Zombie Flip at Haller Lake - hoarder house transformed for TV show

The yard looked like a dump site

A Seattle home that neighbors had written off as a lost cause is the subject of Episode 9 of Million Dollar Zombie Flips Season 2, and the before-and-after transformation may be the most extreme of the series.

The home at 12250 Densmore Ave N had been a hoarder house for well over a decade. By the time James Dainard's team arrived, the yard looked like a dump site; abandoned cars, trash piles, overgrowth everywhere. 

The crew had to wear hazmat suts

Inside was worse. At some point, a tree had crashed into the back of the house and crushed the dining area, causing major water intrusion and rot through the framing. The crew had to wear hazmat suits. 

"The amount of garbage inside was unbelievable," James said. "Our crew was literally crawling over trash because it was stacked so high."

After

Most buyers saw the nearly half-acre lot as a teardown, an opportunity to split the lot or add backyard cottages. James saw something different: "As Seattle continues to grow, I think it's important to preserve homes with large yards for families. A big part of real estate for me is seeing potential where other people only see problems."

The renovation required a complete structural rebuild. The team reworked the layout from the ground up to create a true four-bedroom, three-bath home, adding three bedrooms and a full bathroom while replacing much of the interior framing.

With the market having slowed during the project, the team doubled down on creating features buyers couldn't easily find elsewhere, particularly in the backyard, where the oversized lot was the property's biggest asset. 

They added exterior entertaining spaces

They added extensive landscaping, large grass areas, paver patios, exterior entertaining spaces, a barrel sauna, and a cold plunge tucked into the back corner of the property, turning what had been an eyesore into what James describes as a private staycation retreat.

A private retreat in the large back yard

Preserving the character of the home was equally important. Seattle's older craftsman homes are a defining part of the city's identity, and the team updated the exterior while keeping the original scale and feel intact, making sure the finished home still fit the Haller Lake neighborhood rather than standing apart from it.