The last residence was addicted to smoking, hence all the internal surfaces were covered in a film of nicotine tar ... 
nice.
All carpets and wallpaper have been stripped out and some walls and ceilings where the plaster has blow out old plaster has been removed.
After a brief investigation we have found that the oven and washine machine are both broken (only appliances in the kitchen), all drains are broken, down pipes and the soil stack is/are cracked and corroded, the damp course is broken, the heating copper pipes and gas pipes on the ground floor are embedded in concrete, the copper pipes are rotting in the concrete, the garden is covered in approx 3.5 tons of concrete and the roof leaks...(which is sort of repaired -- our first mistake ... more about this later)!
Further investigation may reveal more surpises I am sure, at this stage I am kind of reminded of that film with Tom Hanks .. the money pit .. Apart from this everything is good 
