Tons of new construction and infill going on though.. and a lot of old crappy houses.. built in the 40 and 50's and built very cheaply .. no insulation no central HVAC or any aircondition.. so it can be cheap there when you don't have to heat or cool.. just 4 walls a roof some windows and kitchen and bath..

We removed all damp drywall on ceiling and wall plus damp insulation.

I would start at the perimeter and see if you find the old pool coping or the side walls.

Have been looking at real estate as something to grow wealth, gain passive income and also diversify from paper assets/Wall Street.For the past year or so, I have researched a ton, read a lot of books( still reading) , I think I must have heard all the podcasts there are :).

The walls have been completely ripped out to re-do the job.

That means bringing all electrical up to code and it may be worth more than what you can sell the house for depending on the location.If they are pumping water out of the basement - it could be a simple matter of putting in a $6,000 "waterproofing solution" (installing drainage tiles pointing water to a sump pump) to a $12,000+ repair of putting in structural steel to support a collapsing basement wall due to hydrostatic cracking occurring on the foundation.I would tread lightly on this deal.  

I'm trying to put a house under contract but it has a zero lot line, it shares a wall with another house next door to it.

You'll get eaten alive.I know it looks tempting to compare regulated rents with market rate and start fantasizing about the potential property, but it is incredibly difficult to make that a reality.

Cat urine horror stories,, are you prepared to replace dry wall up from the floors at least 2 feet and all the base trim,, carpeting, and probably sub floor...

In fact the 92024 zip code boasts of some of the most expensive properties in all of San Diego County.We are installing a 1x1 foot footing with an 18 inch rebar reinforced and concrete cell filled block and mortar stem wall  around the entire perimeter of the footprint in order to support the new interior drywall, exterior Hardy Board Cemetitous siding and a 12/12 pitched metal roof.I'd say that's a pretty safe bet considering we're going to have to spend close to 75k (our cost as contractors) to strip it down to the bones and rebuild it from the mainframe up to and including the roof.