Real estate swarmers
Spokane's real estate heat is bringing out many houses that have been vacant or slowly flipped. Among them are three that I've been noticing and writing about and "drawing"...

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1. An excellent but misplaced remodel of an old Avista substation. These old streetcar-era substations were held and maintained by Avista for many years and finally sold around 2000. One of them was turned into a house with slight modification, and it's been occupied solidly since. The other was super-architected into a super-showplace in 2008. The owners occasionally tried to sell it, but without success until now.

My version of the original substation was incorporated in the Electric Village scene:



Zillow's pix show what I mean by super-architected:



An impractical SHOWPLACE house designed for super-rich display, but this area is emphatically NOT a showplace neighborhood. Nevertheless, somebody finally bought it for $180k two weeks ago.

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2. The house that I've memorialized as Bad Flip. In the earlier boom of 2007, an owner took a small house and added a GIANT McMansion back wing, but didn't finish the process before the bust of 2009.

My stylized version:


Googlestreet's pic in 2013, just before the windstorm forced action to resume:



This year the remodel is finally finished. During those years the McMansion fashion blessedly faded, so the remodelers revised the back wing to a more suitable 'vernacular' style. It's not shown on Zillow just yet. My pic as of this morning:



Nice and tasteful. Big front porch, windows matching original. Now it's a GOOD FLIP.

July 9 update: Finally has a for sale sign, through Gladhart Realty. Not up on Zillow yet.

Aug 25 update: Sold and occupied! Curtains in the window and cars in the driveway.

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3. Biggest of all: the vacant apartment at 4001 W Crown that I've shown in stylized form many times:



This building has been vacant for 20 years, and was squatted and vandalized in the last 5 years.

Zillow's pic:



Zillow's advertisement is more of an avertissement:

Approximately 8 units in disrepair. Needs to be redeveloped if building is to remain multi unit zone. Buyer to complete any and all of their own investigation as to codes and condition. The 8 unit may not be Grandfathered in. Owner to verify.

In other words, you're basically buying the lot and the zoning, but you can't count on the zoning to stay multi. Doesn't sound like a good deal for $150k, but this year I'm sure it will get snapped up. The building may be savable. The shingles have crumbled with age but the roof looks intact and straight, miraculously unhurt by the windstorms in recent years.

A few days later, Zillow no longer shows the for-sale indication for the apt, and it doesn't even show the Zestimate. All houses not currently for sale have a Zestimate, and all give a basic set of Zinformation when you Zclick. Not this one. It has become a Zunproperty.


June 15 update on vacant apt 4001 W Crown: MAJOR ACTION, comparatively speaking. A little barbecue grill that has been sitting at one corner of the building for 20 years has been moved out to the curb. The two old trucks at the back of the property (one a '61 Chevy panel truck) are gone. The manhole for the water meter is uncovered.

July 9 update on 4001 W Crown: Looks like the action indication was false. The barbecue grill is back where it was, and squatters have opened the doors again.

Aug 27: 4001 W Crown Getting worse. All the first-floor windows are boarded, and now for the first time a couple of the upstairs windows have been broken FORCEFULLY. Looks like someone heaved a brick from the ground, which takes serious strength and intent.

Oct 4: Looke like the demonic city has purchased 4001. They're repaving Crown right now, among the thousands of blocks that were ruined by last winter because the demonic city failed to use

The crews are using 4001 as a base of operations, covering the lot with big cement vaults and equipment and porta-potties. I don't think they'd feel free to do that on non-demonic-city property. This would also account for the abrupt disappearance from Zillow listings.

Labels: Heimatkunde, infill

  ¶ 3:10 AM

  Big neighborhood note
4001 W Crown is FINALLY getting sold FOR SURE. After 20 years of vacancy and decline, and one year of inconclusive indications, there's an actual Windermere Realty sign in front of the building.

Here's the Zillow ad:



Looks like city has done some planning and zoning to get it sold. In fact city has already repaired sidewalk at corner, as part of major permafrost repair of Crown St necessary because city failed to use



on street. Still can't tell if city actually bought place.

110K pretty steep price for plain land in declining neighborhood.

Labels: infill, tonto

  ¶ 7:53 AM

  Neighborhood NOTE!
The vacant apt at 4001 W Crown has been SOLD!

None too soon... the squatters were getting mighty comfy.

This means a major positive change for the neighborhood, with the center of decay gone.

It also frees up my morning walk. When I started the walk 6 years ago, I made a vow to pass by 4001 every time, in one direction or another. I've kept the vow, except for the few days when the streets were so icy that I had to turn back immediately. My purpose was prayerful, hoping to cause a positive change in some mysterious spiritual way. Obviously the 'prayer' didn't work; if 'prayer' worked as advertised, the change would have happened immediately. Nevertheless, a vow is a vow. Now I can loosen up the routine a bit.

