Ooooh, great thought, Nov! I agree with Aylen: that sounds very plausible.
And it could also be that the house was bought but not razed/changed/tampered with/sold to anyone else in order to comply with conditions in someone's will--but whoever carried out those wishes could very well be dead now too. And if that person didn't leave any instruction, then perhaps legally someone's hands are tied.
Also, like Nov points out, here in Japan too any info like suicide/homicide would have to be revealed to potential buyers/renters.
Also, often buildings are left standing here simply because it would cost way too much to raze them. Even if someone wanted to pay for that, the outstanding property taxes make the deal a huge financial drain...
Maaaan, if "arrested for trespassing on private property" didn't look so bad on one's record, I'd love to go poking around in thar...
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Wow, that was some huge-open-mouthed-but-totally-straight-bromance greeting. (爆)~RaRa