Seeking beautiful, wooded, newly developed land for new construction (Seattle: transplants, sales)
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Seeking beautiful, wooded, newly developed land for new construction
Hello to all~
I will try to keep this succinct.
Firstly, we are wanting to relocate from Southern Ca. to Washington (simply tired of the same ol' same ol' "nice" weather, and for me, originally being from NW Indiana, frankly, I find it mundane after 12 years. Sure, it's nice, but I really miss "weather". And yes, we know what we'll be getting ourselves into with the drastic change...we think). Nonetheless, we believe we are ready for this wonderful change!!!
We are interested in the vacinity of Seattle (not within the city), Puget Sound (and all surrounding areas), and even as north as Bellingham if need be. I am looking for various recommendations on where one would start looking for beautifully wooded lots to build a fairly large house on (approx. 1 - 1.5 acre lots so that the houses are not on top of each other and are able to have a nice buffer of trees between lots). We do not wish to be isolated, we would love to be surrounded by other homes of the same caliber to avoid standing out (sounds "snooty" but it is not meant to be).
We would love to be close enough to great restaurants, quaint shops, and perhaps a movie house/theater, preferably nothing more than a 10 - 15 min. drive (of course, if one is on any of the various islands, this most likely means taking a ferry to get to any of these places (?) And then again, I could be wrong). I may be asking a lot, but perhaps this is possible (?) So long as we're close enough (driving distance) to the aforementioned to where we wouldn't feel removed from civilization.
No need for schools as we haven't any children, just two kitties. Safety is also of the utmost importance. I want to feel that we are safe in the community and nearby communities (as does anyone).
Our intentions, of course, are to eventually make a trip to the area and hook up with a realtor who could show us around but again, it would be great if we could, perhaps, get a head start and get some recommendation as to which areas might best fit our needs. I would venture to guess that there are plenty of these beautiful areas, I simply want to try to narrow it down (if at all possible).
I would appreciate any advice/recommendations and thank you in advance for your time. Oh, and we would prefer to be in an area that has the least amount of rain. JUST kidding.
There are plenty of places like you described. Most are safe though those are the kind of places where an occasional meth lab shows up. Look at Woodinville, Monroe, Duvall and Snohomish for the more affordable land. You can still find secluded lots
that size in Sammamish and Issaquah, but at higher prices. Whidbey Island has less rain as does Sequim, and both would be suitable though not much to do on Whidbey without driving a ways. Sequim has most amenities and a theater at the border of Port Angeles, about 15-20 minutes away. Some parts, like most of Blue Mountain Rd., require 5 acres to build a home.
Thanks for responding Hemlock140. Good to know that there are plenty of these places. I know it will behoove us to come out and investigate all the best possibilities with a realtor, but at least this will give us some really great suggestions to consider, giving us the head start that I was hoping for. ...for sure don't need 5 acres though, but good to know. Thanks so much for the great info. It is much appreciated!
I agree with Hemlock that there are lots of choices. The Langley area on Whidbey Island is old(in a good way), charming, with awesome views, and has a movie theatre, good restaurants( awesome pizza),shops, etc. It gets a little too full of tourists in the summer, but is one of my favorite towns in the state.
Port Townsend, not too far from either Sequim and Port Angeles, is artsy and pretty, and like Sequim, is less rainy than Seattle...And, closer to Seattle, I'll second Hemlock's recommendation of Woodinville. Lots of nice houses there already on big lots, and near wineries. What could be so bad?
Ira500, your description of the Langely area on Whidbey Island sounds so wonderful and right up our alley! And you say "awesome pizza?" Well, that in itself is worth moving there for! We're HUGE fans of great pizza. Not to elaborate so much on "the pizza", but ironically so, that is one of the main reasons it will be so hard for us to leave San Pedro, Ca. We're in walking distance from our favorite, favorite pizza place where all the guys know us (and love us. And we love them!) and well, they will be greatly missed. So yes, if we can find wonderful replacements (in a sense) and have a town overflowing with quaintness, it just might take the sting out of the move...then the only thing we would need is a Trader Joes in decent driving distance (I'm sure asking for a Whole Foods, or the like as well, is asking too much) (?). And if so, that's fine. I'm more concerned about the Trader Joes.
