where can I find info about people looking to rent their houses (Seattle: sales, foreclose)

[Freebird2007]

because craigslist sucks.

[impatient Pete]

Agreed!

My eyes have gone wonky!

What kind of house are you looking for? When are you moving?

Pete

[Freebird2007]

Originally Posted by impatient Pete

Agreed!

My eyes have gone wonky!

What kind of house are you looking for? When are you moving?

Pete

newer house....in the burbs...preferably Mill Creek, Lynnwood, Mukilteo area

3 bed/2 ba standalone




must be a newer place and definitely not a rambler.

There are so many new unsold houses in my area but they are all asking rent that is twice what a normal mortgage would be.

[seattlenextyear]

What's the difference between a rambler and a ranch?

[SeattlitefromNC]

Originally Posted by Freebird2007

newer house....in the burbs...preferably Mill Creek, Lynnwood, Mukilteo area

3 bed/2 ba standalone




must be a newer place and definitely not a rambler.

There are so many new unsold houses in my area but they are all asking rent that is twice what a normal mortgage would be.

What is your price range?

I think that you should consider older houses as well. The truth is that, if you figure that newer homes are probably selling at about $250k (at least) in that area, it means that the mortgage is about $1500/mo. Since landlords want to rent with a comfortable profit margin, they often rent at a price that is $100 or more inflated. By those numbers, you would be hard-pressed to find a rental for less than $1500/mo, which -- FWIW -- puts you in the price range of house rentals in Seattle proper.

Older homes, however, have smaller mortgages attached. There is room to bargain downward if need be. With newer homes, the landlord remains firm on his price because if he goes lower, he loses money.

You can also find larger lots with older homes around here.

[impatient Pete]

My wife and I are looking for a similar home, but a rambler is OK with us, as long as it's nice (don't ask me to define that, you either know or you don't). We are in about the same price range. I am having a hell of a time coming from out of the state though. By the time I can get up there, places are rented already, and noone will
rent without meeting you, regardless of stellar credit and history. I guess I'll just have to buy a laptop and schedule a 4 day trip over the weekend to sit in a hotel and surf Craigslist!

Pete

[Freebird2007]

Originally Posted by SeattlitefromNC

What is your price range?

I think that you should consider older houses as well. The truth is that, if you figure that newer homes are probably selling at about $250k (at least) in that area, it means that the mortgage is about $1500/mo. Since landlords want to rent with a comfortable profit margin, they often rent at a price that is $100 or more inflated. By those numbers, you would be hard-pressed to find a rental for less than $1500/mo, which -- FWIW -- puts you in the price range of house rentals in Seattle proper.

Older homes, however, have smaller mortgages attached. There is room to bargain downward if need be. With newer homes, the landlord remains firm on his price because if he goes lower, he loses money.

You can also find larger lots with older homes around here.

the newer homes here have not broken the $350k level yet. and my price range is $1300. I definitely do not want to move closer to Seattle.



and rather than securing a profit margin, builders should be trying to minimize losses buy actually filling up the homes rather than letting it sit there with no income stream

[sykesfamily]

Hey I am glad someone started a thread like this. We are moving to snohomish county from clark county and will need a rental home as well. We are selling and going to buy at later time. We are looking for either a rambler or two story doesn't matter to us just as long as we have a roof over our heads and in a nice decent family friendly neighborhood. Oh and of course we have to be able to have our dog with us as well. We want a place anywhere between millcreek and marysville/lakestevevns. I hate craigslist so much scamming going on there and I trust nothing that has no pictures. We are looking for 3 bed 2 bath between 1200-1600 a month if that is doable in that area.

[SeattlitefromNC]

Originally Posted by Freebird2007

the newer homes here have not broken the $350k level yet. and my price range is $1300. I definitely do not want to move closer to Seattle.



and rather than securing a profit margin, builders should be trying to minimize losses buy actually filling up the homes rather than letting it sit there with no income stream

The thing is, it's often not builders that are renting houses. Builders build the houses, then sell them to investors. And from what I have seen of the market behind the scenes, the likelihood of an investor renting a house that they bought for $300k to a renter for $1300 is not great.

I understand what you are saying, so let me put it this way ... if an investor knows that he is going to lose money, he is more than likely going to request that the house be sold, or wait for the bank to foreclose (both of which require some time to execute). If this same investor decided to rent the same property out at a loss, the investor would not only be stuck with eating the loss (i.e., the difference between what the rental market can bear versus what the housing sales market can bear) on a regular basis, but he would also be stuck with the cost of keeping up the property on behalf on his tenant. From what I have seen, most investors prefer to take their chances with the housing market, because the rental market's rates simply can't come close to even covering their principal.

Which is not to say that there are not great houses out there, but I think that what happened in CA -- where tons of homes were left empty and the housing sales market evaporated almost overnight -- is highly unlikely to happen here (for a whole host of reasons), which makes the investors even more stubborn in their requests for more money from renters here.

I feel your pain, because if a person bought a house in Mill Creek last year for $275k and expects to rent it for $2000, it's really not a price that the rental market can bear (especially considering that prices in the city are not quite at that level yet). It is still early in the housing meltdown, so I suspect that investors will be dragging their heels for another year before you see real bargains come about.

[allforcats]

Originally Posted by seattlenextyear

What's the difference between a rambler and a ranch?

SNY, they're the same thing -- a one-story house. Some will have a basement, some not; none will have a second floor.