Here are the first photos of the outside of the house, taken during the open house organized by the real estate agent.
The backyard 
Giant Yuca and AC units sticking out of every room 
Lack of insulation in the house was compensated by AC units 
Ivy has taken over the whole backyard, suffocating trees and bringing down the fence in places 
assessing things 
The front of the house, hidden behind overgrown bushes 
The house when we bought it. All that was visible from the street was the garage as the rest was hidden being overgrown bushes.
How do you like that gigantic Yuca and bed of ivy (that turned out to be infested with rats)? Or those nice AC units sticking out through the walls (interestingly we will discover later that with proper insulation and a white roof this house required zero air conditioning in the Bay Area climate)?
There are a couple of trees to save: 2 great old Santa Rosa plum trees, one young loquat. But the rest is unfortunately just overgrown pittosporum bushes and invasive species.
Looking back at these pictures I truly wonder what went through our heads when we signed up for this house…
