What do you think about Silver Lake? Or Bothell? (Seattle: sales, real estate)

[barefoot_boy]

My wife and I just got married last year and we're renting right now near the city, but looking to move into new construction somewhere where the public transit commute to our downtown jobs will still be manageable. We really liked some of the new houses out near Silver Lake, and we're also considering Bothell. What do you think of those areas?

Regarding the commute, Bothell seems geographically closer, but with the park and rides being mostly on the I-5 side, the overall time seems pretty close. Also, we don't have kids yet, but we're planning for the future, and want to be in area with good elementary schools. Are there any other areas we should be considering? Issaquah seems highly recommended, but also seems to be priced out of our reach.

[mkarch]

Take a close look at the sales history for homes in the Silver Lake area before buying. It has always been considered a somewhat downscale area and the new homes being built out there are typically priced well above the average. While that says little about whether you'd enjoy living there, it may be a factor if and when you decide to sell.

[beautifulseattlehomes]

Bothell schools are considered quite good and buying in Bothell, in my opinion, is a better overall real estate investment than Silver Lake. It will cost more but I think the initial higher price will be worth it for many reasons. Silver Lake is part of the Everett Public School District and many of the schools in that district are considered poor and under performing. Bothell has some beautiful homes and you may even find a good value in something that was built even a few years ago. Not to mention your commute which from Bothell would be so much easier than coming from Silver Lake.

Mill Creek could be another option...very good school and a lot of beautiful newer homes! Good Luck!

[BellevueNative]

If you can afford Mill Creek or Bothell, I'd look there first. Though Silver Lake is the better area of Everett. You might also want to look in the Silver Firs area of unincorporated Snohomish. You should know that much of the new construction in Bothell is actually in the Mill Creek school boundries (in the Everett SD), but Mill Creek has good schools.

If you can find an older house (most were built in the 90s) in Mill Creek in your budget it will likely be better construction than the new homes popping up in north Bothell. My husband and I toured many of those new developments and were turned off by the poor designs and small lots. All of the builders like to dress up model homes with trims (upcharges!) they know will capture people's attention and distract them from other issues...such as poorly designed floor plans and a complete lack of landscaping/trees that make a neighborhood so much more attractive.

Or if you look in Bothell, you might want to look in Bothell proper (as opposed to unincorporated Bothell, which is where the new construction is). Particularly the neighborhoods north of old downtown/Main Street.

P.S. I know people think that new construction will be hassle-free, but that just isn't the case. Most of my friends moved into brand new homes, and they all had "issues" that had to be remedied over the course of the first year. In some cases, the issues were major. Construction today - except in the cases of very high end homes - is not what it used to be. That's why I encourage people to look at mature homes/neighborhoods, too.

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by BellevueNative

If you can afford Mill Creek or Bothell, I'd look there first. Though Silver Lake is the better area of Everett. You might also want to look in the Silver Firs area of unincorporated Snohomish. You should know that much of the new construction in Bothell is actually in the Mill Creek school boundries (in the Everett SD), but Mill Creek has good schools.

If you can find an older house (most were built in the 90s) in Mill Creek in your budget it will likely be better construction than the new homes popping up in north Bothell. My husband and I toured many of those new developments and were turned off by the poor designs and small lots. All of the builders like to dress up model homes with trims (upcharges!) they know will capture people's attention and distract them from other issues...such as poorly designed floor plans and a complete lack of landscaping/trees that make a neighborhood so much more attractive.

Or if you look in Bothell, you might want to look in Bothell proper (as opposed to unincorporated Bothell, which is where the new construction is). Particularly the neighborhoods north of old downtown/Main Street.

P.S. I know people think that new construction will be hassle-free, but that just isn't the case. Most of my friends moved into brand new homes, and they all had "issues" that had to be remedied over the course of the first year. In some cases, the issues were major. Construction today - except in the cases of very high end homes - is not what it used to be. That's why I encourage people to look at mature homes/neighborhoods, too.

I completely agree with you. A lot of new construction is pretty shoddy quality.

[barefoot_boy]

Regarding new construction, we were looking at the Mainvue houses in Stonewater creek. I've heard good things about them, and I have to admit their model homes impressed even our agent, who had pretty much seen it all. Any feedback on those houses compared to other builders?

As for the commute, doing some Google mapping, it looked like living in Bothell would require use of either 522 to I-5 or 405 and then the 520 bridge to get over to Seattle downtown. Silver Lake seemed a bit more geographically far, but it would be a straight shot down I-5 resulting in perhaps a shorter commute over all? Any Bothell residents care to comment?

[BellevueNative]

Originally Posted by barefoot_boy

Regarding new construction, we were looking at the Mainvue houses in Stonewater creek. I've heard good things about them, and I have to admit their model homes impressed even our agent, who had pretty much seen it all. Any feedback on those houses compared to other builders?

As for the commute, doing some Google mapping, it looked like living in Bothell would require use of either 522 to I-5 or 405 and then the 520 bridge to get over to Seattle downtown. Silver Lake seemed a bit more geographically far, but it would be a straight shot down I-5 resulting in perhaps a shorter commute over all? Any Bothell residents care to comment?

You're correct about the commute. I live in Mill Creek and do the commute to Seattle. Spent some time living in Bothell/Kenmore and did the 522-->5 route. The latter is actually worse a lot of the time, as it is a constant stop and go the whole way around the lake with lots of traffic lights. The I-5 route is 45-50 mins most days, 1 hour some days, 90 mins when there's a really bad accident (thankfully a rarity).

ETA: I Googled "Mainvue Homes review" because I have never heard of them. This is one of the first things that came up: http://whatguys.blogspot.com/2012/10...es-review.html

[barefoot_boy]

Hey BellevueNative,

Thanks for the feedback on the commute. As for the Mainvue review, I did see that, but I didn't know whether to chalk that review down to a single dissatisfied buyer or not.

These were the other reviews I saw:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/seatt...s-quality.html
MainVue Homes - Any Feedback? - Redfin Real Estate Forums

[mkarch]

I've seen the mainvue home listings. I like the modern aspects, but they are still a bit bland style wise. It's good to see suburban developers incorporating those design elements. the cutting edge modern homes aren't being built in bothell or Everett.

[Count David]

Generic/cheesy response, but still my opinion:

I spent time in Silver Lake growing up (like every summer), and it is probably my favorite neighborhood in the entire world.

I cringe and cry when I see (or even think of) the new developments that took out the dense forests of my youth. Progress, I suppose.

These days, I wouldn't recommend anybody even consider driving into Seattle, or even Bellevue for work. I don't know how well the public transport options are, but I'd think it'd still take quite awhile (more than reasonable) to get downtown, no?