I bought an occupied REO a while back  with a squatter where the house was full of human waste, mostly in buckets.  

Does anyone think I can get a contractor to do this or will they see it as a waste of time.

To give a general idea of some of the mess they left - left it with 2/3rd of the lightbulbs burnt out, holes in 4 doors, very poorly patched holes in the walls in more than 5 locations, missing showerhead, missing ceiling lights, excessive mold, large hole knocked into paneling, enough garbage to overflow a roofing trash trailer, 2 tvs (1 stood 4' tall), cobwebs and filthy walls, excessively filthy carpet including over 15 dog male (squiggly!)

Being new to investing I'm worried about wasting their time if I haven't got myself sorted.Thanks!

@Karim KarawiaKarim,My suggestion would be to not waste your money purchasing properties for cashflow in CA.

Not that your out any cash but you will have wasted a ton of time and energy marketing these properties.Your welcome to reach out to me by PM and I will be happy to elaborate on my "twist"Thank youMichael

You would just be wasting money and getting a small fraction of it back when you write it off.

You may find that the business is not for you and then you will have wasted time and money.

It seems like it wastes time for both parties.

My  contractor has advised that it would be more cost effective to simply furr out the walls and put up a nice smooth dry wall instead of trying to even out/improve the current situation.