A dive into the pool!

We've taken the plunge again and bought a house intended to be a rental.  It's a HUD home, had been foreclosed and vacant for a long time - so we knew at the outset that this would be a crazy ride.

The ride began in earnest this week. Here's the list:

1.  We can't turn the water on because the pipes have been frozen and blew out in numerous places.  Additionally, the existing plumbing is corroded and in some places the pipes are touching either heating ducts or other metal surfaces, causing them to corrode and leak. Many of the joints weren't soldered well and are literally breaking apart in our hands.

We'll have to completely re-plumb the house.  Meanwhile that means we can't wash our hands or answer nature's calls while we're there.  Good thing Carl's Jr. is only a block away!

2.  There is no heat -The gas/furnace guy hasn't made it over to the house yet, but this we know:
2a  the furnace won't turn on - why?? Diego has tracked down wires and fuses, but it still doesn't come on. 
2b  The gas lines leak. 

3.  The basement is 'finished' but horrible!  So we had a dumpster delivered and started tearing the basement out today.  We filled up the dumpster, but not by dumping!  We carefully packed the dumpster so that there is no empty space - really, the stuff in the dumpster looks like a completed Tetris game:  paneling, ceiling tiles, shower base, more paneling, some drywall, a few wall studs (we separated most of those out!). 

Whoever 'finished' the basement loved construction adhesive.  The light switch in the bathroom wasn't even nailed it - it was glued.  On the other hand - they also were screw happy.  They used scraps of drywall on the ceiling and used 2" drywall screws every 3"

The basement bathroom is a plumbing nightmare - so we tore out everything except the toilet.  Ultimately, we'll have to jackhammer up the concrete floor and move the pipes.