Affordable homes? (Seattle, Everett, Olympia: real estate market, home search, employment)

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

That is going to be really hard to find, unless you are looking at condos. Even in Maple Valley the average home price is about $265,000. Short sales may be less but are difficult to close, and most of the time require some work.

Short sales are closing faster than they did a year or so ago. The "very hard to find" part will definitely be in play for the very best school districts. But so what? You can still find a house for 200,000 with pretty good schools, and within about 45 minutes to Seattle. Not everyone can afford to live on Mercer Island or in Sammamish. It doesn't mean that anything less expensive is either impossible to find, or disgusting and dangerous. But Hemlock's right. A house 200,000 or under is likely to need at least a little work.

[Caver Girl]

Originally Posted by Ira500

Short sales are closing faster than they did a year or so ago. The "very hard to find" part will definitely be in play for the very best school districts. But so what? You can still find a house for 200,000 with pretty good schools, and within about 45 minutes to Seattle. Not everyone can afford to live on Mercer Island or in Sammamish. It doesn't mean that anything less expensive is either impossible to find, or disgusting and dangerous. But Hemlock's right. A house 200,000 or under is likely to need at least a little work.

Some work on a home we are okay with - we just don't want to have to renovate an entire house again. Been there and done that once!

Also, I'm definitely not concerned about getting into the very best schools - probably, almost anything would be an improvement to here! District U46 in our area is pretty sketchy, but even despite that, it has had it's positive side!

Also, where we currently are some would deem "dangerous", but we've never had any problems. There is a part of town we refer to as "Yuckville", but that's because it's full of dying/dead strip mall stores. Really, what I'm hoping to avoid is moving from one suburban hell to another. Please someone tell me that even if we end up in a Seattle suburb, it will be more beautiful than the suburbs of Chicago! How can it not, with the ocean and mountains and lush green trees everywhere?? I want hills! Believe it or not, the farther out from Chicago you get, the more rolling the landscape, especially near the Fox River, but it's still too flat for me.

[Boxkicker]

Maple Valley isn't that bad for commuting. I commute from Maple Valley every M-F. It takes just over an hour normally both ways via bus.

It is the price you pay for a good school district, a small town feel, and overall great way of life.

[Gogetter32]

If you ever come across a Highmark home RUN away and RUN away Fast!!! We have major construction defects with our home and are involved in a class action lawsuit against them. This has been our worst nightmare! Save yourself!!!

[CrazyDonkey]

An alternative if living in Maple Valley, Sumner, Puyallup, Federal Way, or Tacoma, where more affordable houses might be available, is to take Sounder commuter rail, which has free all-day parking. Or your mate can drop you off, which could allow you to get by with only one car, saving $500 or more per month.

A one-hour commute on a train is much more tolerable on a train than a bus - it might even be enjoyable.

[west seattle gal]

Beware of bidding wars. Asking prices here are sometimes only a start for negotiations --- houses can go 50-100K over asking price.

[homesinseattle]

If $200K is your goal (better at $230K), you might find a small 2BR in Everett or Tacoma that would give you access to the Sounder train the goes to downtown Seattle.

[Tall Traveler]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

If $200K is your goal (better at $230K), you might find a small 2BR in Everett or Tacoma that would give you access to the Sounder train the goes to downtown Seattle.

Yep but keep an eye on property taxes in Tacoma, highest % in the state if I'm not mistaken. But still if you can handle the commute, you can live cheaper in Tacoma.

[mkarch]

Also as long as we're talking about going back to prices of 2.5 years ago, I'll take 2 more houses please!

[CrazyDonkey]

This is what under $200,000 buys within a 45-minute commute of downtown Seattle:



9203 12th Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98106 is For Sale | Zillow

The crack-house remediation is extra...