Before I bought this ramshackle old house, I was warned that the previous occupant had been a “crazy cat lady.” The first time I did a walk-through of the place, there was trash piled up everywhere.
It was like an episode of Hoarders, except with dozens of cats.
I decided to buy the house anyway, because it comes on a very nice parcel of land, and it was in such a poor state the asking price was shockingly low. I bought it, and spent a ton of money on cleanup and renovations, and it was still half the price of any other house I looked at. The biggest sticking point was the HVAC system. The ductwork was very old and frail, but it was also completely clogged up with cat hair and dander. I had two different HVAC contractors come out for an inspection and a price quote, and both of them said the same thing. The sheet metal of the ductwork was very old and brittle. The sealing of the air ducts was terrible, and any serious attempt to remove all the caked-on cat hair would destroy the ducts themselves. This meant my only option was a complete removal and replacement of the air ducts and air vents. They also both told me that the central heating and cooling system was over 12 years old, and that was going to need replacing as well. Ultimately I had to spend about twelve thousand bucks to get my HVAC system up to snuff, but even with that expense this house was a bargain.