Rental Search Help (Seattle, Spokane, Woodinville: middle-class, real estate, rentals)

[weisla]

Hello - my husband and I are moving to Seattle in July. I'll be working at Seattle U and he'll be downtown. We would like to rent a house for under $2000/month (we have a dog and would like a yard), and avoid a crazy commute. We have a car and I'll have parking at work, my ideal commute would be less than 15-20 mins (I know - dream on!). My husband is more likely to take the bus as we have different work schedules. We're early 30's, enjoy city life, but aren't into the club/party scene. Ideally we'd like to be able to walk to restaurants/coffee shops, take a stroll at night and feel safe. We live in DC now and I can't say that I'd feel safe walking alone after dark!

So far I'm focusing on Capitol Hill, Montlake, Madrona, Leschi, Queen Anne, Magnolia, West Seattle. We've only been to Seattle once and it was a whirlwind trip touring neighborhoods - its all running together in my head now. I am sure there are areas I am overlooking. Any suggestions? Any info on North of Seattle vs. South of Seattle would be helpful also. What would the commute be like from Woodinville?

One last question - any suggestions on best ways to go about searching for a rental? I've been mostly using Craig's List and it seems like most listings are "available now". We're flying into town for a few days next week to look for a rental for July and I am concerned that we'll be wasting the trip if most rentals are available immediately.

Thanks!

[pwright1]

You are definately looking in the right areas. In addition to those areas I would also add Madison Valley and the Mount Baker areas of Seattle. Madison Valley is right off of Madison Street about 6 minutes east of dt Seattle. There are many great restaurants (Harvest Vine for one), coffee houses, pet shops, City Peoples Garden Center and many other businesses there. Its just steps from the Arboretum and Lake Washington. Two metro bus lines (#11 & #8) run regularly into dt Seattle from MV. The commute from Woodinville would be aweful. The Seattle neighborhoods you mentioned along with the two I mentioned are great areas. Have you looked in the Seattle Times and the PI? Also check out some of the real estate firms like Windermere and John L. Scott. When I first moved here from D.C. my first rental was through Windermere. Believe it or not you can also find rentals in the Stranger and Seattle Weekly papers which are free at news stands across the city. Good Luck.

[scirocco22]

I was going to suggest what pwright has already said. I know for a fact that Windermere especially has agents who specialize in rentals. They'll probably be able to line up something for you in July because they network together to know what listings are about to come to market, etc.

Good luck.

[weisla]

Thanks for your suggestions! I didn't know that Windermere had agents that specialize in rentals. I'll check into that as well as Madison Valley and Mount Baker.

I was figuring that the commute from Woodinville would be bad. We drove through there on our last trip and really liked it, but we really want to avoid a nasty commute.

In terms of commute, how is it to get from West Seattle to downtown? Is it really only 10 mins or is that an exageration?

[AngryTypingGuy]

I almost applied to transfer to SU until I found about their tuition. This year it was around 24,000 and next year it'll be 26,000.

No thanks.

[scirocco22]

Originally Posted by weisla

Thanks for your suggestions! I didn't know that Windermere had agents that specialize in rentals. I'll check into that as well as Madison Valley and Mount Baker.

I was figuring that the commute from Woodinville would be bad. We drove through there on our last trip and really liked it, but we really want to avoid a nasty commute.

In terms of commute, how is it to get from West Seattle to downtown? Is it really only 10 mins or is that an exageration?

Good grief, who told you that?! Perhaps 10 minutes from Delridge Wy. and Spokane St. to the south CBD area at or after mid-night but no way any other time of day. Especially during the commute times it will be at least 30 minutes from the "junction" --California and Alaska Streets (the business center of West Seattle).

And yes, don't even consider Woodinville, IMO. You'll spend way too much time commuting. If you like the eclectic lifestyle of living in the city as opposed to "middle-class suburbia," stay in the neighborhoods you've already mentioned and those pwright recommends. Those Seattle neighborhoods are older established sections of town. If you want the newer housing and/or the big planned communities, you'll be looking at suburban living and long commutes.

Keep in touch and let us know how things are going.

[weisla]

Thanks for the warning on West Seattle, I've seen a lot of nice looking places advertised over there, but I'd prefer the easier commute. We're flying out this weekend to look at places, so I will keep you posted! Wish me luck!

[weisla]

Thanks for the advice! My husband and I found a nice house to rent in Magnolia that is well within our price range (and several hundred a month less than the rent on our 1br apt. in Washington, DC!) I am really looking forward to living in Seattle.

[scirocco22]

Magnolia is an excellent area! Congratulations!

There's good bus service coming off of Magnolia. You're relatively close to downtown. DH can take one bus and you'll have to make a transfer downtown to Seattle U but still very reasonable commute times.