We Bought a Foreclosure

The house we bought was a foreclosure. It was empty for at least 2 1/2 years. The neighbors told us that the owners got a job down south of us and moved. They tried renting and it did not work out. They did some work on the house to try to sell it but gave up and let the bank have it. Maybe they gave up because of the vandalism?

You read that right: Vandalism. The house had been broken into and vandalized. All glass fixtures and appliances (including the stove) were smashed. Some window had been smashed. Bannister's were broken and beaten apart. A few window trim and sashes were chipped and gouged. Some things had graffiti on it. One wall had an inappropriate word written on it in plaster mud! In the living room we found coils of nails for nail guns stuck to the ceiling using plaster mud. The dining room had a hole smashed in one wall.

If you look closely you can see the carpet

in the kitchen and the smashed

stove top.

The house reeked of cat urine. The third floor was the worst smelling area of the house. One room was very bad. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am not a cat fan, I don't like animals in the house, and I am very allergic to cats. The carpet would have to go...ALL. OF. IT.

The worst room. I really think paint was peeling

from the cat urine smell!

 There was carpet from the 3rd floor all the way to the bottom of the basement steps! One bathroom had carpet going into the bathroom, stopping about 2 feet in. The dining room and breakfast nook were carpeted. Worse than all of that? The KITCHEN had carpet.

Now you can see how we had our work cut out for us. The next house posts will be about the fixing-up!