Labels: infill, se-lu

  ¶ 2:24 PM

  Neighborhood note, Ambiguous message department
The vacant apt at 4001 W Crown is still vacant. It was apparently sold back in January, but the new owner hasn't done anything new. Squatters are still in control.



I think one of those "election" puppet-shows is approaching, because I'm starting to see campaign signs for the puppets. Somebody placed a HUGE yard sign in 4001's yard, right against the side of the building.

Ambiguous message! Are you saying the puppet will get rid of vacant houses? Or are you saying the puppet is responsible for vacant houses?

Labels: Heimatkunde

  ¶ 7:40 AM

  Neighborhood note
Still keeping track of 4001 W. Crown, the long-vacant apt building.



The city finally forced the owner to sell, or possibly the city bought it and now is trying to sell it. In either case the owner is not trying very hard to sell it. The land itself is appraised at 48k. The house across the street, with an identical double lot, shows land value at 37k for no discernible reason.** Since the apt needs to be torn down at an estimated cost of 16k, an appropriate price would seem to be in the 30k range. Instead, the list price is 110k.

** I wonder if the county is using something like "unpleasant view" to adjust land value? The decent house across the street loses value because it has to look at the vacant property with broken and boarded windows. The vacant and boarded property has higher value because it looks at the decent house. If that's the case, crime pays. As usual.
  ¶ 2:03 AM

  Neighborhood notes
1. I've noticed a return of an old fashion this year. Housecoats or smocks. On my morning walk I see people taking the trash to the curb, or standing on the porch to sneak a smoke before work. This year the ladies are often wearing houserobes for those outside chores.

Houserobes were common before 1960 but already gone in my boomer generation. These ladies aren't especially old, so they can't belong to the last generation that was accustomed to houserobes. They've picked up the habit very recently.

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2. The decaying apt at 4001 W Crown was finally sold a few months ago; the realtor's sign disappeared last week indicating the deal is concluded. Still no real action toward demolition, still some indications of active squatters. Come on, new owner! Get with it!

June 22: Still no action by buyer, still lots of action by squatters.

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3. After the last big windstorm in 2015 I heard people discussing whether it was a good idea to get a metal roof. One of them said it wouldn't help; metal roofs can just peel back and come off in one piece. I wasn't convinced by the image.

Yesterday I saw how it happens. We had a typical season-change wind, about 25G35. Strong enough to knock off some weak branches but nowhere near enough to drop a tree. One neighbor has a metal roof on a large garden shed. The 35 gusts were peeling up one corner of the metal roof and curling it back. Another 10 MPH would have peeled it off entirely.

Labels: infill

  ¶ 8:54 AM

  Instant response, instant disproof.
Thursday afternoon: Holocauster Inslee made his first micromove in the right direction. Lord Inslee graciously and kindly allowed "essential" construction to restart.**

Friday morning: Construction instantly restarted right here on 4001 W Crown, the vacant apt building that was supposedly turned toward renovation two years ago.

Just before the holocaust, contractors had been measuring the place and stacking materials on the ground. Then the holocaust struck and work halted.

On Friday the work resumed. They're filling in some windows and resizing other windows.

In other words: Before the lockdown they were casing the joint. Now they're casing the joint. (Har har har! Taint funny, McGee.)

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As fucking always, the IMMEDIATE response disproves the TIRESOME conservative ratshit about Tocqueville and 47% and largesse.

FACT: Real humans DO NOT WANT to be paid for sitting.

FACT: Real humans WANT to work for pay.

FACT: Real humans WANT to pay for work.

Real business is an intrinsic and innate part of humanity. Balanced transactions are an intrinsic part of our nervous system and soul. EQUIPOISE.

Conservatives and Liberals refuse to comprehend EQUIPOISE. Both believe that people would rather sit than work. Conservatives dislike the Shared Lie, Liberals like it. Both are lethally wrong.

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** Semantic footnote: Why is he Holocauster and Lord in the same paragraph? I made a vow and I will keep it. Also see the Binary Name Principle.

Labels: Equipoise, Make or break, Shared Lie

  ¶ 7:34 AM

  Neighborhood puzzle
The apt at 4001 W Crown, vacant and decaying for 20 years, was supposedly sold back in January. Supposedly the purchaser was required to tear the building down and build new houses or apts. Since the supposed sale nothing has happened; a few things were moved around, squatters continued squatting, a few more windows were broken or boarded.

Now a PECULIAR thing has happened. The roof has been tarped neatly with tape around the edges.


[Not current picture.]

The shingles are dry and crumbly but look intact, and the roof escaped damage from the windstorms of '14 and '15. The top roof isn't easy to reach, and the weather has been foggy and slippery.

Why would you tarp the roof if you're REQUIRED to tear the place down? Did the purchaser get a variance to leave it as is?

