Help from snohomish county folks! (Everett: sales, foreclosure, renters)

[sykesfamily]

Hi there. I have been here for about 4.5 month in snohomish county. We are renters and looking to purchase a home in the area by late summer since our lease ends in october. We live in the silverfirs area of Everett off of 148th between seattle hill rd and puget park drive.I am just curious to if anyone knows who the builder is in this area. The reason I ask is the house we are renting was built in 2001 and is literally falling apart and the insulation feels as if the home is not even insulated. its a cute home but has tons of flaws. So I would love to find out if anyone knows who the builders are in this area so we can make sure that we don't purchase a home from this builder. We are so ready to get out of this rental, not only because we were home owners before, but this house is just not cutting it for us.

Thanks so much and if you have info feel free to send me a private message to talk privately!

[Jake840]

You should check out the tax records for the property to find out the previous owners: http://web5.co.snohomish.wa.us/propsys/asr-tr-propinq/. If the builder was under some LLC then go to the Sec of State website: Washington Secretary of State - Corporations and see who the corporate officers are and go from there. Should be a pretty easy task once you find the tax records.

[sykesfamily]

Ok thank you so much. I know I did ask the landlord, but she knows nothing about the house all she knows is that it was a foreclosure and the owners live in california. I will check it out.

thanks so much

[lifes2short]

We used to live in The Falls and so I know exactly the area you are talking about. Those homes went up very fast, so it doesn't surprise me. I remember when those were built, but I do not remember who the builder was. Check with your neighbors as most likely they have the same issues. That said, The Falls and Gold Creek (and some of the new development adjacent to those, to the east by the new park) are very nice areas.

[klandksmum]

WE live about 5 minutes away from Silver Firs and I know people who have similar compaints to yours. WE are in a smaller subdivsion (high Valley Ranch) which had a fantastic builder...very high end quality with solid wood doors, wood wrapped big windows, granite counter tops, etc. However, there are houses from a different builder in the cul de sac around the corner from us that are similar to your description and are literally falling apart - their builder is now bankrupt! If you want more information let me know...good luck!

[julielyda]

The best way to find out the builder name is to talk to your neighbors. Many of the small builders who built crappy homes on crappy lots have gone bankrupt and are no longer in the business. Pretty much anything built since 2000 on a small 3,000 - 5,000 square foot lot is of poor quality. The first clue will be vinyl siding, pergo style floors and sub standard carpeting. It all goes down from there.

mod cut: link removed

There are other fine builders in the Snohomish County area that build quality products. If you haven't owned a home in the last 3 years you should qualify for the $8,000 tax credit which is available until December 1st.

When buying a home ALWAYS get a professional home inspection!

[skygravel]

Go the the Snohomish County assessor's website at the link provided above and put your address into the boxes. At the bottom of the page for your property there will be a record of sales going back to 1999. The builder should be in that record.