For Sale, Four Fixer-Uppers - Or Possibly Tear-'Em-Downers -- Strange Case Of N. Seattle Eyesores And Their Mysterious Owner

In otherwise well-kept North Seattle neighborhoods of freshly painted houses and elaborate rockeries, everything about these four boarded-up houses looks out of place - except for the sky-high price tags.

The abandoned properties, three in the Wallingford area and one in Ravenna, are littered and overgrown with weeds. Their roofs are cracking, their paint is flaking, and rats run along the buckled floors. The houses have been untended for years.

Owned by Naftali Vilensky, local real-estate mogul of mystery, the four houses are being sold. But considering the asking prices, few neighbors expect to see the "For Sale" signs come down anytime soon.

Bob Engelbert, who has lived next to one of the houses on Woodlawn Avenue North for 22 years, said he was thrilled when he heard the Vilensky house was for sale. But when he saw the price, $249,000 for a "Cape Cod Fixer," he shuddered. The assessed value is $117,000.

"I thought this problem was going to be resolved, but when I saw the price, maybe not," he said.

Why the owner might finally sell

Selling these abandoned houses could end a long-standing fight between Vilensky and the city. Countless times, the city's Department of Construction and Land Use (DCLU) has tried to persuade Vilensky to either fix up the houses or sell them. He has stubbornly resisted.

The city finally has some leverage.

Because of a long-standing judgment against Vilensky for another of his abandoned houses on Woodland Park Avenue North, the city put liens on all of his properties.

When Vilensky recently sold a lot on East Prospect Street for $131,000, the city agreed to lift the lien on that property if Vilensky would put the money he owed on the earlier judgment, $13,500, in an escrow account. If he doesn't fix up his houses or sell them by Dec. 19, the money goes to the city.

Engelbert, the neighbor, said the Vilensky house next to his was once a rental but has been abandoned for 15 years. He said Vilensky lived in it for a brief time, but disappeared - occasionally sneaking back in through the boarded-up windows.

"It's been aggravating to frustrating to intimidating," said Engelbert. "It's a nuisance, an eyesore I see every day. I'd rather have a fast-food restaurant with a drive-through."

Mike Cosgrove has lived next to another Vilensky house on Midvale Avenue North for 12 years and has a different attitude about the rotting building.

"It's a very quiet, tolerant neighbor," he said. "I can be as noisy as I want, and he's quiet. The bad side is it's darn ugly, and there's a variety of vermin. But you get used to it over the years."

Why did he let them rot?

Part of the ongoing problem the city has had dealing with Vilensky is that it couldn't find him to serve him violation notices.

"He'd stay at shelters, periodically he'd be in jail, sometimes he'd crawl in and out of his houses," said Bob Laird, code-compliance manager with DCLU. He said Vilensky's motives for letting the houses rot remain mysterious.

Vilensky recently was released from a care facility, where he went after his foot was amputated because of diabetes complications, and reportedly is living in an apartment. For the city, that makes him easier to find.

Fix them or sell them

"Now that he's easier to locate, there will be more judgments on the houses, and we'll ask the law department to collect on them," Laird said. "Hopefully, that will have the effect of him putting the properties into compliance or selling them to someone who will."

Edward Krigsman, an agent with John L. Scott Real Estate, said he has had more phone calls on the Vilensky properties than any listings in years. In Seattle's hot real-estate market, even Krigsman is puzzled about why the houses have been boarded up so long.

Still, he acknowledges the prices set by Vilensky may be a little high. He said Vilensky is exploring joint ventures with a developer.

In a brief and angry conversation with The Seattle Times, Vilensky would not say why he is selling his houses or why he abandoned them. "I'd rather you stay out of my business," he said. "This is very stale. Very, very, very boring."

Vilensky's attorney, Theodore Rosenblume, also doesn't know why the houses were abandoned. But he said Vilensky is selling them "because he's an elderly man in need of money, faced with the fact he has to live on the money he collects to pay off his debts. He'd like not to sell them at all."

11 rotten houses

Vilensky, 70, once was employed by Boeing as an engineer. He is a University of Washington graduate who was born in Poland and emigrated to the United States from Israel. Beyond that, few people know much about him.

Over the years, he has been jailed and fined for ignoring court orders to fix up houses he owned. At times, the city demolished some and mended others, adding the bills onto his property-tax statements. At one time, he owned at least 11 houses and let them all rot. County property records show he now owns the four.

A court decision in the mid-1990s made it difficult for the city to step in and foreclose on Vilensky's houses.

To demolish a house, the city must determine that the cost of repairs is more than half of the house's replacement value. But that requires viewing the inside of the properties. The court ruled the city can't enter a house without the owner's permission - hard to do when Vilensky couldn't be found or wouldn't cooperate.

Matthew Moeller, senior housing and zoning inspector with DCLU, said the city has identified about 370 vacant houses and buildings in Seattle. But few have caused the city as many problems as Vilensky's.

Like those living near the Vilensky properties, Moeller is overjoyed to see the houses for sale.

Dealing with Vilensky has been like a revolving door, he said, where the city slaps him with judgments for violations but nothing happens.

"It's frustrating for us to go through the steps and nothing happens, and we start the process all over again," said Moeller. "We'd very much like to get this taken care of."

In July, the city issued its order to repair or sell the houses by Dec. 19. Violations include rotting front stairs, deteriorated roofing, loose bricks, thick overgrowth, hanging gutters and litter.

It isn't clear whether any of the houses are structurally intact and can be repaired.

As for the prices Vilensky is asking: "Property values are crazy in Seattle, but not that crazy," Moeller said.

But in Seattle's hot real-estate market, they may yet sell. And if they do, Engelbert, the neighbor, is ready. "I'll throw a big block party."

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054.

Published Correction Date: 10/30/99 - The Map Accompanying This Story Contained Some Incorrect Locations And Prices. A Corrected Version Of The Map Ran On 10/30/99.Published Correction Date 10/31/99 - A House At 4701 Woodland Park Ave. N., Seattle, Owned By Naftali Vilensky, Is For Sale For $259,950. The Assessed Value Is $107,000. Yesterday's Corrected Map Reversed The Asking Price And Assessed Value.