what does a "shell home" really mean?

[thealfa]

I'm looking into buying a rowhouse in Baltimore City to fix up. It's a shell. Is it basically just 4 walls? No drywall or rooms/divisions? What necessities must it have for me to live in it and do some fixing? I could think of electricity and plumbing. What else must it have for me to be productive while living in it?

 

[joecaption]

Not the best plan to try and live in it and finish it out at the same time. That will get old real quick.
Wiring and plumbing come first, then insulation and sheetrock, painting then trim. A whole lot of work and slow going, dusty dirty work.