Washington warnings and information (Seattle: real estate, new house, buying)

[rylynn]

I'm trying to decide if I should move to Washington and I have so many questions about things to watch out for. What are the natural disaster watchouts in Washington besides volcanoes and where are these a concern? How does the state building permit process treat owner-builders? What are the main sources of issues with real estate listings (land under water for example in Florida)? Any other odd things that I should know about that might not be well advertised? Thanks in advance for any information you provide.

[Pretzelogik]

Natural disasters...earthquakes....man made disasters...the Puget Sound area "freeway" system.

[StealthRabbit]

owner builder?

consider Montana

WA Dept of Ecology is a very huge (literally) obstacle. If you need a well, or are ANYWHERE near water... expect significant expenses and time lag. And the need for hiring VERY expensive geology and ecology contractors and scientists.

Then there are the various county and city building departments, a well as special fees.

Impact fees (converting bare land to residential) I have seen over $20k, thou usually $10k.
Permit fees - $1,000 to $100,000
Building review and approval (process BEFORE permits). varies with location, but usually a few thousand dollars. (I'm in a federally restricted building area. It used to cost me a postage stamp to DC and 6 month to 1 yr process, now... the USA 'subcontracted' this service through the county. Last 'review' was 30 months and $26,000. (pre permit expenses and NO guarantee you can build, just gives you the permission to move into the permit process)

MT = no permits, excluding Septic and electrical. (some cities may vary). Many of my contractor friends have had to leave WA and go to ID and MT. (same with farmers having to leave WA). Or 'diaper-train' your cows and spend a few million on ecology related control measures.

[Hemlock140]

Good advice so far. Watch out for lots that are not buildable, due to wetlands or that have no utilities in. besides the issues getting permits for a well or Septic System, if in an area with existing utilities you will have to connect to them and new water and sewer services are very expensive. The best way to go is finding a very bad old house on a good lot and demolishing it to build new. One other concern besides earthquakes is windstorms. Living near big trees is nice but they do sometimes blow over onto homes. We get 1-2 damaging windstorms a year, and have had 2-3 really bad ones around the Seattle area in the last 20 years. During the worst we had 3 neigbors with fallen trees on their house, and we were without power 5 days with temperatures in the 20s.

[West coast at heart]

Not very encouraging news! My wife and I had the idea of buying for land and if the house was not suitable, building a new house. Sounds like I need to possibly rethink this plan!

[cdelena]

I would think some of it depends upon the county. I added a simple portico to my house in Clark County. It was professionally designed, engineered, and scheduled to be built by custom builders familiar with the area... and the county still held up construction, demanded a questionable change, and charged well over $500 for the permit. I can't imagine the hassle to build a whole house.

[kmbjbb]

So glad I told hubby we were not building when we get there.

[WendyK]

It really depends on what county you are looking at...the whole state has varying regulations about building, so maybe you can tell us where you were thinking about building.

[kmbjbb]

I will try googling for this, but where would one go to get information on what to do when an earthquake strikes? I like to be as well informed as possible and we have the info on tornadoes and hurricanes as well as blizzards and such. Never done a lesson on earthquakes.

[Andy]

Originally Posted by kmbjbb

I will try googling for this, but where would one go to get information on what to do when an earthquake strikes?

Get under a sturdy table or in a doorframe away from windows.

More important is to 'bing' information on what to do to be prepared BEFORE an earthquake strikes. Wood frame homes built on stable ground will notice none to minimal damage during an earthquake. Bookcases and other tall, tippy furniture can be bolted to the wall for added safety. Have a wrench located near gas shutoff for easy, quick access.