Finding a rental from a distance (Seattle, Bellevue: apartment, rentals, mover)

[anneeliot]

We've gotten all necessary approvals in place, and my husband will be officially transferred to his company's Seattle office as of May 1st. He's been working in the area for several months now (flying in every week), and now we finally get to move the rest of the family up. Since it's fairly short notice, we have a lot to arrange in a short time (we hope to move by mid-May).

We would like to have an address for the moving company to deliver our stuff to, and were wondering how the rest of you arranged a rental from out-of-state. Did you settle for temporary housing while you hunted for a longer-term rental/home to purchase? Did you fly in beforehand to find a rental/house to buy (I won't be able to with two small kids, but my husband can take an extra weekend to look and apply)?

Our previous relocations have been international, so we had a few weeks in a hotel while we house-hunted and waited for our things to arrive. This time our move will be much closer (coming up from California), and with two kids in tow, making the hotel/temporary housing thing much less attractive. We also want to find a more permanent rental sooner because our oldest is now in school, and we want to get her registered asap.

Has anyone worked with a realtor or relocation specialist to find a rental? Or did you just find something through Craigslist? If you stayed in temporary housing first, how did you arrange that? And how would that work with kids in school?

Thanks for the help - this move is a little overwhelming now that we have kids in school to work around as well. Previously it was just my husband and I, or with one toddler along, so no worrying about school yet.

ETA: We are looking to move to the Eastside, since husband will be working in Bellevue for the most part. We like smaller, more rural-feeling communities, ie Woodside and Duvall.

[homesinseattle]

I refer many of my clients (who plan to buy homes from me later) to these guys. They have a large portfolio of homes and great knowledge of Seattle and Eastside rentals: Property Management : Homes for Rent : Seattle Houses : Condo Rentals

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by anneeliot

ETA: We are looking to move to the Eastside, since husband will be working in Bellevue for the most part. We like smaller, more rural-feeling communities, ie Woodside and Duvall.

Do you mean Woodinville? Rental houses are not that common on the eastside, and as fast as homes are selling now, rentals are going even faster. Often they are not even advertised. I would look for a realtor that handles rentals (as suggested) and let them look for you, they may have access to properties that are not publicized.

Most people that I know who moved here recently have either done weekly motel or VRBO until they find a place, it's really hard if you are not here.

[anneeliot]

I did mean Woodinville - thanks! Typing with kids running around...

Does anyone know of any realtors that take on rentals as well? I haven't had much luck searching for them online.

Also, if anyone reading this has moved up from California, could you pm me with any mover recommendations? Or which ones to avoid, if you had a bad experience?

[kelly1922]

Same problem here, except we're on the east coast, so it's even harder. We flew out 2 weeks ago but didn't find anything. We're a little leery about renting sight unseen. We need to find a place by July 1st.

[homesinseattle]

Yes Anne. If you check the link I sent you, that's one of their main functions. Best of luck in your search.

[shaylahc]

We rented a house unseen. I don't recommend it, but when you're desperate, sometimes you just have to do what you have to do....

[AyeScotland]

The link homesinseattle posted bears out the cold, hard fact that there just are not many rentals available. When you click on the link and then click on 'Seattle/Eastside," you will see that right now, there are only six rentals listed, one is which is marked "pending" (that would be the nicest looking one, of course!), and 4 of the other five are only 2 bedrooms (don't know if you are desperate enough to consider a 2 bedroom for a year). Hopefully you don't have any pets, which would further restrict your already scarce options!

You didn't mention, it so have to ask -- have you also been looking on Zillow for rentals?

I know you mentioned in this thread that you are hoping to find a place in someplace like Woodinville or Duvall, but, again, since you are feeling desperate and you mentioned in your other thread that your hubby is a consultant and won't always be going to the Eastside, you might consider Edmonds again (especially if you could get a nice Sound view) like this

Rental Listings - 2 Rentals | Zillow

or this

Rental Listings - 2 Rentals | Zillow

I don' think either of these are close enough to the Edmond Bowl area to give you the "walkability" you mentioned in the other thread, but, at least with the first one, you would have a huge park literally right next door to walk around in! (And both of these houses are cheaper than the rent you are paying now, so that is a plus!)

Having said that, when you mentioned in your other thread your concern about "overly academic" schools, I thought "she should live in whatever neighborhood the Seattle Waldorf School is in." Talk about "letting kids be kids" -- no worksheets there! No endless hours of homework each night! No posture-wrecking heavy backpack loaded down with textbooks -- the kids create their own (gorgeous) textbooks, writing down and drawing what they have learned from a lesson. No tech at all until the middle school, if I recall correctly. I have a friend whose kids went to the Seattle Waldorf School (Kinderhaus and Elementary) until they moved out-of-state. She absolutely LOVED that school! (In case you are not aware, there was an article in the NYT a couple(?) few(?) years ago about how the Los Altos Hills Waldorf School is populated with kids of execs (and non-execs) of the Silicon Valley tech companies -- these people who make their (very good) living off of tech send their kids to the Waldorf School precisely because, like you, they don't want tech crammed down their kids' throats at such a young age. (Don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Seattle Waldorf School isn't similarly populated. My friend was a SAHM, and her hubby was not in tech, but don't know about everyone else.) I don't remember what neighborhood the Seattle Waldorf School is in, but either you can look it up (if interested) or perhaps someone else on here can tell you where it is.

Best of luck to you!

[anneeliot]

Thank you for the responses so far!

We have been looking on Zillow and Craigslist, and have basically given up on walkability, provided the alternative is a good yard (not just a patch of grass). I despise having to drag the kids out of the house in order to keep them entertained, and would love to just be able to send them outside, so city living is probably not the best option for us.

There really does seem to be a shortage of decent rentals, and no one responds to any inquiries coming from outside the area. I think we may just have to move blind and do the short-term furnished housing thing for a month while we look for a rental. Downside is that if we don't find something quickly, our kindergartner won't be able to finish the school year.

AyeScotland - I have looked into Waldorf schools in the past, but I'm not sure I'm ready to go that far in the direction of 'unschooling'. I think the best type of school for us would be one with a set curriculum with age-appropriate academic expectations. I remember having homework in elementary school, but it was memorizing the words for that week's spelling bee or writing a book report (from 3rd-4th grade on). I'm fine with that - I just don't like homework and tech-pushing in kindergarten. But sometimes Waldorf or Montessori look very tempting...except for the price tag, that is.

[mamainfl]

Finding a house long distance CAN be done. Although, I noticed that Eastside houses were more expensive with less inventory. We found something in West Seattle. It was by an individual owner, and we had SEVERAL conversations via phone prior to sending any money. I felt pretty comfortable, however, my husband was holding his breath so to speak until we got here. We also had to hold the place for one month (with one month's rent) prior to our arrival. Timing is tough.

Plan B is to find something short term and wait to find the right area and house when you get here. There is a company called Short Term Suites and one called Seattle Furnished Suites that I had contacted just in case.

Good luck in your move. Seattle is GREAT!