How do you afford it? (Seattle, Bellevue: appointed, short sale, apartment)

[kreebby]

Originally Posted by swerver

How about something like this?
3012 253 Place SE, Sammamish, WA 98075 | MLS# 276462

Right size, in decent shape, big yard, not far away.

I don't like single story homes. I wish I could find a nice two story, 1500sqft home that wasn't a split level around here.

[Ira500]

Kreeby,
You ask some great questions. How do people afford it? They make choices. I think what you're seeing is the lack of inventory. It's never been this bad, in my recollection. There's very little out there for sale, and what is for sale is either crap or way too expensive. So people choose to keep on renting, or they choose to sacrifice yard, or buy something of a fixer, or buy something a little further away. Or buy into the hysteria and the keeping up with the Joneses and buy a house they can barely afford.
Also, you don't HAVE to put 20% down to buy a house. Conventional loans require 10%, and FHA has 3.5% down loans. Yes, that will mean higher monthly payments and a PMI payment that is paid with under 20% down loans....Maybe expand your search. Woodinville? Duvall? ..There's a really pretty area where Newcastle, Issaquah, and Renton all converge, near Cougar Mountain. It's all Issaquah schools, but some of the houses are listed as Renton, some as Issaquah, and some as Newcastle yet they're only a few blocks away from each other. Buying an older home is an especially good idea if you want a decent sized yard. A lot of the new homes are kind of show offy, way too expensive, and have tiny yards, because the builder wanted to squeeze as many houses as he could in there, and then proclaim that it's what buyers want.

[MaikeerinWA]

The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article late last week about the lack of inventory and the "return of multiple offers."

Stunned Home Buyers Find the Bidding Wars Are Back - WSJ.com

The article doesn't provide a "months of inventory" figure for Seattle, and I'm curious about what it would be. I'm assuming relatively low...

Originally Posted by Ira500

I think what you're seeing is the lack of inventory. It's never been this bad, in my recollection. There's very little out there for sale, and what is for sale is either crap or way too expensive.

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by MichaelinWA

The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article late last week about the lack of inventory and the "return of multiple offers."

Stunned Home Buyers Find the Bidding Wars Are Back - WSJ.com

The article doesn't provide a "months of inventory" figure for Seattle, and I'm curious about what it would be. I'm assuming relatively low...

On the Wall Street Journal chart, it lists Seattle has having the fourth lowest months of supply, with only San Francisco, Washington D.C, and Phoenix as having lower inventory. The chart states Seattle has a 3.8 month supply of inventory, but the latest data I saw on Seattle Bubble had it even lower, closer to two months. Maybe the Journal article was including condos, which have a higher month of supply rate.

[pw72]

To answer the OP's question, I don't.

I live in Idaho and after a careful study of Idaho Falls/Pocatello compared to Seattle, I have determined the same house in my market and Seattle/Bellevue maps out roughly like this:

Seattle/Bellevue: 400,000
IF/Pocatello: 180,000

Seattle/Bellevue: 500,000
IF/Pocatello: 240,000

Seattle/Bellevue: 750,000
IF/Pocatello: 350,000


Seattle/Bellevue: 1,000,000
IF/Pocatello: 475,000

Now, certainly IF/Pocatello does not offer the same amenities that Seattle does, but it does offer more sunshine, a positive growth model, and as outlined above, a much lower cost of living.

[Inkpoe]

I'll echo IRA on expanding your area a bit... though I wouldn't suggest as far north as Everett, Monroe and or south as Roy (seriously?!!!!) -- that's just too much traffic and/or choke points headache to deal with. Maybe east to Snoqualmie/Fall City, north to Bothell/Woodinville/Duvall, South to Renton (even on the Seattle side, I believe while not regarded as desirable, there are some big lots on the unincorporated side. Ira can expand on that, I think he's mentioned a goat farm in the area).

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by swerver

How about something like this?
3012 253 Place SE, Sammamish, WA 98075 | MLS# 276462

Right size, in decent shape, big yard, not far away.

Seems good, but one wonders about a house listed for sale at less than the assessed value. There was one near Sahalee listed for about $325,000 on a full acre that sold a few months ago. Currently one across from that is for sale at $399,000, on 2.5 acres (very plain) next door to one listed at $899,000.

[mrsincredible]

Once we expanded our search radius a little bit more, we found exactly what we wanted at the price that we needed.

