Which raises the following question: is it better to leave the potential source of problem around as long as it's not triggered, or is it better to temporarily activate it in order to remove it for good?
I have a suspicion that these people that "flip" houses diy style tend to disturb it without proper care. As a 17 year old I worked manual construction jobs (via craigslist) and even then knew enough to see proper precautions were not being taken. Oh well, they aren't the ones living in the house so I guess it all works out :-/