I want to sell my home in Vegas and buy in the Seattle area!!! (Spokane: for sale, 2015)

[hjmontijo]

Hello everyone. I want to first start off by saying thank you for taking the time to stop in and read my post. I am a 30 year old male who currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. I have been in Las Vegas for over 8 years, although twice, I did take a break in between. The first time was in 2010 where I lived in Federal Way for about 7 months and of course I loved it. The second time in 2012 and lived in the Renton area for about 9 months (been back in Vegas a little over a year). The reason I had to move back the first time was due to my renters not paying their rent here in Vegas and I unfortunately had no property manager taking care of the home for me. The second time we came back was due to financial reasons (I make more money in Las Vegas, where the cost of living is cheaper) and also due to a family illness.

The thing is that my fiancé and I are really really wanting to move back to the Seattle area, (hey, third times a charm right?) and this time it's for good. No more coming back to Vegas unless it's to visit. We of course do not plan on moving anytime really soon but hopefully within the year. We just moved back into our rental home a little over a month ago (it was left completely trashed) and we plan on renovating and fixing up the home little by little so that we may put it on the market and have it sold by 2015. The home has increased in value and so ideally I would love to sell the home and use it for a down payment on a house in Washington.

We just really love everything about the Pacific Northwest. Yes the cost of living is higher and yes the city traffic is horrible, but Seattle is really where our hearts are at.

I just want to know if there is anyone one else out there who made this kind of a move where they sold there house to move out of state. I just need some advice. I need to know the right steps to take. Both my fiancé and I currently work in property management, we are both leasing consultants but don't have anything lined up for the future move. Any advice on where to look for work?

What areas would you say are the best place to look for a single family home under $190,000 I want a minimum of 3 bedrooms and something in a safe neighborhood. I don't mind a fixer upper at all as long as I can live in the home while doing the work.

I guess what I am looking for is a push in the right direction and I'm just looking for new people to network with. All comments and advice are greatly appreciated.

[Hemlock140]

I haven't seen anything for $190,000 in a long time, in fact we paid that for our house here in 1993. It's now worth $670k. There are still a few condos for that,
but at the current appreciation rate they will be closer to $230k by 2015. The average 3 BR home in King County is over $400k. If you just want to be in the PNW and don't have to be in the Seattle area, try south to Tacoma or Olympia,
or north to Mt. Vernon or Sedro-Woolley where there are still single family homes in that range.

[folkguitarist555]

Avg median home in Seattle is 460k. Good luck, the only option in western WA, imo,..would be around Chehalis, or on the outskirts of Lewis county and Vader county, without acreage, or maybe a very small bit of acreage, and it will also be an older home. From what I read Chehalis has "Meth Watch" signs on their roads. I exhausted western WA in the same price range, 190k, with at least a half acre, and have come out with a tiny amount of decent results. I think over around Shelton also , there might be a couple homes in that range. This is one of the reasons I am forced to leave the state mostly likely, unless I want to live in or around Spokane. My budget is also 190k for a home.

[lvoc]

Sometimes you run into someone who just can't deal with the obvious.

You both make you living in property management and yet your rental in Las Vegas gets trashed?

I suggest you stay in Las Vegas and see if you can land a job parking cars or serving drinks.

Maybe you can retire to Seattle.

[Ira500]

It's not like there's absolutely nothing for sale for 190k in the Seattle area. It's more like what is for sale isn't all that close to Seattle, and is certainly not going to be in an area with great schools , or in an area considered hip and sought after.
But there's stuff for sale in areas that aren't too bad in Auburn, Federal Way, Kent, Covington, Tacoma, and Everett. In Everett you might find a fixer 1920's Craftsman, in Covington or Federal Way or Auburn they'd be more typically 1970's homes.

[folkguitarist555]

Better off moving to a zillion other places in the USA, that have much lower median home values then western WA does, imo.

[twelker]

My wife and I moved here 10 months ago from Texas. We sold our house in Texas a few months back. I hate renting, so we bought a house in federal way. I read many things about federal way being a bad area. I was worried about it, but with our finances this area fit our budget. After being here for the past 10 months I have found it's not that bad. Our daughter is doing great in school here and we don't want to move her again. We decited to stay in federal way. We bought a fixer upper for 230,000 the house has good bones but is still stuck in the 1980's. It needs a big hug. I saw some houses for around 190,000 range but they will need some love. If your willing to do the work I think you'll find a house that will fit your needs.....

[analogkid84]

Federal Way gets a bad rap. One could do a lot worse in the Puget Sound area. It is situated well between Tacoma and Seattle, so you have good access to the amenities of both areas. Granted, traffic is going to be a b$@ch, but if you can bus, carpool, or vanpool, it is manageable. Plus, if you're an outdoors type, you have good access to roads that can get you to the Issaquah Alps area, or out 410 to the Rainier area. Dash Pt. State Park and Pt. Defiance aren't too far away either.

[hjmontijo]

Originally Posted by twelker

My wife and I moved here 10 months ago from Texas. We sold our house in Texas a few months back. I hate renting, so we bought a house in federal way. I read many things about federal way being a bad area. I was worried about it, but with our finances this area fit our budget. After being here for the past 10 months I have found it's not that bad. Our daughter is doing great in school here and we don't want to move her again. We decited to stay in federal way. We bought a fixer upper for 230,000 the house has good bones but is still stuck in the 1980's. It needs a big hug. I saw some houses for around 190,000 range but they will need some love. If your willing to do the work I think you'll find a house that will fit your needs.....

Thanks Twelker, That is what the plan most likely will be. I have no problem with a fixer upper at all, actually I would prefer a fixer upper. Federal Way is great, I live there for a few months and loved it. I never felt like I was in a run down or unsafe neighborhood. I have been keeping my eye on Zillow and have seen quite few placed that need some work but that defiantly fit within our budget. Thanks again for the positive feedback, it was greatly appreciated especially since some people on here can be really rude. Have a great day.

[spotlesseden]

i saw some 3 bed rooms around 1300 to 1500 sq ft for 350k to 400k in Beacon Hill/Mt.Baker area.
$190,000 is hard to find, unless they are very old house.