Zombie House Acquisition - Thurston County, WA

[Wendy Carpenter]

There's a zombie duplex (with an additional trashed single wide) that I'm eyeing if I can get it for a song (cause let me tell you, this place is what nightmares are made of, but I'm a glutton for punishment). Only problem is that I'm not sure how to find or talk to a decision maker about buying it. 

Here's what I know (long story short):

-Owner died about 2 years ago (currently still the owner according to the county), however, it is listing "her" address as an Arizona address, but I dont know if it was listed that way before her death. 

-I'm 100% sure she's dead, as I became the reluctant owner of the cat she left behind AND I was there for her body removal by the coroner (hey, I have an exciting life!).

-No children, no husband. The only "heir" found was her brother, but she was very estranged from him, so it was a "there's no one else to claim her stuff" kind of thing. (Could the Arizona address be her brother's address but it is still in her name?)

-Turns out she had a REALLY bad QVC problem and was basically up to her eyeballs in debt leveraged from the property to pay for said habit. 

-Once brother saw that the place was underwater like whoa and its condition, he said "no way, Jose," and said he would just let it go back to the bank, and wiped his hands clean of the whole situation.

-I drove by it earlier today, no posted evidence of foreclosure. 

-Taxes are delinquent about 1.5 years now. 

-This place is so bad, I think the bank is probably doing the "maybe if we pretend it's not there, it won't be," kind of thing, as this is not a place any bank wants to deal with. Example: hardcore indoor chainsmoker for about 35 years. This is a "to the studs and then some" kind of place. Cat Pee Palace as well! 

I've got a pipe dream that maybe I can acquire it for about what is owed in taxes....am I delusional? Has anyone dealt with anything like this? Any leads on how to claim this sh$tshow for myself would be great! 

[Wendy Carpenter]

@Ben Skipworth, unfortunately, I got focused on a different project and missed out on this one! Another investor snapped it up after doing some digging. I’ll just have to move faster on the next one...

I do have the deceased lady’s cat as a consolation prize?