There and back again (Seattle, Spokane: hardwood floors, bank owned, foreclosure)

[craftbrewer]

Hi everyone,
Im new to this forum but i have been reading posts on here for a long time and i realy like the helpfull attitudes of the comunity here. So when it came time to ask questions, i naturaly decided to come here first. We are looking to relocate in the next year and having trouble finding the right place for us.

Some background.. I am originaly from Spokane but have been living in the south (North Carolina/South Carolina) for the last 20 years. My wife is from the south and I have two kids 16 and 12. My Wife is getting a job in downtown Seattle. I am a software engineer. We are both 40 and although not super athletic we like to go camping and get out. Our kids are of huge importance to us and the school system where we currently live is ranked one of the best in the US.

We currently live in a 3000 sq/ft home built in 2000, on a 1/4 acre plot in a nice neighborhood. The price of the homes in this neighborhood range from $250,000 to $350,000. Our laundry list of features in a home seem extensive(maybe unreasonable?), but we have purchased six houses in our life already and know what we dont want. We hope to make this one of our last, so we are looking to get what we realy want.

Since my wife will be driving to DT Seattle in rush hour traffic, it is going to be a concern i know from anywhere, but i am sure ther are areas you just dont want to even consider. My boys are going to be highschool age so it is very important that the school system is good. My oldest is probably going to try to go to school at Bellevue college off I90 so we are thinking somwhere around that area to minimize his commute while he would be living with us still would be beneficial. My wife, being a southern girl likes her sun, but hates the heat. I grew up in spokane and had always heard about the rain in the Seattle area so one of my wifes caveots is that she wants a view, so that when it IS nice out she can see it at least. So a view of the lake/sound is what she is looking for. I am a semi-professional homebrewer and both my wife and I like going out to nice bars / resteraunts and sampling the good craft beer in the area while taking in the nightlife, so we dont want to be out in the sticks either taking us 30 minutes to get to the nearest nightlife scene.

The house we buy doesnt need to be new but, i dont want a turn of the century home, or something i am going to have to go through and remodel just to move into either. Also I am thinking we are looking for a house around the $300k to $350K price range.

Thanks in advance for your help

[tobester]

lake/sound view for $300 - $350K? - maybe twenty five years ago. Any house in that range will probably be far from Seattle. If you can triple your housing budget, you might get all you want - view, good schools, close to downtown.

[Seacove]

Is there a lake/sound view for $350K in Tacoma or Bremerton? Definitely not Bellevue, Mercer Island, Newcastle or Issaquah (all near I-90). Not even Renton would have a water/sound view for $350K. In fact, a single family home of any kind in those areas will be a challenge to find for $350K unless it is small or a fixer upper. Here is one I'm surprised to find but it might be a bad location. You can play with Redfin:

318 157 Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98008 | MLS# 367608

The bidding on this is odd, Ira might be able to explain, it looks like they are trying to create a competitive situation? Agent comment at the bottom says it needs a new roof. It's only 1600 sq. ft. so pretty small for a family.

[craftbrewer]

I see. Thank you for your responses... price aside, what is your opinion on location, and what price range would i need to be looking at?

[Seacove]

I posted the link to Redfin, you should enter what size you are looking for, number of bedrooms, etc. and see what you get at each price point. Bellevue and Mercer Island will be highest. You might want to take a look at Issaquah, Newcastle and Renton. That's on the Eastside near Bellevue where you said your son would be going to school. It also keeps you around I-90 for your wife's commute. Redmond will be expensive as will Kirkland but those are two additional areas you can look up.

The challenge there is that 405 in that area gets heavy traffic and if your wife is going south on 405 to I-90 and crossing, the commute, even for a short distance could be almost an hour. She could take 520 but there is a toll for that one that can add up.

You might want to see if you could find something in Klahanie in Issaquah or Newport Hills in Bellevue, both are older neighborhoods that might be less expensive. You might also look around Eastgate or Crossroads in Bellevue, those are also older.