We will for sure look more into Langely. For you to say it is one of your favorite towns in the state, says a lot. And will for sure look more into Port Townsend (have to admit, the rains less factor is appealing).
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your time and input. This will definitely give us something to go on once we start checking things out when we make our trip up there. Again, thank you.
Ira500, your description of the Langely area on Whidbey Island sounds so wonderful and right up our alley! And you say "awesome pizza?" Well, that in itself is worth moving there for! We're HUGE fans of great pizza. Not to elaborate so much on "the pizza", but ironically so, that is one of the main reasons it will be so hard for us to leave San Pedro, Ca. We're in walking distance from our favorite, favorite pizza place where all the guys know us (and love us. And we love them!) and well, they will be greatly missed. So yes, if we can find wonderful replacements (in a sense) and have a town overflowing with quaintness, it just might take the sting out of the move...then the only thing we would need is a Trader Joes in decent driving distance (I'm sure asking for a Whole Foods, or the like as well, is asking too much) (?). And if so, that's fine. I'm more concerned about the Trader Joes.
We will for sure look more into Langely. For you to say it is one of your favorite towns in the state, says a lot. And will for sure look more into Port Townsend (have to admit, the rains less factor is appealing).
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your time and input. This will definitely give us something to go on once we start checking things out when we make our trip up there. Again, thank you.
I understand. Some people make school districts their top priority, others the proximity to a good pizza place. Village Pizza in Langley is very good.... A Trader Joes wouldn't be too terribly far from Langley. There's one in South Everett, which is maybe a 10 minute drive from the Mukilteo Ferry terminal, where you catch the boat to Whidbey Island. A Whole Foods is a little further south in Lynnwood.
...start looking for beautifully wooded lots to build a fairly large house on (approx. 1 - 1.5 acre lots so that the houses are not on top of each other and are able to have a nice buffer of trees between lots). We do not wish to be isolated, we would love to be surrounded by other homes of the same caliber to avoid standing out (sounds "snooty" but it is not meant to be).
...
Step 1 Identify potential areas
step 2 VERY VERY critical ESPECIALLY for building a new home Spend CONSIDERABLE time and energy at the County assessor & the planning office.
Just some trivial war stories from WA
IMPACT fees. One town with a desireable school district has ~ $20,000 in fees to convert vacant land to a 'buildable lot' (the reasoning is that you are adding a burden to local services) This varies from ZERO (many places) to BIG BUCKS (many places).
Property taxes; The growing need to support government services gave me an increase from $800 / yr to $12,000 / yr (on the SAME IDENTICAL PROPERTY). I have had to abandon / sell 3 farms due to taxation. it takes a LONG time to build a farm... soils, orchards, barns, dams, fences... My assessor says "tough luck, FIND a Californian to sell it too, they can pay the taxes" My argument... I'm too OLD to build another farm from scratch, I DON"T WANT to sell it, I just want to LIVE HERE (for something reasonable in taxes... like maybe $2000/yr tops)
Water Rights... Christine, our 'non-elected' WA Gov previously ran the DEPT of Ecology. It grew by several hundred % and is virtually impossible to traverse. Some areas WILL not have water. (or sewer / septic)
ZONING. Some places will require MINIMUM acreage for new housing (some are 40 - 160 acre minimum... not so frequent on we_tside). permits... my home cost me $0.26 for a level of approval that now costs $26,000 (that is BEFORE permit costs)
Wetlands / setbacks... NOT uncommon an We_tside to end up with a non-buildable 5 acres (too much slope / wet / poor drainage / too close to bodies of water (or 'perceived' bodies of water...) read the wetlands map CAREFULLY
Heritage / Indian / native species / Ceremonial sites. It can be a real bummer to buy a place and get the permits and THEN have building stopped by artifacts / native plants. I have to have a tribe from 200+ miles away come and WALK my properties BEFORE I go through the purchase process.
