I had no idea I was closing on a rat, roach, and termite-infested home. Here are the red flags I completely missed as a first-time homebuyer and why I couldn't sue.

• Gabby Dolechek and her husband bought their first home in St. Petersburg, Florida for $328,000.
• They didn't notice until after closing that the house was unlivable.

Since we graduated architecture school four years ago, my husband and I have spent countless hours dreaming about the day we could purchase a house. We envisioned something bright, spacious, and close to the beach, so when we visited this house in March, we immediately put in an offer.

We noticed foul smells in some parts of the house, but we ignored that and assumed that the house just hadn't been cleaned.

After purchasing it for $328,000, we saw it empty for the first time in May. We quickly noticed all the damage that was previously hidden behind furniture, cabinets, walls and under laminate floors. Rat poop, trash and cigarettes filled the entire house, and we were immediately heartbroken. The house still smelled horrible, and when we began cleaning and ripping out floors and cabinets to get all the rat and cockroach droppings out, we kept finding more damage.

We quickly realized that many items listed on the inspection report as being in working condition were damaged and that the smell we noticed during the showing wasn't from the seller's dirty laundry and furniture, it was from a combination of rat poop and mold within the walls and pet urine that soaked underneath the flooring.

We had to replace all the systems and gut the entire house

In the first week, we found out that rats had completely chewed up the ducts, the HVAC system was not working, the entire plumbing system had tree roots growing through it, and the windows barely shut and had large gaps around the frames.

We also found roach droppings scattered on the kitchen walls, outlets and light switches as well as dead roaches under the cabinets, in the fridge and in wall corners around the house.

Our inspector told us that there was evidence of termites and suggested that we order a Wood Destroying Organisms (WDO) inspection. When we did, we were told that a three-day house tenting would ensure that pests of any kind would be gone.

We were never told that there had been an active rat infestation and that they had been living in the house for years, destroying everything in their path. We found piles of rat poop behind the cabinets, in the fridge, walls, vents, soffits, and covering the insulation on the attic floor. We had to completely gut the kitchen, bathrooms, rip out all the floors, and get the attic professionally cleaned.

The entire plumbing system also had to be replaced, and when we removed the toilet, we found that the wall behind it was covered in black mold, so it had to come down.

We sought legal advice, but didn't end up pressing charges

The home was completely unlivable, so we sought legal help. Our inspection report didn't state that the house was damaged, and we spent over $35,000 to repair the HVAC, windows, plumbing and remove all of the droppings. During our inspection, we asked the sellers why they were using window units, and they said that energy bills are cheaper that way. The inspection stated that the A/C worked so we believed them; a few weeks later, we had to replace the entire system before we even got to turn it on.

After many conversations and reviewing all of our documents, we were advised not to pursue legal action due to the added financial and emotional strain that it would cause.

The bottom line was that inspectors and realtors have clauses in their contracts that protect them from these situations, things don't move as fast as they do in the movies, and it would take years to receive anything in return on top of hefty legal fees that we would not be able to afford if we continued working to make the house livable.

But there were many red flags that we shouldn't have ignored during the home buying process

For one, the sellers were present during the showing, inspection and walk-through. They followed us around and talked to us through the entire process, so we didn't feel comfortable opening curtains, cabinets and closets.

And before we even put in the offer, our realtor (who was exclusively working with us) suggested we let the sellers stay after closing since we were flexible with our move-in date and it would sweeten the deal. He never made us aware of the risks this could entail.

Because we agreed to this, we never saw the house completely empty and so we never spotted all of the damage that was hidden. A week before closing, our lender and sellers tried to move up the closing date because "the sellers needed the funds for their next move." In hindsight, we feel that this was a ploy to ensure that the sale went through.

We put too much trust in the professionals we hired

Even though we felt uncomfortable having the sellers present every time we visited the house, we assumed that it was okay because our realtor was the one scheduling these appointments. He assured us that he had our best interest at heart, so when he suggested we use his lender and inspector, we listened.

We had never been through this process before, so we really trusted that the inspector would notice and state all the damage. I now realize that we should've been our own advocates, done our own research, and paid closer attention when looking at a house.

You can't just rely on others — they want the sale to go through so that they can receive a paycheck.

We messed up, and if we were buying our first house again, here's what we'd do differently:

1. Hire a realtor with a lot of experience and ask for references.
   We were referred to the realtor by our friends. They had never worked with him but knew him personally, so we hired him rather than a stranger. We never asked for his credentials or references to make sure that he would be a good fit for us — because we had never worked with another realtor before, we assumed that they would all do an equally good job.
   
