Moving to Seattle this fall (Bellevue, Everett: for sale, real estate, condo)

[RufusXavierSarsparilla]

We've decide to move to Seattle from Houston, TX. We moved to Houston almost 5 years ago which is enough time to determine it kind of sucks. Not job-wise, as far as employment goes it's probably one of the best places in the country but there's more to life than that.

We've visited Seattle several times and have even explored some suburbs but we don't know it near as good as locals and wouldn't presume that we do.

What I'd be looking for is probably areas of new construction. Within 25-35 minutes of downtown. Somewhere in the suburbs when I can buy something new and nice for up to $400K for 4 bedrooms, 3 full baths. An area with highly rated public schools. Also important is reasonable proximity to a bus park and ride or train station. I hate commuting but love to nap or surf the net while a bus driver or train does the commuting for me.

I'm sure there are plenty of places that meet these requirements and I've done a lot of research myself but since I'm not local I don't really know where the best places area.

[mkarch]

Lol. You're not going to find new construction 4/3's for $400K within 35 minutes of downtown unless it's infill in a transitional area. In most areas a house like that is going to be closer to $700K and up. Double your budget and you'll have a lot more options.

[analogkid84]

Good luck with your move. I live in the Kings River area of Atascocita now, and my son goes to KHS, having moved here from that area in 2012, and having lived there for 25 years. Housing is a tough gig in that area, especially if you are looking to be fairly close-in to Seattle. Your property taxes will certainly be lower however. I used to work at a biotech in Seattle, but commuted 40 miles from Marysville. I was laid off in late 2011 and at the time, biotech and decent paying research positions were scarce - still are for the most part. I like being farther away as that put me within about a 30 minute drive of Mt. Loop Highway and a plethora of hiking. I also worked a 6 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. schedule, which helped me deal with traffic. I wish you well and, like you, don't plan to be here indefinitely. Once the kids are out and on their own, I hope to be able to find my way back to that area as well. The quality-of-life is well worth it.

[kaonevar]

We, too, came from Texas a bit over a year ago.

Property taxes are much, much cheaper here. However, I think you're in for a shock on the housing bit.

We bought a condo in Magnolia, 5 miles from downtown. In rush hour, the commute is 30-60 minutes, depending on traffic. That's busing or driving, btw. Our home in Texas was 3000 sq. ft., new construction, and cost us $167,000 2 years prior when we bought it.
Our condo here, is barely 1100 sq. ft., built in 1991, and cost us $300,000, and that was during a major dip in the market. The unit next door to us, that isn't even fixed up/upgraded like ours, just sold for $350,000 in 4 days, with multiple bidders over asking.

Point being, if you want a house (vs. a condo), new construction, within a short commute, with that size, you're looking at $800,000 or more.
If you wanted to go out to Issaquah, Kent, places that may be a hour or more commute in traffic, you could get that size new, but even still, you'd be paying a lot for it.

Housing up here is really hot right now. Too many people and not enough places = multiple bidding wars over asking and all sorts of crazy prices. :/ We love it up here, but right now is a horrible time for buyers.

Good luck!

[kaonevar]

Case in point, I ran a zillow search with your parameters and found 1 house in all of the Seattle/King County area.

Seattle WA Homes For Sale & Seattle Real Estate - Zillow

Ah, they're townhomes. Not houses.
So Zillow shows zero results for your paramters. Redfin had the same results. I'm not sure where you did your research. :/

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by kaonevar

Case in point, I ran a zillow search with your parameters and found 1 house in all of the Seattle/King County area.

Seattle WA Homes For Sale & Seattle Real Estate - Zillow

Ah, they're townhomes. Not houses.
So Zillow shows zero results for your paramters. Redfin had the same results. I'm not sure where you did your research. :/

Redfin has one listing in Delridge/White Center

230 SW Roxbury St, Seattle, WA 98106 | MLS# 630930 | Redfin

And one in Burien:

12420 2nd Place SW, Seattle, WA 98146 | MLS# 636760 | Redfin

[GatsbyGatz]

I'm friends with a couple looking for a 2-3br about 30-minutes from Seattle. Their budget is 400K. They're having a very hard time. I have another friend who bought an older house that is a total dumpy fixer upper for 400K in Northern Seattle.

I'm afraid that you're going to have to raise your budget for what you're hoping for.

[RufusXavierSarsparilla]

I've been looking in Mill Creek. It seems like a nice area. The schools are ranked pretty decent and I can find new construction for $399K. I'll probably up the budget to $500K because I like what I'm seeing at that range.

What do you think of this? Are there better deals around that area?

TheMLSonline.com - "Actives" List - Call 425-467-6577

[kaonevar]

Mill Creek is no where near your commute time, just an FYI. With no traffic, you'd be looking at 35 minutes minimum. Mill Creek is 22 miles from downtown Seattle.

We made a similar mistake when we were looking from Texas. In our area of Texas, 10 miles was about 10 minutes. So we were looking at housing in Edmonds and Mill Creek and Kent and places far out, thinking those were suburbs of Seattle. But in Seattle, 5 miles can equal an hour during rush hour depending on the route. Some places along the light rail to the south can get faster commutes but just about anything north is going to be an hour or more commute.

Case in point, we drove to Home Depot this weekend from Magnolia (neighborhood in Seattle) to Northgate (another neighborhood). Google says that it is 6.7 miles. On a Sunday afternoon (no rush hour traffic), it took us 40 minutes to get there between traffic and construction. That's the norm around here. Things take a long time.

If you're okay with a lengthy commute, I've heard good things about Mill Creek. But keep in mind that it is going to a LONG commute.

[thatguy950]

Originally Posted by RufusXavierSarsparilla

I've been looking in Mill Creek. It seems like a nice area. The schools are ranked pretty decent and I can find new construction for $399K. I'll probably up the budget to $500K because I like what I'm seeing at that range.

What do you think of this? Are there better deals around that area?

TheMLSonline.com - "Actives" List - Call 425-467-6577

Mill Creek is fantastic (although it seems to get a TON more rain than Seattle), if you work in Everett/Edmonds/Lynnwood or telecommute. We have a place there and every time I have to go from Mill Creek to Seattle, in the middle of the day with no "real" traffic it's an hour+ affair, same story into Bellevue. In the middle of the night it's 35 minutes as stated, however, during normal commuting hours on a good day it's 1.5 hours minimum to either Seattle or Bellevue, with rain or a bad day 2+ hours is pretty common.

I live in Issaquah now (moving out of the Seattle area in a little over a month thankfully) and even that is pretty bad as far as commute goes, plus houses are going up just as fast here as they are in Seattle. You can find something in your budget...MAYBE...in North Bend, but that's pretty isolated from the city. Still, on redfin there is nothing meeting your criteria out there either.