Buying a home in Seattle--where is the market headed? (sale, foreclosure)

[caravan]

Originally Posted by kabohami

I think you might be moving in right up the street from me. We bought our house here last fall and just love it! I looked at houses online for about a year trying to find the right house for us, and we feel really lucky to have found ours. Although it wasn't a screaming deal, it was exactly what we wanted at a price we could pay, and we aren't planning on moving again for a long, long time. So we aren't too concerned about what happens to prices in the short term.

It really is a great neighborhood, and I just love these old Craftsman houses. We did major electrical work on our house (getting rid of all the knob and tube plus some other updates) and had some insulation and other energy-efficiency updates done. We also remodeled our bathroom. Other than that it was already perfect : ) Even though it has some quirks (like squeaky uneven floors) I love the feel of it, the beautiful built-ins, the character of the neighborhood, etc. I am sure that you will love your new home. Welcome to the neighborhood! Let me know if you have any questions about this area that I might be able to answer.

Wow, the Internets ARE a small world. You bought last fall, as in last October? (Your house doesn't happen to have a street-front garage with brick on the porch-front, does it?)

Thanks for the welcome--we are pretty excited about the whole thing ourselves, though of course a lot of work is ahead of us. My dad will probably be helping us with replacing the K&T, but wouldn't hurt to ask... do you recommend anyone/company for that job, and approx. how much was it? Did they have to break open the walls or was it all accessible from the roof and basement? Good to know that there are other "new" people on the street who have been through some updating, in case we have questions!

[kabohami]

Yes, that's us : ) We had to have the knob and tube replaced by a licensed electrician within the first 45 days in order to get homeowner's insurance - we are quite happy with the guy who did the work for us and I would be happy to pass on his name if you are interested. Our attics didn't have any access, so we had to cut holes in walls and in the backs of closets to get to the wiring (we did that work ourselves). Our basement had pretty good access for the wiring. We also had to get all the insulation (such as it was) sucked out so the electrician had better access - that led to us replacing all of the insulation which was a good thing anyway (and as you probably know there are great tax credits from the gas company and federal government to help pay for energy efficiency upgrades, and we can already see a difference in the utility bills). To replace the knob and tube was about 4000 dollars (most of it had already been done before we bought the house, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.) Everyone we have met on this street has been very friendly, and lots of people have done work on their houses so I am sure you will get lots of recommendations and advice!

[caravan]

Originally Posted by kabohami

Yes, that's us : ) We had to have the knob and tube replaced by a licensed electrician within the first 45 days in order to get homeowner's insurance - we are quite happy with the guy who did the work for us and I would be happy to pass on his name if you are interested. Our attics didn't have any access, so we had to cut holes in walls and in the backs of closets to get to the wiring (we did that work ourselves). Our basement had pretty good access for the wiring. We also had to get all the insulation (such as it was) sucked out so the electrician had better access - that led to us replacing all of the insulation which was a good thing anyway (and as you probably know there are great tax credits from the gas company and federal government to help pay for energy efficiency upgrades, and we can already see a difference in the utility bills). To replace the knob and tube was about 4000 dollars (most of it had already been done before we bought the house, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.) Everyone we have met on this street has been very friendly, and lots of people have done work on their houses so I am sure you will get lots of recommendations and advice!

Great information, thank you! Yep, same goes for us on the K&T, though at least our major appliances are on it (Farmer's accepts that). We have heard about the credits--we are currently on all-electric, though there's gas on the street so we plan to hook ourselves up ASAP. Will be in touch with more questions--you have done a lot of work in just 3 months, congrats!

And I guess we're in the same boat in terms of having bought recently, but planning to stay long-term so the slow recovery of the market won't bother us. Doing our part to prop up the economy, right?

[exit82]

Just curious- if both of you have to have the electrical redone to get insurance- how did the previous owners get it/keep it?

[caravan]

Originally Posted by exit82

Just curious- if both of you have to have the electrical redone to get insurance- how did the previous owners get it/keep it?

Oh, we don't have to get the electric done to get insurance--but we have to get it done if we want to have insurance options other than Farmer's (since they seem to be the only ones who cover houses with K&T, but only as long as the major appliances are on Romex/modern wiring). Farmer's isn't bad in itself, but their earthquake insurance is pretty expensive and we'd like to switch to another company where the earthquake isn't as high (and that would be until we retrofit our basement/foundation, anyway--so we'll probably be switching companies quite a bit during our tenure). It all comes with the territory of a geriatric house, I figure.

The sellers told us that they were on USAA insurance, which is basically like a cult--you only get access if you served in the Armed Forces or if you had a parent serving, and they can pass it down to you, and then to your kids, and so on. Not that our vets don't deserve the best coverage out there, but frankly I just hadn't heard of this insurance option until we started shopping for our own--their prices are very reasonable, so it would have been nice to have that option as well. I assume they are like Farmer's and cover homes with major appliances on Romex, as long as the main circuit panel is updated (no fuses)... this one is modern and 200 Amp, which is plenty for that house. We also just want the peace of mind to replace the K&T and not have to worry about fires in the attic and burning down the house, etc.

[kabohami]

I have also heard that insurance companies didn't use to be as picky about knob and tube, but have had problems with house fires so some now require it all to be gone. In our house the electrical was mostly updated, and our inspector thought that getting rid of the remaining knob and tube would be a small job and might cost around $500 - that was a bit of an underestimate! The first company I had come out to take a look estimated it would cost $7000, which nearly gave me a coronary. So the $4000 it ended up costing seemed like a bargain in comparison. That was our quick and painful introduction to the money-sucking capabilities of old houses! Still, wouldn't trade our house for anything though : )

[exit82]

Thanks for the clarification- another thing on my list while house hunting.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by exit82

Just curious- if both of you have to have the electrical redone to get insurance- how did the previous owners get it/keep it?

I own or owned several homes from the 1920's with Knob and Tube wiring... never had to make any changes and have had Farmers for years... also never had a claim.

I did have to upgrade the service to the one 1927 home I had with Fireman's Fund... they sent out a letter stating any home with screw-in Edison fuses would not be renewed... It was pretty reasonable to upgrade from the original 30 amp main to 100 amp 220 volt service and add a 220 line for a dryer... the original KT light circuit was left in tact.

Original Knob and Tube that is un-molested is very serviceable... major utilities still use it on utility poles without incident... it is much more costly labor wise to install... though.

[caravan]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

I own or owned several homes from the 1920's with Knob and Tube wiring... never had to make any changes and have had Farmers for years... also never had a claim.

I think Farmers is the only company that allows it--we called around to several other agencies, with no success. They are not insisting that we remove it, and frankly I don't mind leaving it in if it's not giving us any trouble (though I do wonder about the insulation contact in the attic)... but we don't want to be stuck with Farmers and their rates forever, so that's why we'd like to update the electrical.

[Ira500]

Safeco used to allow K & T. No more?