possible new job in Bellingham-what cities are nearby? (Wenatchee, Mount Vernon: rental homes, condo)

[PippySkiddles]

I'll be renting for awhile and doing all my research online, as I live in Texas right now.
Not knowing the area well ( I've visited and lived in Portland for years) but can anyone tell me the names of other towns/cities near Bellingham? I don't want a long drive to and from work.
Appreciate!!

And if anyone knows someone who rents homes and knows the names of reputable property management companies-that would be great too!!

[PartIrish]

More information would be helpful. In what part of Bellingham will you be working? Will this be just you or will others be moving with you? I own two places in B'ham that we currently rent out, so I may be able to offer some insights. I can definitely tell you which property management companies to avoid.

[PippySkiddles]

Originally Posted by PartIrish

More information would be helpful. In what part of Bellingham will you be working? Will this be just you or will others be moving with you? I own two places in B'ham that we currently rent out, so I may be able to offer some insights. I can definitely tell you which property management companies to avoid.

thank you, my parents will be living with me. The current building housing the business is located near where the ferry leaves out, but that building is due to be torn down so not sure where new location will be. I'll be wanting to rent at least a 3 bedroom, 2 bath minimum. 4 bedrooms would be ideal as my brother and his kids live in Portland and I hope to see them often!!! I don't have children except for my 3 indoor cats and 2 dogs. All very well trained and great animals.
The move ,if I take the job will occur in May. Can you tell me about your rental homes and which management companies to avoid??

[CrazyDonkey]

Whatcom County: Ferndale, Blaine, and Birch Bay are the most likely to have rentals. Lynden might have some rentals. Don't ignore Bellingham itself. The more walkable neighborhoods are west of I-5. The ferry terminal is in Fairhaven (part of South Bellingham). Also look for rentals in Sudden Valley, part of Bellingham near Lake Whatcom.

Bellingham.Craigslist.org and Zillow are good places to look.

Living in Mount Vernon or Burlington in Skagit County could also be possible. See Skagit.Craigslist.org.

[PartIrish]

Agree with CrazyDonkey regarding the best places to look. Private message me about property management places to stay away from. We own a one-bedroom condo and a 4-bedroom house. The condo would definitely be too small, and unfortunately the house we own is strictly no pets. The vacancy rate in Bellingham is quite low--less than 1 percent the last time I checked. Given the number of bedrooms you want and several pets, your search will be for rental houses, and they are hard to come by. A quick Zillow search showed about 10 available in the range of $2100 - $3000/month, but only one allowed pets. There was a second house in Sedro Wooley, about 30 minutes south of Bellingham that allowed pets with a $350 deposit per pet.

Some friends who moved to B'ham a couple of years ago with two dogs and a cat did a short-term rental well north of the city near Smith Road before they purchased a place, but they had a heck of a time finding a landlord who would agree to pets. If you do a scouting trip to Bellingham, make sure you can get lodging before committing to the job.

[CrazyDonkey]

Yeah, three cats and two dogs borders on pet hoarding. Are either or both of the dogs large or a restricted breed? Any way you can find good homes for three of them?

Or just buy this 3bd/2ba place for $148k, with room to add another bd/ba (needs repairs):

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/7...?fullpage=true

About an hour commute to Bellingham (according to Google Maps) - I'm assuming you love those pets like the dickens. Large lot (6k sq/ft) for the dogs/cats to cavort. Might need 4/All-Wheel Drive, in case you get snowed in.

[PippySkiddles]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

Whatcom County: Ferndale, Blaine, and Birch Bay are the most likely to have rentals. Lynden might have some rentals. Don't ignore Bellingham itself. The more walkable neighborhoods are west of I-5. The ferry terminal is in Fairhaven (part of South Bellingham). Also look for rentals in Sudden Valley, part of Bellingham near Lake Whatcom.

Bellingham.Craigslist.org and Zillow are good places to look.

Living in Mount Vernon or Burlington in Skagit County could also be possible. See Skagit.Craigslist.org.

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

Yeah, three cats and two dogs borders on pet hoarding. Are either or both of the dogs large or a restricted breed? Any way you can find good homes for three of them?

Or just buy this 3bd/2ba place for $148k, with room to add another bd/ba (needs repairs):

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/7...?fullpage=true

About an hour commute to Bellingham (according to Google Maps) - I'm assuming you love those pets like the dickens. Large lot (6k sq/ft) for the dogs/cats to cavort. Might need 4/All-Wheel Drive, in case you get snowed in.

thank you for the list of local areas.
And NO I don't in any way think I'm a pet hoarder and I feel that was a rude and not necessary statement. My 3 cats were adopted from the shelter and are awesome pets. They make NO mess, don't spray, have been spayed and I keep their litter boxes clean. The 2 dogs were adopted from shelters and never make a mess inside or out. We use a pooper scooper and pick up their poop each afternoon. Not restricted breeds either, one is a little Chihuahua and the other a small mixed breed collie. I'm sure they make less mess than most children.

[PartIrish]

Nothing wrong with owning pets; you just need to find a rental that will accommodate them. If you visit Bellingham, in addition to the city itself, you might check out Sedro Wooley, Burlington and Mt. Vernon, as they are all about 30 minutes from the area you might be working, and they are more rural areas. Ferndale to the north is another possibility.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by PippySkiddles

thank you for the list of local areas.
And NO I don't in any way think I'm a pet hoarder and I feel that was a rude and not necessary statement. My 3 cats were adopted from the shelter and are awesome pets. They make NO mess, don't spray, have been spayed and I keep their litter boxes clean. The 2 dogs were adopted from shelters and never make a mess inside or out. We use a pooper scooper and pick up their poop each afternoon. Not restricted breeds either, one is a little Chihuahua and the other a small mixed breed collie. I'm sure they make less mess than most children.

Sorry, didn't intend to be rude. Said it was bordering on, not that it is, pet hoarding. Meant it as a slight josh. Ten would be hoarding.

Still, five pets, even if all small, can make finding a rental here very difficult, especially in a very hot rental market, which Bellingham is. That was the point I was trying to make. The other option would be to forget about renting, and just buy (then you can have all the pets you want).

[elkotronics]

We ran in to the same problem over here in Wenatchee. We had to rent a vacation lodge in Manson, which is located at Lake Chelan. My drive to work is an hour and 15 minutes each way. We were fortunate to even find this - Wenatchee's vacancy rate is 1%, too. We have two cats and two dogs and a lot of people ask us why we have so many pets. We love all 4 of them and there's no way we're going to try and find homes for any them...they're ours for life! Pets don't deserve being shuttled around here and there. If you're renting, though, it does make things dicey. We couldn't find anybody that would take our pets in Wenatchee, Quincy, Cashmere, Leavenworth or Entiat.

PippySkiddles - stick to it and look hard and consider Burlington, Bow or Sedro Wooley for other rental options - they're quite rural and maybe you could find something there.