3 young friends moving together to Seattle area from Florida (transplants, 2015)

[LotusBug]

Hello PNW Friends,

Two of my friends and I (aged early 20's) are planning to move to Seattle this 2015 summer. I came here to ask all of you, in your experience if we would be able to rent a 3 bedrooms house not to far from Seattle under 2100 a month without over working like dogs. We plan on renting a house by paying in advance. We are working on our credit as we just got credit cards not long ago.

We like the idea of being close to Seattle but still be able to have a house with a yard. We currently live in South Florida. I currently make 2400 a month working for a record label. I was planning on searching for a job in the similar field in Seattle. My friends currently work jobs making less than I but not dramatically less.

We are looking at the North Seattle area but we aren't entirely sure since we've never visited before.

Any tips and insights on what you think will be helpful to us. please don't hesitate to go into different topics as this could enlighten us.



-Fred


Love more fear less. Float more steer less.

[SethyDuck]

If you are debt free, and have a substantial amount of money saved up...I say go for it. Sounds like you have nothing to lose. Just make sure that your friends are on the same page as you are (easier said than done).

Good luck!

[leezaF]

Something to consider is that housing is very competitive here.It is not as expensive as other parts of the west coast, but it is still competitive.This city is growing rapidly and new developments really cater to wealthiertransplants. I rent a house on the north side of Seattle and it was very competitiveto get it. I went to showings listed that day, waited in lines, filled out manyapplications and down payments etc. and was turned over for many places eventhough I make much more than the qualifying amount have good credit bla bla bla(though we were looking for a single family home for a couple). So to answeryour question is it possible, yes. It is possible to get a house in the city orclose to the city but it is by no means a guarantee. This is a frustratingthing about moving here. When we came to the city our friends lucked out on agreat 2 bedroom apartment in Ballard for $1300 a month, and we ended up takinga studio for $1400. When we came to thecity we stayed in an apartment on a short term lease downtown for 6 weeks whilewe searched madly for housing. Staying in a temporary space may be the way togo, maybe that is a short term lease, or an air b n b. This will allow you toshow up in person and be taken more seriously, as well as find local jobs andincome to qualify. Best of Luck.

[mkarch]

It's no worse now than it was 15 years ago. I remember running around to showings ready to write a check for whatever deposit was required. In one case we put a $3000 deposit down then 2 days before move in the ll showed up and handed the check to back to us because he found women to rent to. My roommates and I were all stuck couch surfing for a month until we could find another place to move to. We found a place but it was a dump... But a 3 bedroom house in Wallingford for $1600/mo back then was too good a deal to pass up even if it was decrepit and falling apart. On move in we had to saw out and replace the bathroom subfloor because it was so soaked with urine nothing would get rid of the odor. LL was fine with this since the house was in barely habitable condition. We had to bring in most of our own appliances (washer, dryer, garbage disposal, dishwasher, stove) as well since nothing in the house worked. But hey, $1600/mo was a good deal.

[CrazyDonkey]

Why are you choosing to move to Seattle? Why do you want to leave Florida?

[UKWildcat1981]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

Why are you choosing to move to Seattle? Why do you want to leave Florida?

Probably because its cheaper to live in FL than Seattle by miles.

[BellevueNative]

Originally Posted by UKWildcat1981

Probably because its cheaper to live in FL than Seattle by miles.

Well then, that makes sense to me.