Any insight about renting on the Eastside? (Seattle, Bellevue: power lines, rentals)

[anneeliot]

We just received the official go-ahead for our relocation, and will be coming out for a weekend soon to go house hunting.

We are currently renting in San Jose, CA, one of the more competitive rental markets in the country. How is the competition for SFH rentals on the Eastside? We're zeroing in on Woodinville, Sammamish, Duvall, possibly Snoqualmie. Would we need to go above and beyond to prove we are good tenants? Do people offer to pay more than the rent advertised (this happens regularly around here)? How should we go about introducing the fact that we also have a (housetrained) pet bunny?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Also, I would love to hear from anyone living in Duvall, Carnation, Woodinville or Snoqualmie. There's lots of info here on the board about most other Eastside communities, but I rarely read anything about these. Pros/cons (besides the long commute to Bellevue/Seattle)?

[homesinseattle]

Closer in, more competitive of course. Carnation, Duvall and Snoqualmie are a bit out there, depending on where your work is. Carnation and Duvall can be rural, although Duvall has cute little shops. Snoqualmie is easily accessible to I-90 and has some character, more affordable. Woodinville, Kenmore, Juanita and Bothell would be great choices, nicely accessible to Bellevue or Seattle. You mention Seattle so I imagine that may be important to you. You could offer to pay a bit more, just be decisive when you find something you want. Don't underestimate the power of a personal letter. It will seem affordable compared to San Jose. Welcome (almost) to town.

[BellevueNative]

SFH rentals go pretty quickly on the Eastside, mostly because there aren't a ton of them. I happen to know the inventory of rentals in the Woodinville/Bothell/Duvall area right now is very, very limited because I'm trying to find one for a client right now. Get an agent to help you, but also check the listings on Zillow and act fast to arrange your appointments directly with contacts on there.

Most SFH rentals do not allow pets, and those that do typically allow cats but often not dogs. I have no idea about bunnies, so you'd want to ask about that. But I'm guessing it will impact your options greatly.

Woodinville, Duvall, Carnation and Snoqualmie are charming communities that are slower paced than the rest of the Eastside. Snoqualmie Ridge has the newest housing out of the lot, because it's basically a planned community that has popped up in the last 10 years. Houses there are close together and generally on small lots, whereas in the other communities you'll find a wide variety of housing stock in everything from traditional neighborhoods to 1 acre lots to semi-rural to really rural.

[shaylahc]

I live in Woodinville. Rentals go quickly here. Sometimes there are multiple applications, and the landlord picks who they want. We found our current rental through Craigslist, so don't be afraid to look there as well. The house we live in used to be the landlord's, he moved to Redmond to a much bigger house and keeps this one as a rental.

We really like Woodinville, if that helps

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by anneeliot

Also, I would love to hear from anyone living in Duvall, Carnation, Woodinville or Snoqualmie. There's lots of info here on the board about most other Eastside communities, but I rarely read anything about these. Pros/cons (besides the long commute to Bellevue/Seattle)?

Just not a lot of rentals in those areas. You'll find more rentals in Kenmore, Bothell, Issaquah, Kirkland, Redmond, Bellevue, etc.

I'm not sure that offering more than the listed rent wouldn't be interpreted negatively up here. Might be better to just stick to saying you can pay upfront first and last rents, and security/damage/pet deposits.

[anneeliot]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

I'm not sure that offering more than the listed rent wouldn't be interpreted negatively up here. Might be better to just stick to saying you can pay upfront first and last rents, and security/damage/pet deposits.

That's exactly the kind of information I was looking for! Here in Silicon Valley, offering more than asking is fairly common, especially in desirable areas. I hate the practice, and we've been lucky enough to avoid doing it. I don't like bidding wars for rentals, especially when the rentals are appallingly expensive anyway...

Also, is it common for people to rent the same property for several years? We would initially be looking for a 12 month lease, but would really like not having to move out again if at all possible, especially since we have one child in school. Do landlords usually increase the rent at the end of the lease? Are there any regulations about how much the increase can be?

[Ira500]

It is not common here to pay more than the listed rent. Most landlords would prefer that you stay several years. They do typically raise the rent when the lease expires, but it's not usually an outrageous amount, unless the initial rent was an insane deal. There are no regulations about how much the rent can be increased, but renting a place out, from the landlord's perspective, is a hassle. So typically landlords raise rent 3-5% per year, but more if the initial rent is less than market rent.

[CrazyDonkey]

And if not tied to where you're looking due to work location, there are other options that also have good schools, and rentals.

[shaylahc]

Originally Posted by Ira500

It is not common here to pay more than the listed rent. Most landlords would prefer that you stay several years. They do typically raise the rent when the lease expires, but it's not usually an outrageous amount, unless the initial rent was an insane deal. There are no regulations about how much the rent can be increased, but renting a place out, from the landlord's perspective, is a hassle. So typically landlords raise rent 3-5% per year, but more if the initial rent is less than market rent.

I think this is really variable. The first house we rented here, the landlord wanted to raise the rent $250 after the first year. We talked them down to $150. The next year we left. They tried to raise the rent AGAIN another $250. When they had no takers, they lowered it another $100. They found some sap to pay their massively inflated rent. I guess the landlord thought they were renting the Taj Mahal

[Garfunkle524]

We live in the Cottage Lake area of Woodinville, which is halfway between Woodinville town center and Duvall. It's a little ways out here, but there was a huge hidden benefit for us that we didn't think about when we moved. We live close to Avondale, so a commute to Seattle and/or Bellevue skips a crapload of 405 traffic as compared to living in Woddinville town center or Bothell.

Just something to think about. I'd put avoiding 405 at the top of your list of priorities if you don't want to spend all morning/evening in traffic. It's going to get worse with the new tolling.

We have a couple SFH rentals in our neighborhood, they always go to nice families. There is one downside to this area: the trees growing around power lines are irresponsibly, even criminally neglected so power outages are common. There's a tree that has been hanging on power lines for weeks in the Paradise Lake area. Every time I drive by I wonder why no one has done anything about it.