Don't let anti-Bellingham/Whatcom County threads and posts fool you. Bellingham/Whatcom County is AWESOME!! (Seattle: city hall, crime rate)

[Pahn]

Originally Posted by rkcarguy

One can buy houses in Detroit for $1 haha. Bring your own elbow grease.

That's the thing, though. My house, as I bought it, was perfectly livable. Not glamorous, by any stretch of the imagination, but solid 1890s construction.

I added a multi-zone mini-split to heat/cool upstairs. Prior to the mini-split, there was no heat upstairs except for what spread from the bathroom. There were gas heaters in the bedrooms some time in the past, but they were removed by the previous owner for unknown reasons.

Oddly enough, this house apparently wasn't wired until the 40s. No signs that there was ever any knob and tube wiring. I had the ungrounded wiring replaced, but most of what was here was probably done in the 60s, and thus reasonably modern. Bedrooms only had one outlet apiece, which was pretty unsatisfactory.

[rkcarguy]

Originally Posted by Pahn

That's the thing, though. My house, as I bought it, was perfectly livable. Not glamorous, by any stretch of the imagination, but solid 1890s construction.

I added a multi-zone mini-split to heat/cool upstairs. Prior to the mini-split, there was no heat upstairs except for what spread from the bathroom. There were gas heaters in the bedrooms some time in the past, but they were removed by the previous owner for unknown reasons.

Oddly enough, this house apparently wasn't wired until the 40s. No signs that there was ever any knob and tube wiring. I had the ungrounded wiring replaced, but most of what was here was probably done in the 60s, and thus reasonably modern. Bedrooms only had one outlet apiece, which was pretty unsatisfactory.

I wasn't saying they are falling over slums, but yes they are outdated and typically need some work. Wiring, windows, plumbing, heating, etc. Our prior neighbors had moved here from the Midwest, and were aghast at real estate prices here. They shared that land where they moved from was only $1,000 -$2,000 an acre. The "big" expenses were the house itself, vehicles, and equipment/storage if you wanted to farm. They moved due to elderly family being here and also for an NP job that had a healthy hiring bonus, but traded a massive homestead for a spec house on a postage stamp lot and weren't planning to stay.

On a completely unrelated note to housing costs, traffic has been quite a bit less with more people working from home and school happening online for most students. This can give a false presentation of how things normally are. Eventually, we're going to be past this Covid-19 mess, and it's going to put close to 30,000 college students back on our roads. Plus, the border will reopen at some point and add another 10-30% more cars on the road as Canadians resume their consumptive habits in our stores. I think this is going to be quite a surprise for those that have moved here this year thinking it was a nice quiet little town, and boom we're back where we where in 2nd place to Everett for traffic congestion.

[ilovenature]

Originally Posted by rkcarguy

We're 3rd place in the nation for the least sunny days, the longer I live here the more miserable I find the cold wet dark weather. If you work an 8-5pm like I do, inside, you won't see any daylight in winter time except on your lunchbreak. I may sound negative but these things are all very real and part of every day life here. I'm in the process of getting out of Bellingham, and my next step will be to retire out of state to somewhere warmer with more sun and lower costs of living. Sure I get it, when your lines were twice as long and everything was twice as bad wherever those moving here came from, then it's great. Others are mislead though, and move here only to be disappointed with this area and move back out.

I moved here from SoCal a few years ago. I'm still not used to the gloom. Every year it bothers me more and more. Trying to figure out where to move to next. I don't want to move back to CA because of the tyrannical government.

[Baldy]

Bellingham is building a huge permanent homeless shelter on the corner of Woburn and Lakeway a mile from my house. It's due to be completed this Spring.

The other Official Homeless Camp is near the city's pool and across the street from the grade school, daycares, ballet schools and businesses.

[xPlorer48]

Check out the latest real estate listings for Bellingham for SFH and condos:

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...me,condo/sby-1

The most glaring word is “PENDING”.

Yes, I have friends with businesses in the Haskell Business Center and they are not happy. Why allow this festering eye sore near where children go to school and recreate? A friend of ours was brutally murdered (stabbed 37 times) nearby several years ago by a transient from out of state. A COB council member has just proposed a .1% increase tax to fund affordable housing. Although this isn't a large amount, it will hit lower-income people the most. There is already a surcharge on Bellingham property taxes to fund affordable housing.

