Oak Harbor - Coupeville - Whidbey Island (Seattle, Everett: real estate, house)

[AquaDios]

I'm serioiusly considering moving to Oak Harbor - Coupeville - Whidbey Island area. Does anyone know good real estate people, best areas for sunrise sunset views, numbers of days per year: cloudy-overcast, rainy; average daily temperature spring, summer, winter, fall?
Looking for 3-6 acres with view.
Thanks for your time and effort to respond.

[the dufferz]

Aquadios

You obviously are a person a great financial means, so I would recommend that you hire a realtor to assist you in this endeavor. Land with no home, with view and acreage will run between 500K to over 1mil.

Here is where you get the weather data:

http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/summary/climsmwa.html

it is area 14 on the map, or the cities are listed on the left.

If you have not done so, I would recommend downloading google earth and do some fly overs of the area. Whidbey Island is the largest island in the lower 48.

You can expect way over 200 days per year with cloud cover, for whidbey Island add fog and more coastal effect weather than Seattle, so 200 days of obscure views would probably be optimistic. The nice reward is, once the clouds clear, the view is remarkable.

If you want good weather with less cloud cover, head for the San Juan Islands. I have heard that some of those islands get more that 300 days of sun. Then again, I heard that they do smoke funny looking pipes up there also...

If you want views, some land, but were unaware that you needed to be bloody rich to get what you want on Whidbey, Camano Island is an alternative. Be aware, however, my father in law lives their, so watch you wallet.

Good hunting.

The dufferz

[cutedeedle]

Well I can give you some ideas. There are places on Whidbey where you can afford a decent house and nice view, but you had better hurry! Prices are zooming up. Warning about Oak Harbor and Coupeville -- you'll be subjected to the Navy's jet noise constantly. It's overwhelming. That's why we live on the south island, but prices here are higher. You'll also pay much more for west-facing property than east-facing property. West-facing gives you the shipping lanes, sunsets, and the Olympics. East-facing gives you sunrises, the Cascades, the water; and if you're in Clinton, as we are, you see Everett, the Sound, and the two Navy ships that are stationed at Everett. We have better weather here on south island than in Oak Harbor. Your best bet for fabulous western views with acreage would be Greenbank.

Unless you want constant aggravation, do not even think about the San Juan Islands. Too remote, ferry schedules are a nightmare, the islands are much colder and rainier. We have trouble with some stores not delivering merchandise to Whidbey Island -- the San Juans are much worse.

Camano Island water view property is more expensive than Whidbey. We just checked, thinking we would leave Whidbey after only two years here. NOT. They must all be rich over there. Any place you land, expect to pay much more for those precious water views. And then there is the problem of finding a good contractor. They are in extremely short supply, with the good ones being booked 2 to 3 years in advance. Any contractor who is available will be either learning at your expense, or is mediocre to downright incompetent. Trust me, we've experienced it all.

As for realtors, I've found that Windermere tends to handle the better/nicer properties. They are all over the island.

Don't say you haven't been warned about the bad stuff!

[ouch]

Pete Thompson is a reputable builder that I'd recommend. As for property try logging on to an mls website and you can do your own searches for property.

When we were shopping I preferred viewing MLS through the John L. Scott website...

It's not that noisy up hear. cutedeedle doesn't know what they're talking about because they live on the southside of the island. that would be like me saying that the south end of whidbey always smells like horse manure because of all the farms...

[Kmag2OOO]

Yeah, I tend to disagree with that post also.

Originally Posted by cutedeedle

Warning about Oak Harbor and Coupeville -- you'll be subjected to the Navy's jet noise constantly. It's overwhelming.

We have better weather here on south island than in Oak Harbor.

Your best bet for fabulous western views with acreage would be Greenbank.

Unless you want constant aggravation, do not even think about the San Juan Islands.

Camano Island water view property is more expensive than Whidbey.

Don't say you haven't been warned about the bad stuff!

No. It's only under the flight paths, which are more or less OLF and Ault Field . If you are right under it you may or may not get used to it. It's nowhere near the disruption of a commercial airport. The flight times are mostly published.

No. South Whidbey definitely has a bit more rain and Westside OH quite a bit more wind, but otherwise, about the same. I would argue Coupeville is more varied than either north or south. You do want to realise it's basically the backstop for the winds coming in off the straits. Like most of Washington, wait, it'll change.

I don't think so. Views with acreage, I wouldn't bank on Greenbank as your first bet.

I really wouldn't know. I've only been to the SJs to visit and can't think of any aggravation in particular.

Wouldn't know about Camano either. While this is a part of Island County, the only reasonable access to it is via Snohomish County, see map, and if more of a burb feel, may be correct. Suburbia developement always likes to have it's overinflated pricing for some reason.

[mouwster]

If you're still looking for a realtor, the best one we've found is Clay Miller at Windermere Realty in Coupeville (360-678-5858). He has lived on the island for many years and knows the area very well. He is the man we are going through right now to sell our land. Contact him if you're interested.

[xxerdocxx]

We second the above recommendation....Clay Miller has been a fantastic agent so far.... He's knowledgeable, intelligent and has a lot of intregrity which is hard to find these days!
He works for Windermere which is all over Whidbey Island......
Best of luck!!!!

[Whidbey5]

Jet noise is not constant. It is loud, especially if you are near the bump field, but it's not like they fly every night!

Our beach house is right in the flight path, so we take the brunt of the noise. Loud, yes; constant, no.