The "flee" is official! (Riverside: sale, lease, houses)

[mateo45]

Originally Posted by MamaRed

West. The job is in Bothell, so 30 minutes or so north of Seattle. You have to remember desert rats freeze under 60 degrees.

If you can find a suitable place to live nearby, Bothell is actually a great location... close to major freeways, along with easy access to Seattle, Woodinville, the Eastside (Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, etc.) and points further north, like Snohomish and Edmonds. The traffic is usually manageable, and it also has a small quasi-''downtown'' with nice coffee shops, drug stores, banks, restaurants, a DMV, City Hall and the Post Office all within walking distance... and with lots of convenient parking without braving a ''mall'' (of which there are also plenty on the Eastside).

[MamaRed]

Originally Posted by mateo45

If you can find a suitable place to live nearby, Bothell is actually a great location... close to major freeways, along with easy access to Seattle, Woodinville, the Eastside (Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, etc.) and points further north, like Snohomish and Edmonds. The traffic is usually manageable, and it also has a small quasi-''downtown'' with nice coffee shops, drug stores, banks, restaurants, a DMV, City Hall and the Post Office all within walking distance... and with lots of convenient parking without braving a ''mall'' (of which there are also plenty on the Eastside).

I've requested information for a couple of places I found online. Is it common for real estate people to not call back? We're seeing plenty that we are interested in, but haven't been able to talk to anybody.

[Senno]

Apparently the real estate people you are trying to talk to think they have the bestest market ever and to much business or something.

[mateo45]

Originally Posted by MamaRed

I've requested information for a couple of places I found online. Is it common for real estate people to not call back? We're seeing plenty that we are interested in, but haven't been able to talk to anybody.

It's a reflection of the hot market now with short supply, so the unfortunate reality these days is that agents can afford to be ''selective'' about their replies, meaning that out of state inquiries are probably ''lower priority'' now, than ''locals''. But living in CA, no doubt you also know about 'competition' and the value of 'persistence'.

[MamaRed]

Originally Posted by mateo45

It's a reflection of the hot market now with short supply, so the unfortunate reality these days is that agents can afford to be ''selective'' about their replies, meaning that out of state inquiries are probably ''lower priority'' now, than ''locals''. But living in CA, no doubt you also know about 'competition' and the value of 'persistence'.

Yup. That's why we're going up next week. Hopefully, if we're right there, agents will talk to us. I was hoping to at least have contact with an agent before we got there.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by mateo45

It's a reflection of the hot market now with short supply, so the unfortunate reality these days is that agents can afford to be ''selective'' about their replies, meaning that out of state inquiries are probably ''lower priority'' now, than ''locals''. But living in CA, no doubt you also know about 'competition' and the value of 'persistence'.

Strange that they would consider CA transplants "low priority". Seems such prospective buyers were historically favored in other states, since they could be counted on to bring a good deal of dough to spend on a property.

[Eric_J]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

Strange that they would consider CA transplants "low priority". Seems such prospective buyers were historically favored in other states, since they could be counted on to bring a good deal of dough to spend on a property.

As far as I could tell, they have no shortage of people already there that are poised to buy. It is one of few areas the recession basically passed right over.

[MamaRed]

Since we know very little about the area, we're going to rent for the first 6 months-1 year. There are plenty of agents who handle rentals, they just don't call back.

[mateo45]

Might not be your favorite cuppa, but in my experience as a former landlord there myself, both owners and prop. managers all use CraigsList now.

[MamaRed]

Originally Posted by mateo45

Might not be your favorite cuppa, but in my experience as a former landlord there myself, both owners and prop. managers all use CraigsList now.

I've looked on Craigslist, and have seen quite a few possibilities. Down here, there have been a number of stories about people scamming renters through Craigslist. It's made me a little leery of going that route. As a former landlord, can you tell me if there's some go-to way to verify the person offering the house is legally able to do so? Or, is this a SoCal scam that I wouldn't really have to worry about elsewhere?