms upstairs still have the works in the wall. I keep thinking we really need to take those out and patch the wall but that means repainting everything and one room it is in paneling :-( So I think it will all just stay as is for now. Though maybe some day he may be motivated to do it though I doubt it.

 

[Miss O'Hara]

I invite anyone who wants to toss rugs and move artwork around who is interested to come and see us! See we actually took down quite a bit - esp in our owners quarters, as we filled nail holes and painted and don't want to put more holes in the walls.
Unfortunately as MOST of us have experience dishonest former owners. I am an open book, in fact I just sent all of our figures and more to a B&B Broker. Our other contract expired and we are giving it a NEW outlook to sell. All they are doing right now is kicking the tires though...Looking at for sale inns it seems they are the same ones for years and years, some are there from when WE WERE LOOKING in 2002-3!.

I invite anyone who wants to toss rugs and move artwork around who is interested to come and see us! See we actually took down quite a bit - esp in our owners quarters, as we filled nail holes and painted and don't want to put more holes in the walls.
Unfortunately as MOST of us have experience dishonest former owners. I am an open book, in fact I just sent all of our figures and more to a B&B Broker. Our other contract expired and we are giving it a NEW outlook to sell. All they are doing right now is kicking the tires though...Looking at for sale inns it seems they are the same ones for years and years, some are there from when WE WERE LOOKING in 2002-3!

We found another surprise yesterday that the previous owners failed to tell us about. The property comes with two houses the big front one as the Inn and a smaller one behind it which will be our house. Our tennents moved out yesterday and told me there was some funny smelling water standing in the basement. Not completly flooded but odd nonetheless. Turns out there has been a backed up sewer line for awhile. We found an email correspondence in the account the PO gave us access to that mentioned this.
I doubt it would have kept us from buying the place but a heads up would have been nice. I expect to find odd stains on the floors and holes in the wall, but sewage leaking into my basement... I'd like to be warned!

 

[Copperhead]

I invite anyone who wants to toss rugs and move artwork around who is interested to come and see us! See we actually took down quite a bit - esp in our owners quarters, as we filled nail holes and painted and don't want to put more holes in the walls.
Unfortunately as MOST of us have experience dishonest former owners. I am an open book, in fact I just sent all of our figures and more to a B&B Broker. Our other contract expired and we are giving it a NEW outlook to sell. All they are doing right now is kicking the tires though...Looking at for sale inns it seems they are the same ones for years and years, some are there from when WE WERE LOOKING in 2002-3!.

I invite anyone who wants to toss rugs and move artwork around who is interested to come and see us! See we actually took down quite a bit - esp in our owners quarters, as we filled nail holes and painted and don't want to put more holes in the walls.
Unfortunately as MOST of us have experience dishonest former owners. I am an open book, in fact I just sent all of our figures and more to a B&B Broker. Our other contract expired and we are giving it a NEW outlook to sell. All they are doing right now is kicking the tires though...Looking at for sale inns it seems they are the same ones for years and years, some are there from when WE WERE LOOKING in 2002-3!

We found another surprise yesterday that the previous owners failed to tell us about. The property comes with two houses the big front one as the Inn and a smaller one behind it which will be our house. Our tennents moved out yesterday and told me there was some funny smelling water standing in the basement. Not completly flooded but odd nonetheless. Turns out there has been a backed up sewer line for awhile. We found an email correspondence in the account the PO gave us access to that mentioned this.
I doubt it would have kept us from buying the place but a heads up would have been nice. I expect to find odd stains on the floors and holes in the wall, but sewage leaking into my basement... I'd like to be warned!

.

Turns out there has been a backed up sewer line for awhile. We found an email correspondence in the account the PO gave us access to that mentioned this.
I doubt it would have kept us from buying the place but a heads up would have been nice. I expect to find odd stains on the floors and holes in the wall, but sewage leaking into my basement... I'd like to be warned!

Call your realtor... there are things that must be listed in the disclosure, this should be one and by having proof that it was a known problem they could be held responsible for the repair. Even if you purchased the property 'as is' - you should ask.

 

[white pine]

I invite anyone who wants to toss rugs and move artwork around who is interested to come and see us! See we actually took down quite a bit - esp in our owners quarters, as we filled nail holes and painted and don't want to put more holes in the walls.
Unfortunately as MOST of us have experience dishonest former owners. I am an open book, in fact I just sent all of our figures and more to a B&B Broker. Our other contract expired and we are giving it a NEW outlook to sell. All they are doing right now is kicking the tires though...Looking at for sale inns it seems they are the same ones for years and years, some are there from when WE WERE LOOKING in 2002-3!.

I invite anyone who wants to toss rugs and move artwork around who is interested to come and see us! See we actually took down quite a bit - esp in our owners quarters, as we filled nail holes and painted and don't want to put more holes in the walls.
Unfortunately as MOST of us have experience dishonest former owners. I am an open book, in fact I just sent all of our figures and more to a B&B Broker. Our other contract expired and we are giving it a NEW outlook to sell. All they are doing right now is kicking the tires though...Looking at for sale inns it seems they are the same ones for years and years, some are there from when WE WERE LOOKING in 2002-3!

We found another surprise yesterday that the previous owners failed to tell us about. The property comes with two houses the big front one as the Inn and a smaller one behind it which will be our house. Our tennents moved out yesterday and told me there was some funny smelling water standing in the basement. Not completly flooded but odd nonetheless. Turns out there has been a backed up sewer line for awhile. We found an email correspondence in the account the PO gave us access to that mentioned this.
I doubt it would have kept us from buying the place but a heads up would have been nice. I expect to find odd stains on the floors and holes in the wall, but sewage leaking into my basement... I'd like to be warned!

.

Turns out there has been a backed up sewer line for awhile. We found an email correspondence in the account the PO gave us access to that mentioned this.
I doubt it would have kept us from buying the place but a heads up would have been nice. I expect to find odd stains on the floors and holes in the wall, but sewage leaking into my basement... I'd like to be warned!

Call your realtor... there are things that must be listed in the disclosure, this should be one and by having proof that it was a known problem they could be held responsible for the repair. Even if you purchased the property 'as is' - you should ask.
.

Oddly, a disclosure is NOT required for commercial propery here. We did not get a heads up about an old metal septic tank, which was ready to collapse in. We noticed a hole in the lawn and investigated cautiously. When the PO came for his final move we mentioned we were lucky to find it before someone fell in. He said "Oh that? Its been there a long while...". NICE! Buyer beware and then some..

 

[Proud Texan]

If not required by your lender, then go out and hire an independent building inspector. They will be able to uncover and identify a host of problems before you sign on the dotted line.
If there are problems, you can request that they be corrected or at least be able to use them as a bargaining chip.