My husband is also a MS employee (his office is in downtown Kirkland) making about $100k and we are a 1 income family with 3 kids. We got a break from childcare expenses this school year with my middle starting public Kinder but my youngest will be starting preschool in the fall so that will be a big expense again.

We've lived in the Seattle area for a year. Previous to our move, we owned a house in Madison, WI which we bought for $310k. It was a 2 story with basement, 2500 sf, 4 br 3.5 ba on a flat and fenced 17,000 sf lot. We were sad to move away because we picked that house with the belief that our kids would be raised in it.

When we moved here, we looked around found a rental equal to what we would be able to pay for a mortgage: $2100. It was a 2 story with basement, 2500 sf, 4 br, 3.5 ba with a postage stamp for a yard (under 5000 sf lot) but at least it was fenced. The closest playground was a 15-20 minute walk away along a busy street so it was more of a drive-to playground. My kids got a little chubby with the lack of readily available space to run around.

Once our house sold in Madison, we started to look around at houses here in the summer. Our house sold for slightly more than we bought it for and we got back our full down payment. We were trying to look at houses at or under $400k in Kirkland or Redmond with at least 2500 sf, decent lot size and a playground in close walking distance for the kids. We also kept our eyes open for houses at or under $350k for remodeling but it still had to have the lot size and playground. It was really, really hard and we didn't find anything that quite fit the bill. We did put in an offer on a house in Redmond for $415k that had been recently repainted with a new (low quality) kitchen but the inspection revealed a lot of major flaws that we didn't want to deal with so we backed out. The term that came to mind was "lipstick on a pig". They dropped the price after our failed contract and someone snapped it up right away. I always wondered if those new owners turned up the same issues on inspection or not and if they felt the extra cost and headache was worth it.

We found our current house in October. It wasn't the best timing but after we saw a big price drop after 2 weeks on the market we had to go see it. It really meets everything we were looking for (1 story with basement, 3100 sf living, 400 sf basement storage, 5 br, 3 ba, 13k sf lot size, 5 minute walk to the neighborhood playground and a good school). Even the commute time is the same or less than it would be if we had kept our search in Redmond. It has fab access to the 405 which was important to me because I do all the shopping and after school activity driving. It's on a cul-de-sac within a very quiet and stable neighborhood. All the other houses are nicer looking 2 story traditional styles so we're kind of the worst house (in comparison, it's a nice house on its own) on a street of really nice houses. Most of the other owners on the street are the original owners from when the houses were built in 1988. All the neighbor kids are high school age and older. We feel very happy and comfortable here with the house, the location and the price. We bought the house for $425k with 20% down. So I think that houses that are reasonably priced that will meet your specific needs are out there. You just have to be patient, keep researching, do a lot of driving around scoping out the open houses and the neighborhoods. And really be ready to jump on something if you think it's perfect for you. Because odds are, if you think it's perfect, so will someone else.

Good luck!

**Just wanted to make another side note here that my preference for a house was a 2 story traditional but a) we couldn't afford what was on the market and b) we couldn't wait for something in our current neighborhood to come on the market and probably be priced too high for our budget. The majority of homes that fit our budget were the split entry homes which we are not huge fans of but there are just so many of them here that you can't escape them! The "lipstick on a pig" house was a split entry but it had the benefit of being offset to the rest of the house, having a large landing and vaulted entry way so it didn't feel so cramped and psychologically oppressive.

[swerver]

Well it's not perfect. Bigger concern to me is that it's been listed almost 2 years. But all things considered, seems like an option.

(no I'm not selling it, nor do I know who is)

2 story is REQUIRED? I've heard of people needing a 1 story, but not needing 2. If it's just because you like 2 stories, well, might be a requirement to let go, esp. since you are looking for something under 2k sq. ft. You'll never get absolutely everything you want in a house.

[pw72]

Originally Posted by swerver

Well it's not perfect. Bigger concern to me is that it's been listed almost 2 years. But all things considered, seems like an option.

(no I'm not selling it, nor do I know who is)

2 story is REQUIRED? I've heard of people needing a 1 story, but not needing 2. If it's just because you like 2 stories, well, might be a requirement to let go, esp. since you are looking for something under 2k sq. ft. You'll never get absolutely everything you want in a house.

Well, sometimes a good search will bring you absolutely everything you want in a house. I think sometimes it pays to just be patient and an understanding this process can take weeks, or months.