pros and cons of Bellingham (Seattle, Spokane: fit in, living, prices)

[Kaligirl]

Also consider building a big shop with a nice apartment to fool the tax assessor


Hi Can you explain this please?
Thanks, Kali

[racechick73]

All of Whatcom County is overpriced. Even up in Glacier and Kendall! That's why we're getting the heck out of here- it's over-priced, over-crowded, and over-liberal. (Olympia is similiar- we lived there for 7 years also.) But hey, if you like that sort of thing, welcome to Bellingham!

[Linson]

well, no. i dont like the over-priced aspect. as for the hippies - i can take em or leave em. but pretty much all of my other relocation options involve a very hot and dry climate, no natural waterways for recreation, and no trees.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Kaligirl

Also consider building a big shop with a nice apartment to fool the tax assessor


Hi Can you explain this please?
Thanks, Kali

build a shop and leave some cutout areas to add plumbing in the floor or build it with a bathroom. Get it inspected; later add an apartment on the inside, don't give any clues to the assessor that you have an apartment in there.

I have a neighbor who has a beautiful apartment in his shop. He has 14' ceilings, so 2 story apartment inside on one end, with plenty of room for a full sized basketball court in the remainder of shop. (also room for his semi truck + lots of motorcycles and trucks). He has wood beam ceilings, a rock fireplace, marble kitchen with stainless appliances, sauna. Not the typical home for a wife... but really nice!

Another neighbor has a 'chalet' style apartment in his shop. It is upstairs with a walkout patio to the hill on the backside (opposite the road, and masked by brush)

We built a chalet style above a shop, and had a loft for additional space. From the inside you never know you're in a shop, lots of windows, and even some added up high for diffused light. We had a gas stove, oak cabinets, slate floors... The assessor caught onto that one, as we didn't have a house on that lot (should have hauled in a trashed mobile home for a prop) We still ended up with pretty low taxes there, but got such a good appraisal we ended up selling it. (not too smart, but the trashed commercial building we traded for turned out ok, eventually...)

If you expect to get financing, then you need to use 'conventional' siding (which does not include steel panels ) but it might be something you can 'self fund' as pole barns are really cheap, and can be built them in a week. I have helped several friends add apartments to pole barns to live in while they built houses, you can always use it as an office later. Folks next door lived in their shop for 8 years while they finished their house. I plan to use 'tilt-up' concrete for my next one. You pour the floor, then the walls laying down on the floor, rent a crane and presto - 'house in a day'. An ole timer built an octagon home ~ 2 miles from me that way, and I built a hexagon well house. I got teased due to the inspector thinking it was a 'scud missle' target site. It's pretty solid just tilt-up, weld the rebar, and grout the corners. It's not going anywhere... We added all the window and door openings and conduit in the ole timer's walls before pouring, it went up pretty fast. I usually channel the footing so the walls have a groove to set in, lay in a strip of mastic (sealant) before placing the wall on top. BTW - there are some publications on building a 'low-tax-house'

Basically, no build-ins (till later) (even DW, disposal...ice maker)
only finish the basic requirements (we've been known to wash dishes in the bathtub for a few months...)
keep main floor small, basements and lofts are taxed cheaper
keep your island on casters (they can't tax it if it moves...)
use what appears to be lower quality finish materials
check your local appraisal schedule, in our area, if you sheetrock AFTER July, you can buy yourself a year extra of cheap taxes.

(we buy a lot of stuff from 'Habitat for Humanity' stores, or deconstruction places, and get freight damaged appliances and cabinets) one house we got all the light fixtures from a store that was changing their display. They were really cheap, and at the deconstruction place they were all $5 each ! including a few chandeliers ! Even our slightly used 'prehung' doors were $5 each. Windows were had from a dealer as 'misorders' - they were all tagged as energy efficient, low-e, argon... and none for over $50 each.

[racechick73]

Originally Posted by Linson

well, no. i dont like the over-priced aspect. as for the hippies - i can take em or leave em. but pretty much all of my other relocation options involve a very hot and dry climate, no natural waterways for recreation, and no trees.

Check into Sequim (near Port Angeles). It's still lush and green over there, but apparently they're in some sort of pocket that gives them warmer weather and a little less rain. As far as housing costs there, I've heard it's going up, too, but so is the rest of Western Washington. And if you're into water- they've got it all there- the ocean, rivers, and lakes all within a 45 minute drive. If nothing else, it IS a great place to visit!

[racechick73]

FYI- Whatcom County is one of the most difficult places to build a home. Apparently the guys at the county are slower than molasses to get anything done for you (permits are the worst), and easily ticked-off, which results in them moving even slower. Also, I've heard we have very strict regulations here (everything qualifies as wetlands here- you can thank your local tree-huggers for that!) So if you are considering a move here, I would rent something for a while first and do some research before building anything. My brother in law is a civil engineer, and even with his knowledge and connections, it's still going to take 1 1/2 to 2 years for him to get their house done, thanks to the county!