[rkcarguy]

Originally Posted by xPlorer48

Check out the latest real estate listings for Bellingham for SFH and condos:

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...me,condo/sby-1

The most glaring word is “PENDING”.

Yes, I have friends with businesses in the Haskell Business Center and they are not happy. Why allow this festering eye sore near where children go to school and recreate? A friend of ours was brutally murdered (stabbed 37 times) nearby several years ago by a transient from out of state. A COB council member has just proposed a .1% increase tax to fund affordable housing. Although this isn't a large amount, it will hit lower-income people the most. There is already a surcharge on Bellingham property taxes to fund affordable housing.

All laughable. There is NO affordable housing in Bellingham. IIRC, not one single family residence has been permitted that meets the federal affordability guidelines for those earning the average family income in over 8 years. They could at least call it the "unaffordable housing tax".
I drive by the same mess near the business center on the way to work. They were supposed to be removed from the park weeks ago, but remain illegally.
2 friends and 3 family members of mine are all that remain in Bellingham. We were discussing all the recent issues and we all expect it to get much worse regarding taxes, homelessness, and the general "Seattle-ization" of Bellingham.

The real estate at the link provided also shows an interesting trend. Many of these studios and townhouses shown pending used to be apartments. Due to the threat of being a "free rent" pinata, many landlords/owners are converting their apartments to condo's and cashing out.

[bartonizer]

Originally Posted by Baldy

Bellingham is building a huge permanent homeless shelter on the corner of Woburn and Lakeway a mile from my house. It's due to be completed this Spring.

The other Official Homeless Camp is near the city's pool and across the street from the grade school, daycares, ballet schools and businesses.

30 to 36 tiny homes in a managed, empty lot with security is a far, far cry from the encampment near the rec center. Do you not understand the difference?

[Baldy]

Originally Posted by bartonizer

30 to 36 tiny homes in a managed, empty lot with security is a far, far cry from the encampment near the rec center. Do you not understand the difference?

They are bums gaming the system. Period.

Originally Posted by xPlorer48

Check out the latest real estate listings for Bellingham for SFH and condos:

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...me,condo/sby-1

The most glaring word is “PENDING”.

Yes, I have friends with businesses in the Haskell Business Center and they are not happy. Why allow this festering eye sore near where children go to school and recreate? A friend of ours was brutally murdered (stabbed 37 times) nearby several years ago by a transient from out of state. A COB council member has just proposed a .1% increase tax to fund affordable housing. Although this isn't a large amount, it will hit lower-income people the most. There is already a surcharge on Bellingham property taxes to fund affordable housing.

Some people is the "PENDING" as a sure sign that Bellingham must be a great place. I see it as a sign that people are moving out and suckers are moving in.

[jerzdevil]

There's a ”tiny home” community in a parking lot area on Puget St, behind the homeless encampment on Fraiser Rd. There are about 10-20 of them and room for more. They're being built as funds allow. I saw a deer standing there and I was hoping they don't shoot it and have it for dinner. A couple weeks ago a propane tank blew up while they tried to keep warm. It's like home to them. I saw one guy in a barcalounger outside sitting in front of an open fire. Another guy drying his clothes on a homemade clothing line. Honestly I'm glad they're able to do that at least, live outside with out being harassed.

It's conveniently walkable to the Public Place on Cornwall.

[xPlorer48]

Originally Posted by jerzdevil

There's a ”tiny home” community in a parking lot area on Puget St, behind the homeless encampment on Fraiser Rd. There are about 10-20 of them and room for more. They're being built as funds allow. I saw a deer standing there and I was hoping they don't shoot it and have it for dinner. A couple weeks ago a propane tank blew up while they tried to keep warm. It's like home to them. I saw one guy in a barcalounger outside sitting in front of an open fire. Another guy drying his clothes on a homemade clothing line. Honestly I'm glad they're able to do that at least, live outside with out being harassed.

It's conveniently walkable to the Public Place on Cornwall.

Well, lets see, they were asking for donations of weed and cigarettes. And, pizza, so “I don't have to cook.” I had to live next door to a “housesitter” who was certifiably nuts. After many physical and verbal threats, we had to get several anti-harassment orders against him. It was only after we told the property owner that we would see him in civil court if this guy wasn't gone in a week, that we got relief. He would run around in his undies, use the creek as his potty and yell the most foul threats at us. I still see him from time to time in town. You can have all of them.