Help with Seattle-area neighborhoods, schools (Kent, Renton: for sale, renting, houses)

[apeachespeach]

Long-time lurker, first-time poster. I appreciate all the ideas here and I would love constructive input.

We live in the Olympia area and we're looking to make a move into the city or possibly a close suburb. Our primary reason for moving in would be to closer to many activities that already take us into the city regularly, as well as other things we're interested in getting involved in. We have two school-aged sons that we adopted from Ethiopia, and we desire for them to be closer to other Ethiopians via school and neighborhood/community. We would love to live in a very diverse neighborhood. We used to live in Los Angeles and we really miss, well, cultural and ethnic diversity.

Our housing budget would be about 300K. We would need 3 bedrooms, although 2 with a basement or attic that could be finished into a bedroom would be OK. 2 bathrooms is ideal but 1 is OK if we could add another. My husband has been a licensed contractor and can do any and all repairs himself--roofing, drywall, plumbing, etc. So we're not scared by a fixer. A yard is a definite must. It would be great to be within walking/biking distance of a park. We really enjoy walking and it would be nice to be near public transit.

I work from home and my husband's work takes him everywhere and at random times, so commute is not really a determining issue.

School-wise, we are OK with schools that are "OK", but not failing. We're more interested in an involved parent group and a strong multicultural population. We are very involved parents ourselves and do a great deal of what probably looks like homeschooling. One of our sons is in a gifted program, so we would be looking for the same or similar for him in our new district. The other is a strong athlete, so we would want to be near youth sports leagues (football, soccer, baseball, etc) and a high school with athletics.

We've ruled out Rainier Beach and any area that feeds into Rainier Beach High School. We're looking at North Beacon Hill (Beacon Hill International School), Columbia City (with the option for Orca K-8), and possibly areas of Renton and Kent, where we know many Ethiopians already. It seems like housing stock within the city right now is pretty low. We're renting currently so we can wait a while if we need to.

I'm open to any suggestions! Thanks. G.

[mkarch]

I'm no expert, but there is a big East African community up by northgate. You can find liveable $300k homes in that area. Look at the school zones carefully. Some are very good, others are middle of the road.

[fnh]

The Central District ticks all of your boxes except perhaps affordability, but if you don't mind a fixer you just might find something in your price range. Though not for long!

[Ira500]

The Central District would be an obvious choice because of the large Ethiopian community there, but home prices are usually much higher than 300k, and some schools are bad. However, Washington Middle school is pretty good, with the gifted program and lots of athletics there. As far as elementaries, Thurgood Marshall is terrific, some Central District kids go to Lowell or Stevens, both good. Garfield HS produces more national merit scholars than any other Seattle HS...NOVA is the public alternative HS particularly suited for creative types( my son went there and loved it).
The other large concentration of Ethiopians is SE Seattle, Rainier Valley, Mt.Baker, Columbia City, etc. Like you said, Rainier Beach HS is worth avoiding. Nearby South Shore K-8 is well regarded, and there are pockets of nice neighborhoods with lower cost houses, but you'd have to manipulate the system to find an alternative to Rainier Beach HS.
If you do have friends in Renton and Kent, you will get more house for your money there. There are some OK and good schools there,as well as bad ones. There will also be more homes for sale in Renton and Kent, the inventory in Seattle proper is extremely low right now.

[apeachespeach]

Thanks everyone. This is helpful. Ira--do you foresee an increase in inventory for the spring? It seems like that's such a big time for house shopping. I'm really shocked when I see the sales that closed just a few months ago and then the list prices now. It's a pretty substantial jump.

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by apeachespeach

Thanks everyone. This is helpful. Ira--do you foresee an increase in inventory for the spring? It seems like that's such a big time for house shopping. I'm really shocked when I see the sales that closed just a few months ago and then the list prices now. It's a pretty substantial jump.

There's always some inrease of inventory in the spring. Last spring and summer it wasn't much of an increase. It's not a great time to be a home buyer in Seattle right now because of the low inventory, meaning the competition is pretty high for the few nice houses out there. In your favor, though, is that you're willing to look at fixers, and you're willing to look at neighborhoods/towns with schools that are just okay(the places that not everybody is tripping over themselves making offers on houses). And yes, this scarcity of houses for sale has emboldened some sellers to ask ridiculous prices for their houses. They're not all going to get what they ask, and pricing too high can backfire, leaving the house on the market for too long. It's easier to get your ridiculous asking price in Ravenna or Sammamish than Lakeridge or Kent.

[sebastian_doll]

Unfortunately, you'll have tough luck finding a 300k home here. For the most part--exceptions in the Leschi general area--N. Seattle is predominately White; and incomes are (generically) higher. An average (here), for a household, might be 75-85 k/yr. In South Seattle; Beacon Hill is both relatively-safe, family friendly (high# of kids here!!), and somewhate cheaper. For 400k (in your budget?) you could get a decentish, maybe 3-BR (?) 1700 sq. ft. house. This area has reasonable schools; that include W. Seattle, nearby Thurgood Marshall...yeah, pretty OK schools.

[Boxkicker]

Why are you bringing up old threads? Bored?

[CrazyDonkey]

Here's one. $279,950 list, 2BD/2BA, 1,580 sq/ft, 1926 house, South Beacon Hill, School Scores: Maple Elementary: 9, Mercer MS: 8, Franklin HS: 6.

6127 Beacon Ave S, Seattle, WA 98108 is For Sale | Zillow

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by mkarch

I'm no expert, but there is a big East African community up by northgate. You can find liveable $300k homes in that area. Look at the school zones carefully. Some are very good, others are middle of the road.

Yes, exactly! Seattle's big secret is that there's a big immigrant community, including Africans, mainly north and East Africans, in the north end, around Northgate, and just east of there, in Victory Heights. It's a nice neighborhood, decent schools, as far as I know. I think the HS for that area is Roosevelt, which is one of Seattle's best. It's also one of the few areas of Seattle that have relatively affordable homes. There are some smaller 2-br. homes with a garage you could convert to a bedroom.