Extreme water damage, mold, hoarders and the kitchen sink

[Hope S.]

Has anyone ever acquired a severely distressed property (long neglected water damage, structural damage, mold, hoarders (and cat poop)) and lived to tell about it?   We are so shocked by the state of a recently acquired property that we're considering re-selling it as-is and chalking it up as lesson learned.  We acquired it by tax sale - which is why we did not know the true state of things until after we owned it.   We have a service master guy coming out to give us a scope of work, which may very quickly answer our question.   I'm just looking for some experiences with basically condemned buildings, which are either brought back to life or perhaps replaced with a manufactured duplex or similar?   Experiences good and bad welcome.   Thank you.