It is incredible that that dump is worth $500K as anything other than a tear down on a great lot, which it isn’t.
I’m so grateful for the neighborhood cats that keep rodents down for the whole block! I’ve heard of something called “roof rats” and I guess that’s what these people have.
What a hodge podge of a house - not what you’d call a natural traffic flow :-/ . It sound like they should get an exterminator in to discuss the rat situation - not your problem. Ideally they would locate and seal up any openings - which sounds problematic for this house - then set traps inside and poison outside, with followup visits. All of which could cost $350 on up depending on the extent of the problem.
Not that I would know anything about that procedure…
good…god!
I would not touch this dump with a 10 foot pole. do you have ANY IDEA how dangerous it is to inhale dried rat feces??? both for the owners AND your crew??
It needs to be demolished … period.
@-) 
It isn’t the first house that I’ve had to fight a rat infestation. But it’s not going to be easy and it will take the guys off task to get everything cleaned up and shored up.
Obviously the house is not typical of coralbrook’s flips, nor is it typical of what those of us on CC would choose to live in. Nevertheless, I think we need to be respectful that this is what the young couple can afford at this time, and this is a great way for cb to keep her workers occupied and loyal to her. Frankly, it’s a win-win for everyone.
I follow the real estate listings for one particular townhouse community where a good friend lives. One odd listing appeared - the place looked in terrible shape, so I got the full story from my friend. A hoarder had lived there and had a major bat infestation. There had been no functioning air conditioning for over 2 years (and this is Houston!). The owner died in the home, but was not found for 5 days. The listing pictures included one that showed some odd … stains on the carpet (picture was later removed). Friend said that house needed to be ripped to the studs. The disclosures in that listing were definitely lacking!
Good luck, CB!
I’m meeting with the husband today and I’m going to lay it out to him that he needs to get a pest control company in to crawl around the attic and crawlspace and eradicate the rodents. So far we haven’t found anything to indicate that the poop is fresh. It all looks old but we are not experts.
The pest control company should be able to identify all the entry points so we can get the areas closed up.
We all have to remember what our first house or apartment was like. My first house was close to a tear down but iI had to have it…across the street from the beach!! But at least H and I were weekend warriors working on the house. They were not educated buyers and I can’t get a straight answer from them on whether they even had a home inspection. They purchased 3 yrs ago and bought it as a fixer but haven’t fixed a thing
I remember what my first noise was like…and my second. Both needed some TLC. But neither had infestations of creatures…of any kind.
I think it’s smart of you to get this taken care of before you proceed any further.
Is there ANY WAY this young couple could temporarily move in with their parents or someone while the work is taking place?
For those of you that don’t live in CA I know it seems crazy to remodel this house but that is the crux of the matter for CA real estate. It is ridiculously expensive and even though this may not be the best area in town it is still in a desirable county. Unless you relocate to really undesirable areas there are no homes that are affordable for young people. If you do choose to go for affordable housing you may be commuting to work 1-2 hours each way daily.
How did this house pass inspection for sale in the first place? Maybe parents bought it & paid cash for kids? Did I miss that?
Coralbrook knows what she’s doing so I have complete confidence in her abilities. I wonder if her husband knows she’s a CC celebrity with a huge following?? She’s the only reason I read CC anymore!!
The parents hate the house. Unfortunately, parents downsized to a gorgeous downtown top floor condo that is only 1 bedroom and kids cannot move there temporarily. The Dad explained to me that his daughter just called up one day and said they had saved up a down payment and were going to go out and purchase a house. Next thing he knows, they walk into the first house and buy it. They never looked any further and had no experience. They put in an offer before Dad ever even saw the house and they did not ask for his help so his hands were tied. He’s trying to be careful with his words but he is very grateful that I am not careful with my words about this dump.
But, they purchased for about $340k and it would be impossible to find anything in San Diego in that price range now.
So, in the end they will have spent another $60k or so to get the house liveable. They feel the location is perfect for where they work so I am just going to stay out of that argument any further.
All the places I have ever lived have had NO vermin. Living in a home with rat or mice poop sounds very unwholesome. You are very good to counsel that a rodent expert needs to inspect the premises and retrofit.
HIMom, if you lived outside of HI, you very likely lived in a house with a few mice or rats. Just not a whole army of them. 
I like the suggestion of not doing any more work until the house is examined by a pest specialist.
no master bath? where is the “opening” to the family room?
where mice go, snakes follow. be careful nosing around in those spaces
I’ve caught two mice so far this winter. When is gets cold, they come inside.
One of the hazards of living in the woods. Doesn’t mean I don’t have a nice house.
No rats, though. A squirrel once or twice. And bats.
CB…I know you will do your best…but is $60,000 really enough to do,what this couple wants done??
We live on a heavily wooded lot in a neighborhood with half-acre lots (built in the 60s when this was that far, far DC burbs and surrounded by farmland) where everyone has left their back yards remain fairly wild. We get foxes, deer, groundhogs, voles, owls, rabbits, etc. We get the occasional mouse in winter. If it survives the trap, we release it. We are not the primary predator.
We had a couple of bats who liked living on S2’s windowscreen (outside the house) for years. Every spring they return.
We did have a bat in the house once – came in through the chimney. No bats in the attic, though.
No bats here. They live on a canyon which is full of critters.
Just finished talk with husband (wife is at work). They have an ongoing pest control service contract and they knew they had rats as soon as they moved in. They are paying for service to poison rats outside around the perimeter of the house. He has contacted the company and they will be coming in to do a thorough inspection on Monday afternoon. Hopefully they will be responsible for clearing the attic and crawlspace. Mostly, I need them to identify every place that rodents could possibly get access to crawlspace and attic so we can close it up. One day at a time.
Today I made the decision that we had to tear off the entire ceiling drywall in two main areas of the house. I don’t want any ceilings staying in the house that could be poop or pee infected. The husband panicked but I told him it is a small price to pay for peace of mind. We’ll just have to tighten up in other areas of the budget (or they can just roll up their sleeves and try to help out a bit)
The master addition has a bathroom, I just don’t know exactly where it is laid out in the master addition so I didn’t draw it in. We have gutted out the hall bathroom except the toilet and sink which I need to leave for the guys to use while work continues. We will do our usual thing and put in a new vanity and toilet towards the end of the project.
Speaking of bats… Today my husband went to reattach one of our fake shutters on the front porch. When he pulled it back he saw 3 bats… ugh. We have a guy coming to remove them and check the attic to make sure we don’t have any there too. We don’t live in a dump… rodents can be in anyone’s house.