A LOT of older houses have mold from unnoticed leaks. The difference between you and your neighbors is that you knew about yours. They didn’t, or pretended they didn’t.
Still sucks for resale value. But as you say, it’s good when you’re out the other end and the burden is fully gone.
Bailing out a month ago was the best damned decision I’ve made since my first wife died 2-1/2 years ago. My soon-to-be-ex is a fine person, but she and I together are a recipe for misery. It’s not Punch and Judy. More like Mutt & Jeff in a three-legged race. Awkward to watch, lots of stumbles, and nothing much goes right.
Shame we both leaped before we looked. But we did.
But as I say, it’s good when you’re out the other end and the burden is gone.
I have the feeling that one should move house every 10 years at the most, to force a clearout.
Haven’t managed to always stick to this, what with jobs, kids in school etc.
But we did move to the UK from the US 5 years ago, which got rid of a lot of junk to avoid international moving costs. My wife would insist on shipping box after box of photographs, though.
As I predicted, not one of them has ever been opened since…
I was married for 13 years and have had a couple of live in girlfriends here. Only one was bad with the stuff collection. Admittedly I am alone now and am a fairly extreme minimalist.