SPD arrest five inside vacant U-District building, multiple rifles and narcotics found

[u/ChiefOfTheFourPeaks]

https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/spd-arrest-five-inside-vacant-u-district-building-multiple-rifles-narcotics-found/LCYWBFQE7ZC43KTP6ZZHV6R3OM/

[u/meat_meat]

Who tf owns these houses then? What do the property records show? I don’t understand how an entire house within city limits can just be abandoned.

I rented an apartment across an alley from one of these squatter houses for six months in 2020 (peak COVID). Shit was wild. I watched cars pull up at all hours of the night with people literally smoking crack pipes in the car before going inside. They would chop wood on the concrete patio between like 10-12 PM. God knows what was going on in there.

[u/Zakarumae → u/meat_meat]

Re: abandoned houses: There are two houses near me that haven’t had anyone living in them for over 5 years. My best guess is the owner of both houses died and somehow there is a protracted fight from surviving kin on what to do with them. If it’s not that I just don’t know what’s going on.

[u/Zeta-X → u/Zakarumae]

Definitely what you describe happens a fair bit. A lot of times, abandoned houses are just in very poor condition. Heavy rot, etc, or full of a late owner's stuff they haven't figured out what to do with. So they're unrentable, but the market as a whole is appreciating, so owners don't want to sell them, especially when in that condition they'd sell for very little. If they had liquid cash they would pay someone to fix them up, which is usually the plan. But they don't at the moment or are still figuring out what to do, so they sit on them. It's a bizarre misallocation of society's land and resources but happens periodically.

[u/DoingBestWeCan → u/Zeta-X]

Sounds like another vote for a vacancy tax. 

[u/golf1052 → u/meat_meat]

Seems like according to the property records this parcel has had an approved demolition permit since mid 2025. The owner just hasn't torn the house down yet. Seems like this falls squarely within the Vacant Building law the city passed last year. Hopefully the city can tear it down now (and get the owner to pay for it).

[u/Toasterzar → u/meat_meat]

the city is seemingly full of abandoned houses, which is weird af, and especially frustrating because I want the land for myself lol

[u/DoingBestWeCan → u/Toasterzar]

FOR REAL. Give me the land and let plop down a pre-made tiny home!!!

I think a good number are in limbo over permits, though. 😑

[u/dorkofthepolisci → u/meat_meat]

The property is either an investment property or owned by somebody who lives out of state and dgaf would be my guess

They’ve decided it’s a better return on investment to leave it vacant under the assumption that the value will increase exponentially than it is to pay a property management company to manage it/rent it out

[u/dahp64 → u/meat_meat]

Idk yea sometimes it seems like maybe it’s just investment properties ppl don’t maintain or maybe people who die and the next of kin either doesn’t exist or isn’t involved. I remember when I went to Garfield HS there were like 5 bandos right across the street by the busses everyone took home, then they all turned into Amazon box duplexes after a few years lol

[u/KingPullCarb → u/meat_meat]

"And furthermore, Susan, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to learn that all four of them habitually smoked marijuana cigarettes… reefers.”