[KidBlue]

Thanks Racechick

For the information on Whatcom County and building. Think we'll keep looking in Mason County and Grays Harbor County. We were considering Whatcom County for retirement, but I don't want to go through the awful building process again. I thought El Dorado County in CA was bad with 8 months to approve plans and $60,000 approval fee for a 2,000 square foot house. Sounds like it's long and expensive up there too.

[racechick73]

Hey KidBlue!
I also lived in Grays Harbor County for almost years, in '95-'97, so I can help you there, too. Aberdeen / Hoquiam are kind of scary (bad schools and drug problems, also high suicide rate), but Montesano and Elma are still nice little towns. We lived in Montesano and other than the constant rain, we liked it there! When we lived there, you could feel the temperature rising as you drove from Aberdeen to Olympia- so keep that in mind, too. Check out Lake Sylvia in Monte- a nice park. Also, the Rusty Tractor in Elma still puts out a great burger! We ended up moving to Lacey for 7 years when we left Monte- housing is higher and life is a lot busier, but you have much better options there. Good luck to you!

[Kaligirl]

Hi janb
Thanks so much for explaining what this meant. I had no idea. You are all very clever! Definitely something to consider, if and when this should ever come up.
Thanks again,
Kali

Originally Posted by janb

build a shop and leave some cutout areas to add plumbing in the floor or build it with a bathroom. Get it inspected; later add an apartment on the inside, don't give any clues to the assessor that you have an apartment in there.

I have a neighbor who has a beautiful apartment in his shop. He has 14' ceilings, so 2 story apartment inside on one end, with plenty of room for a full sized basketball court in the remainder of shop. (also room for his semi truck + lots of motorcycles and trucks). He has wood beam ceilings, a rock fireplace, marble kitchen with stainless appliances, sauna. Not the typical home for a wife... but really nice!

Another neighbor has a 'chalet' style apartment in his shop. It is upstairs with a walkout patio to the hill on the backside (opposite the road, and masked by brush)

We built a chalet style above a shop, and had a loft for additional space. From the inside you never know you're in a shop, lots of windows, and even some added up high for diffused light. We had a gas stove, oak cabinets, slate floors... The assessor caught onto that one, as we didn't have a house on that lot (should have hauled in a trashed mobile home for a prop) We still ended up with pretty low taxes there, but got such a good appraisal we ended up selling it. (not too smart, but the trashed commercial building we traded for turned out ok, eventually...)

If you expect to get financing, then you need to use 'conventional' siding (which does not include steel panels ) but it might be something you can 'self fund' as pole barns are really cheap, and can be built them in a week. I have helped several friends add apartments to pole barns to live in while they built houses, you can always use it as an office later. Folks next door lived in their shop for 8 years while they finished their house. I plan to use 'tilt-up' concrete for my next one. You pour the floor, then the walls laying down on the floor, rent a crane and presto - 'house in a day'. An ole timer built an octagon home ~ 2 miles from me that way, and I built a hexagon well house. I got teased due to the inspector thinking it was a 'scud missle' target site. It's pretty solid just tilt-up, weld the rebar, and grout the corners. It's not going anywhere... We added all the window and door openings and conduit in the ole timer's walls before pouring, it went up pretty fast. I usually channel the footing so the walls have a groove to set in, lay in a strip of mastic (sealant) before placing the wall on top. BTW - there are some publications on building a 'low-tax-house'

Basically, no build-ins (till later) (even DW, disposal...ice maker)
only finish the basic requirements (we've been known to wash dishes in the bathtub for a few months...)
keep main floor small, basements and lofts are taxed cheaper
keep your island on casters (they can't tax it if it moves...)
use what appears to be lower quality finish materials
check your local appraisal schedule, in our area, if you sheetrock AFTER July, you can buy yourself a year extra of cheap taxes.

(we buy a lot of stuff from 'Habitat for Humanity' stores, or deconstruction places, and get freight damaged appliances and cabinets) one house we got all the light fixtures from a store that was changing their display. They were really cheap, and at the deconstruction place they were all $5 each ! including a few chandeliers ! Even our slightly used 'prehung' doors were $5 each. Windows were had from a dealer as 'misorders' - they were all tagged as energy efficient, low-e, argon... and none for over $50 each.

[41Willys]

What would you guys do for work in Bellingham? Are there jobs there? Ive had a few Muscle cars also. 65 Lemans, 1970 Dodge Swinger / factory 340 4spd/ 81 Camaro and my current daily driver 1993 5.0 Mustang that runs in the mid 13's in the 1/4 mile.


I think we should all be nieghbors!!