A number of neighbors came by today to say "hi" and they told me a little about the history of the place, particularly regarding the room in the garage. Apparently the room was used by the owner's son and due to a drug problem he wasn't allowed into the main house except to use the bathroom. His access to the house was a bit wild, a trap door had been cut into the floor and he would climb a ladder into the house whenever he needed to use the bathroom. Unfortunately whoever installed the trap door removed a section of a floor joist so I get to fix that... hooray.
There's no other way to say it other than the house is the poster child for deferred maintenance. There's not a single fixture worth saving other than some new-ish kitchen appliances. Everything else will go along with moving some walls. It should be a fun project.