+ many more 'gotchas'. some of the worst for my hundreds of CA transplants is the number who built houses WITHOUT having lien releases from EVERY contractor that sets foot on the joint. I had 3 SENIOR managers (should have known better) pay for their houses / barns TWICE.
All said, there are some spectacular building sites available in WA. I had my kids design & build rural homes on acreage when they were in Jr High (for Home school projects). They were superb and VERY ez to sell (to fund college... tho the kids found loans to be MUCH cheaper funding source then RE equity). All homes had natural wood trim, plenty of stone work / fireplaces. ALL HAD BASEMENTS (something contractors REFUSE to do)... BTW: NONE of ours have EVER leaked / had moisture problem. All had well / septic. AND all were built COMPLETE for under $50/SF (including permitting / grading / landscaping / DRIVEWAYS (can be VERY expensive). (no marble or granite I dislike those). I highly encourage you to NOT build back in the trees. get OUT IN THE SUN , large facing south windows and a southerly slope is imperative for a high quality WA building site. ALso consider using passive solar aspects, as you will be up a creek if you rely on a heat pump / electric heat (it is CHIILY here... to the bone). I would use annualized solar, (popular in Japan) and east side of WA, but I have not seen it used on We_tside. This is NOT and after thought, as you need to do this BEFORE siting the house and digging the hole.
Can't say about Pizza, don't much of that myself, tho the founders of Papa John's (murphy's) are here and have a great 'u-bake' store that outfits me with PLENTY of $7 (1/2 price) pizzas at the end of their shift.
Have a good time... be careful... be informed .... be wise
StealthRabbit wrote "PDX (...GREAT airport)" I have not flown out of SEA and PDX, but I visited SEA while picking up my daughter last month. And I will be scheduled to fly out of PDX on August 3rd. What's up on "GREAT airport"?
StealthRabbit wrote "PDX (...GREAT airport)" I have not flown out of SEA and PDX, but I visited SEA while picking up my daughter last month. And I will be scheduled to fly out of PDX on August 3rd. What's up on "GREAT airport"?
PDX gets voted as the "best" airport in the country all the time. This one dates from 2010:
But it's true, I have spent way more time then I care to admit in airports around the country, and PDX is by far one of the best.
Great customer service in my opinion, even among the TSA agents, and a surprising number of good places to eat while you're waiting for your plane, many of which are Portland institutions in their own right. Gustav's, Rose's, Rouge Brewery, etc.
Last edited by hamellr; 07-20-2012 at 09:18 AM..
Reason: idiot behind keyboard can't spell
That's interesting about Portland airport. I have flown all over the country but have never been to the Portland airport because I always drive. I know the flight is really short but it's such an easy three hour drive to Portland that when you add the time to park, security, etc. I'd just rather drive. Friends tell me the train is another great and easy way to go.
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Nonetheless, we believe we are ready for this wonderful change!!! 
So yes, if we can find wonderful replacements (in a sense) and have a town overflowing with quaintness, it just might take the sting out of the move...then the only thing we would need is a Trader Joes in decent driving distance (I'm sure asking for a Whole Foods, or the like as well, is asking too much) (?). And if so, that's fine. I'm more concerned about the Trader Joes. 
I dislike those). I highly encourage you to NOT build back in the trees. get OUT IN THE SUN , large facing south windows and a southerly slope is imperative for a high quality WA building site. ALso consider using passive solar aspects, as you will be up a creek if you rely on a heat pump / electric heat (it is CHIILY here... to the bone). I would use annualized solar, (popular in Japan) and east side of WA, but I have not seen it used on We_tside. This is NOT and after thought, as you need to do this BEFORE siting the house and digging the hole.