Later thought: Variance forced by asbestos?

Feb 2019: The squatters FINALLY forced police attention by lighting a fire in the garage. After that, the owner FINALLY boarded up every opening on the house. Previously one door was unboarded, and it was obviously the squatter entrance as verified by Detective Snow.


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MARCH 9, 2019 FINALLY SOME FUCKING REAL ACTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There's a temporary chain-link fence around the entire property, with a sign that says

DANGER CONSTRUCTION ZONE

Are they REALLY going to tear it down? Stay tuned!

MARCH 16, 2019: No, they're RENOVATING instead of tearing down. They've unboarded the windows and I can see drywall and insulation stacked inside. They took off the tarp on the roof and they're reshingling.

Yay for renovation! This old building has stood up remarkably well to the ravages of wind and snow, but it was surrendering to the ravages of meth-cooking squatters. Finally the building gets a chance to be civilized again.

And my seven years of prayerful walking have paid off.

Labels: Heimatkunde, Patient things

  ¶ 9:49 AM

  Location, etc
Yesterday I noted the trashed apartment bldg finally for sale, offered at 110K. A couple days earlier I mentioned St Joe, which is a strange time capsule with a Registered Historical District that creates odd distortions in the market.

The combination made me think. What can you get for 110K in St Joe?

This super-elegant historic house, magnificently artistic outside, beautifully renovated inside, everything new.



This would be around a million in 'ordinary' cities like Spokane or Enid or Topeka.

Setting the bar a little lower, what can you get for $25k, which was the price I paid for my tiny crappy house back in 1990?

This 2br brick Victorian, looks solid, not fancy or artistic, nicely renovated. There are quite a few decent houses in the 20-40k range.



Well, can we find a St Joe equivalent to 4001 W. Crown?

Yup, here it is.



Definite 'comp'. Similar size, similar style, similar condition, boarded up and broken, multi-unit apt. Is the price 110K? Nope. 5k. Five thousand dollars. And it's newly listed, so that will probably go down.

Labels: Alternate universe

  ¶ 2:03 AM

  Neighborhood note
The vacant apt at 4001 W Crown is still for sale. The realtor is having trouble keeping up with the increasing vandalism.

I've been passing by the building every morning since I started my regular walk routine in 2011. I've occasionally seen footprints in the snow, but never any actual occupants ... until today. Looked like a young male and female. Came out and closed the door and started walking down the street just like proper residents.

When squatters act like residents, you know things are declining fast.

Later thought: Boarding all the windows and leaving one door unsealed = security FOR squatters. They can occupy one of the first-floor apts, use battery or propane lights and heaters, and nobody can see their activities.

Jan 21, 2018: Still no sale. Squatters are getting braver, occupying one of the second-floor apts with a broken window, putting up plastic "curtains" over the window.

Jan 24: SOLD!

Labels: Heimatkunde

  ¶ 8:16 AM

  Detective Snow at work
(1) City cops 'hired' Det Snow to help them catch a meth-soaked burglar. They were able to track him for several miles!

(2) In this neighborhood: As mentioned before, I always pass by the abandoned apt at 4001 W. Crown on my morning walks. Back in July I started noticing broken windows and made a point of posting about it, from a misplaced and futile sense of neighborhood citizenship. Futile because I've never seen any indications that anyone here in Spokane reads this. My few random readers are mostly in random countries seeking out random porn or random information about random topics like "eggstacks pain", and clearly not finding it here.

Two days ago I used Det Snow to see if someone was actually getting into the building. Sure enough, there were footprints on both porches. Apparently I wasn't the only one who noticed! Today the broken windows are finally boarded up, and there's an official "DO NOT ENTER OR OCCUPY" sign on the entrance.
  ¶ 9:47 AM

  Good, by god 4
Reprinting and adding to an earlier entry to mark a SIGN OF SPRING for this neighborhood!

Tracking recent developments...

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Dec 30, 2018: The apt at 4001 W Crown, vacant and decaying for 20 years, was supposedly sold back in January of 2018. Supposedly the purchaser was required to tear the building down and build new houses or apts. Since the supposed sale nothing has happened; a few things were moved around, squatters continued squatting, a few more windows were broken or boarded.


[Not current picture.]

Now a PECULIAR thing has happened. The roof has been tarped neatly with tape around the edges.

The shingles are dry and crumbly but look intact, and the roof escaped damage from the windstorms of '14 and '15. The top roof isn't easy to reach, and the weather has been foggy and slippery. Why would you tarp the roof if you're REQUIRED to tear the place down? Did the purchaser get a variance to leave it as is?

Later thought: Variance forced by asbestos?

Feb 2019: The squatters FINALLY forced police attention by lighting a fire in the garage. After that, the owner FINALLY boarded up every opening on the house. Previously one door was unboarded, and it was obviously the squatter entrance as verified by Detective Snow.