Here is Issaquah under $500K http://www.redfin.com/homes-for-sale#!market=seattle&max_price=500000&region_id=86 45&region_type=6&uipt=1&v=8

Here is Bellevue Newport Hills under $500K http://www.redfin.com/homes-for-sale#!market=seattle&max_price=500000&region_id=18 24&region_type=1&uipt=1&v=8

There are 11 listed in Newport Hills under $500K and while those are older homes built in the 60s, the location couldn't be better, they will just likely need some work. As for water views in Bellevue, that would be a great deal more as you find. Your wife would be able to take side roads to get on 90 and avoid 405 all together which would be recommended.

[craftbrewer]

Thanks for your reply. I had never heard of Redfin, and I am just now having a chance to realy get into it but it looks like it is full of information.

[PollyGlott]

Originally Posted by craftbrewer

Thanks for your reply. I had never heard of Redfin, and I am just now having a chance to realy get into it but it looks like it is full of information.

There are a couple of things I really like about Redfin: they show the homes on a map, so you can see just where they are, and you can whittle down your choices by clicking on "more options". Happy searching!

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by Seacove

Is there a lake/sound view for $350K in Tacoma or Bremerton? Definitely not Bellevue, Mercer Island, Newcastle or Issaquah (all near I-90). Not even Renton would have a water/sound view for $350K. In fact, a single family home of any kind in those areas will be a challenge to find for $350K unless it is small or a fixer upper. Here is one I'm surprised to find but it might be a bad location. You can play with Redfin:

318 157 Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98008 | MLS# 367608

The bidding on this is odd, Ira might be able to explain, it looks like they are trying to create a competitive situation? Agent comment at the bottom says it needs a new roof. It's only 1600 sq. ft. so pretty small for a family.

It's a bank owned foreclosure that's backed by Fannie Mae, so they are encouraging seliing to owner occupants, municipalities, and non profits ,with the idea that it's better to have someone invested in the community rather than just somebody buying it to rent it out.

[craftbrewer]

so heres my problem... my current house is a very nice house in a great neighborhood with clubouse and pool amenities... 4 bed, bonus, study, dining, sunroom, great room, 2.5bath, 2500+ sq/ft, granite countertops in kitchen, hardwood floors throughout, 2 car garage large fenced in culdesac lot(about 17,000 sq/ft). This house sells for about $300k here.

The comparabale house I can find in the seattle area resembles this .. Moderator cut: link removed . that house is $674K! more than double the price for same quality house.

Now compare that to a house inthe $300k range in seattle ... Moderator cut: link removed and this house is clear up North past Kenmore in Bothel for heavens sakes. Not that this is a bad house but its obviously not the quality of the first house I linked.

Digging into the numbers...
looking on this website Seattle median income for a family is $60,843 while the median house cost is $452,000. that would make your payment $1943/month (10% down/ 4% interest / 30 years) which puts you at 38% debt to income ratio before you add anything else. Not trying to be rude, but can no one afford to live here? is everyone hawked up to their eyeballs just trying to make mortgage payments?

Now technically, the mortgage calculator says that I can afford up to $900K but I dont want to run my DTI up that high either. I am guessing ill have to up my price range though to maintain the quality of house I am used to here. I guess im just shocked by the difference in price:quality ratio between here and there.

[craftbrewer]

Originally Posted by Seacove

Is there a lake/sound view for $350K in Tacoma or Bremerton? Definitely not Bellevue, Mercer Island, Newcastle or Issaquah (all near I-90). Not even Renton would have a water/sound view for $350K. In fact, a single family home of any kind in those areas will be a challenge to find for $350K unless it is small or a fixer upper. Here is one I'm surprised to find but it might be a bad location. You can play with Redfin:

318 157 Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98008 | MLS# 367608

The bidding on this is odd, Ira might be able to explain, it looks like they are trying to create a competitive situation? Agent comment at the bottom says it needs a new roof. It's only 1600 sq. ft. so pretty small for a family.

Yeah, i guess im just going to have to get over sticker shock. This house would probably go for about $125k to $150k here, depending on the neighborhood.