Slog - Comments on Stripped http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped Seattle Police are investigating a bizarre burglary in Maple Leaf after a foreclosed home was stripped bare just days before it was auctioned off. On September 17th, a Seattle man called police to tell them that the home he'd purchased a home in the 8800 block of 5th Avenue NE "sight unseen." Three days after the sale, the man went to the house and discovered that the toilets, sinks, piping, cabinets, appliances, marble counter tops, furnace, two gas fireplaces, light switches, floor boards, front door and even the house's cedar fence had been removed. The buyer told them police... Copyright 2008 Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:24:57 -0800 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 11:54:49 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Levislade That robbery was certainly a bold move.

]]> Levislade http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1156988 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1156988 City Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:31:40 -0800 Comment by Bellevue Ave Bold, making your points when you have none.

Sight unseen? Well why would you go and do something like that?

]]> Bellevue Ave http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157004 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157004 City Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:33:45 -0800 Comment by Jubilation T. Cornball Jonah, honey, that post is riddled with typos...

]]> Jubilation T. Cornball http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157131 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157131 City Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:54:05 -0800 Comment by sleestak Isn't this the plot from the movie "Moving" with Richard Pryor?

]]> sleestak http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157166 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157166 City Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:00:54 -0800 Comment by elenchos I thought everybody was gutting their houses before the bank took them back. Isn't that one of the reasons they want a bailout?

]]> elenchos http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157232 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157232 City Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:11:42 -0800 Comment by Fnarf I think it's fairly common to buy houses sight unseen if you're buying foreclosures at auction. That's what all those "real estate riches" creeps on the infomercials teach you to do.

The obvious place to look is the guy who got foreclosed, but if he's got half a brain he isn't keeping the stuff where he's staying. Even if they find it, it'll cost a fortune to get it all put back together again. Pipes? Jeez.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157338 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157338 City Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:32:02 -0800 Comment by Bellevue Ave which is why the price of house at auction carry the information of inherent risk of being fubar.

]]> Bellevue Ave http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157415 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157415 City Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:45:52 -0800 Comment by STJA Wow! I live near this house - it's across the street from my bus stop. I notice the fence gone at about that time, Sept 17th, and I wondered about the house. It had sold once after they had ripped out a short hedge and put in the fence, and to see the fence gone again was... odd. (There are still main supports for the fence up, but just concrete and a single cedar 4x4, no slats or crossbeams.) I thought it would have had something to do with simply not liking the fence. But this is sorta crazy. I checked the yard at one point and there are bits of wiring sticking up out of the yard in a few places, so they were pretty thorough.

]]> STJA http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157472 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157472 City Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:57:18 -0800 Comment by infrequent if the theft took place before the sale was finalized, doesn't that invalidate the terms of the sale?

]]> infrequent http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157499 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157499 City Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:04:17 -0800 Comment by inkweary Some cowboy contractor has found a way to reduce his supply costs for remodels to zero.

]]> inkweary http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157515 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157515 City Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:07:41 -0800 Comment by Mr. X Maple Leaf ain't the safe haven it once was. Wow.

]]> Mr. X http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157613 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157613 City Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:29:31 -0800 Comment by Catalina Vel-DuRay This is getting to be a problem. I work for City Light, and have noticed an increase in empty houses getting stripped of copper lately.

Where it gets beyond damaging and becomes downright dangerous is when they strip the copper out of the meter base, thus making it possible for anyone to happen along and stick their fingers into an energized meter base. That never ends well.

]]> Catalina Vel-DuRay http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157659 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157659 City Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:41:24 -0800 Comment by STJA @12 - I've also heard of several incidents around the country where copper thieves have taken gas lines, resulting in explosions.

]]> STJA http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157683 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157683 City Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:47:01 -0800 Comment by Catalina Vel-DuRay Gas lines are generally made of wrought iron or steel. But maybe people are stealing those also. You'd have to be really, really, REALLY dumb to do that. Not to mention a non-smoker ;-)

People are also stealing copper water pipes, resulting in catastrophic damage, wasted water, and expense for ratepayers.

]]> Catalina Vel-DuRay http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157709 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157709 City Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:55:24 -0800 Comment by Bellevue Ave Lmao, using copper for gas pipes.

]]> Bellevue Ave http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157737 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1157737 City Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:02:54 -0800 Comment by The actual Mr. X @11,

Hey - you stole my handle AND observed that I had belittled the meta-impact of the shooting we had up here in peaceful Maple Leaf on another SLOG thread the other day. Geez, are you stalking me, or what?

We've already had two crimes in my white-bread neighborhood (one of which is apparently being treated as a justifiable homicide/self-defense case, since the SPD seems to have released the shooter on his own recognizance), so let's don't make that two/three!

]]> The actual Mr. X http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1158411 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1158411 City Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:19:33 -0800 Comment by Furcifer he’d purchased a home in the 8800 block of 5th Avenue NE “sight unseen” [...] he’d been by the house several days before the sale and and didn’t see anything missing. Do I need more caffeine, or does this make absolutely no sense?]]> Furcifer http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1159944 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/stripped#c1159944 City Thu, 02 Oct 2008 11:54:49 -0800