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MARCH 9, 2019 FINALLY SOME FUCKING REAL ACTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There's a temporary chain-link fence around the entire property, with a sign that says

DANGER CONSTRUCTION ZONE

Are they REALLY going to tear it down? Stay tuned!

= = = = =

MARCH 16, 2019: No, they're RENOVATING instead of tearing down. They've unboarded the windows and I can see drywall and insulation stacked inside. They took off the tarp and they're reshingling the roof.


[Current picture!]

Yay for renovation! This old building stood up remarkably well to the ravages of wind and snow, but it was surrendering to the ravages of meth-cooking squatters. Finally the building gets a chance to be civilized again.

And my seven years of prayerful walking have paid off. Life beats chaos occasionally.

April 8: Roof is done, and now they're clearing out the interior. Looks like they plan to leave it as apts, not open it into a single residence.

May 16: Not much action since previous. Still apparently clearing out interior, but I haven't seen any actual workers or trucks since previous.

June 26: Not much action since previous. Still apparently clearing out interior, but I haven't seen any actual workers or trucks since previous.

July 25: Real action at last. The big dumpster is gone, indicating that stripping is done. They've pulled out all the windowframes, and they've removed the old circuit breaker box.



Oct 15: The windows and doors have been out for three months. Windblown snow and rain is covering the bare subfloor. What was the point of fixing the roof if they're just going to let the whole thing flood and rot anyway?

Mar 11, 2020: A year after the previous start of action, another apparent start of action. Contractors with trailers have opened the fence and started doing something. Will they finish the teardown or finish the renovation? Not clear yet.

Mar 29: It's RENOVATION! YAY!

Jun 12: After years of fits and starts, they're working somewhat steadily. They've cased all the window and door openings, reframed interior walls, and pulled up old driveways and sidewalks. Formerly the bldg had 4 apts downstairs and 4 up. Now it looks like they're intending 3 down and 1 up.

Sept 3: After another 3-month gap, action suddenly started again. Now they're rewiring and replumbing.

Sept 11: WINDOWS!



Oct 10: DOORS! After many years partly open, and more than one year wide open, the building is finally dried in.

Dec 26: Now the siding is done. They're still finishing off outside details, and seem to be working inside occasionally. Who knows, maybe they can start renting in 2023 if they hurry. Strangely they haven't done anything about the foundation. The back shed wing is over a full basement, and the main two-story part is over sparsely scattered concrete blocks. This is the reverse of the usual arrangement. Judging from 1940 census data, the back wing was originally a single house, then the two-story apartments were built on later. So the apartments are really the 'shed'.

May 22, 2021: By March 2021 they had finished everything except the foundation. New windows, new doors, new siding, inner walls rearranged and drywalled, HVAC, electric. Then they paused again. Today they're back at work, doing something utterly absurd. They're replacing the new outer doors with DIFFERENT new outer doors, which look the same to my eyes. Probably forced by the utterly insane city zoning board, which exists for the sole purpose of impoverishing the poor and enriching the rich. This city was actively engaged in destroying its own people LONG before the "virus" holocaust.

Oct 2, 2021: After another long gap they returned to action. They added a patio on the back side, and now they've taken down the security fence. Still no fix on the foundation, and there are still doors and pieces stacked inside.

Oct 23, 2021: Looks like they're finally FINISHING, all at once. They've cleared the ground, wired up the porch lamps, turned on the power, and they're actually closing up the foundation!

Oct 30, 2021: Now that they're about finished, they're suddenly starting a NEW project. The house across the street from the apt, a fairly nice '30s Cape, has been vacant for a year. The developers are renovating it, and today they are digging a foundation for a brand new house next to it. Looks like they've subdivided the large lot of this house into three lots, and also subdivided the apt's lot into three lots.

Labels: Heimatkunde, infill, Patient things

  ¶ 2:24 PM

  Neighborhood note
I've been doing the morning walk thing for about 1.5 years now, and I always make a point of passing by the decaying apartment building. My route varies, but I always slide by the apt one way or another. Call it superstition, or an architectural mantra... the intention is somehow prayerful. She's a pretty building, and I want to see her treated better. Houses want to be lived in.

I've shown a digital version of the building several times:



This week I've been noticing evidence of someone with a non-prayerful intention. Probably kids. Several newly broken windowpanes and some small graffiti.

So it's time to be more specific than usual, hoping that the owner will spot this and do a little window-fixing before the kids feel like they're in control. The building is at 4001 W. Crown in Spokane, and the LLC listed as owner has something in common with the flowers in the above cartoon.

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Followup Feb 12, 2014: Someone finally noticed, probably with the help of good old Detective Snow. The building has finally been boarded up and officially "DO NOT ENTER"ed.

Labels: Heimatkunde

  ¶ 8:44 AM