   If we ever purchase a house again, we'll interview at least two different realtors to ask about their process of finding a home, the different types of inspections that they recommend homes receive, the number of sales they've had in the last year, and a few references that we can contact to verify they did a great job. A realtor's job shouldn't just be to find houses that work with your criteria; a simple google search can do that. They're supposed to protect and guide you from the first meeting through the time you've moved in.
2. Use a lender and inspector that does not work with the realtor.
   We used the inspector and lender that our realtor recommended, and I now know that if the inspector and realtor didn't have a working relationship, the inspection wouldn't have passed because the house was toxic and unsafe.
   
   If possible, we would have two separate inspections. This would have been a slightly more money upfront (we paid $540 for our inspection), but it would have saved us tens of thousands of dollars in the long run.
3. Don't let the sellers stay after closing.
   Before we put in our offer, our realtor suggested we let the sellers stay after closing so we never got to see the house completely empty until we tried to move in. It's impossible to see the damage of a house when the seller's furniture and belongings are in the home. During the final walkthrough the house should be empty so that every aspect of the house is visible.
4. Don't rely on the inspector to point out all the damage.
   During the inspection, the sellers continuously made conversation with us, so instead of following the inspector, I talked with the sellers about the city and neighborhood.
   
   I wish I asked the inspector more questions and held my ground. For example, when he said he couldn't check the attic and crawl space, I should've been persistent and told him to find a way — that's where the rats were nesting. I should have asked the inspector to do his job properly and been more knowledgeable about the process myself.
5. Hire an attorney or ask another professional for help.
   We were moving from Illinois, a state that requires home purchases to be reviewed by an attorney. When we asked our realtor if we should get one, he told us that it's not necessary because the state of Florida doesn't require attorneys to oversee the closing. If I were to buy a house again, I would always hire an attorney because they can review all contracts, documents and make sure that I'm protected.
   
   If I was not able to hire an attorney, I would ask any family or friend that works in home insurance, a banker, or someone who has purchased a lot of homes to review my contracts. It can be difficult to share personal and financial information with those around us, but it is always better to have another set of eyes on important documents.
6. Have more than is necessary in our savings account.
   We grew up hearing that a big down payment is always better because it would help avoid PMI, which is required by conventional mortgage lenders when homebuyers put down less than 20% of the home's price. We wanted to decrease our monthly payments, so even though we both had student debt from our master's degrees, we managed to save $60,000.
   
   Fortunately, before we made the purchase, my parents suggested that we pay only the required amount and save the rest for emergencies because unlike an apartment, if anything broke in the house, we would be responsible.
   
   We listened to them and kept the money in our savings which we planned on using to build a garage for my husband to work in and to make cosmetic renovations to the house. Without our savings we would not have been able to afford $35,000 in house repairs and the Airbnbs, where we've had to stay for the last two months because we don't have a place to live.

I regret letting the red flags slide

When we bought our house, we knew the market was out of control and that prices were high, but we felt confident because we hired a realtor who was recommended to us, had a large amount of savings and were not waiving home inspections.

But we let too many red flags slide — it was our first time buying a house and we really loved the layout, size and location, so we ignored them.

For the last two months, we've been hopping from Airbnb to Airbnb as we work on the house daily in hopes of making it livable. We're fortunate enough to have had full-time jobs to build up our savings and pay for these unexpected expenses, but we're doing most of the repair ourselves after work hours. We can't afford to hire contractors to help us on the home, so we've spent countless hours watching YouTube videos and TikToks on how to do all the renovations ourselves. We are still in the process of gutting the house to remove all the rat poop and have not been able to begin renovations.

Every day I wake up feeling motivated, but as soon as I step into the house, I immediately feel heartbroken.

Even after the $35,000 spent on repairs and the amount of work we've put in to remove the rat poop, the smell still lingers and the house is still gutted. I would do anything to go back in time and avoid purchasing this house because instead of it bringing us joy and a fresh start, it has completely depleted our savings, forced us to live out of our suitcases, and caused emotional distress.

We are in the process of completely cleaning out one bedroom and finishing the bathroom so that we can finally move in by early August. We won't have a fully working house with a kitchen until 2023, but I still have hope that one day, when we're finally able to live in our home, we will look back and be grateful for this experience.

Gabby Dolechek is a content creator and video editor.