Bellingham, the ugly truth.... (Seattle: closing costs, legally, design)

[rkcarguy]

Originally Posted by momma4evr

...and WHERE exactly are all of these people you know "getting out" / moving to?

I see the for sale signs; I have been following home sales for years now here as well. We keep asking ourselves where are people moving to if/when they sell their homes? We wanted to stay in WA state - where we were born and raised, but have come to face the reality that there is no where in western WA state that we can relocate to that will meet our needs or that is affordable.

We have only lived in Bellingham for four years now, but our initial love for this area faded quickly sometime in late 2017. Bottom line for us: Bellingham is completely over-rated. It is a difficult place to move to, to feel a part of and to plant one's roots. Housing, medical care, affordability,

The first condo we rented in Bellingham (we wanted to rent and then buy) was a temporary home as the out-of-state owner decided to sell due to the hot rental market. We paid $1075/mo in 2017 for that rental; those condos in the size we lived in are now renting for $1,650/mo. It's completely ridiculous. Insane. The couple that lived below us moved here from out-of-state, bought their condo in 2016 and now have it listed for 100K more than they paid for it. It was pending within a week. The "condos" are nothing more than apartments - several of them are rentals. There are NO amenities that come with the HOA apart from W/S/G being paid and outside yard care / building upkeep. No gym. No clubhouse. No pool. Yet people keep coming and buying. We've had 3 opportunities to buy a "condo" back in the same complex where we rented and we have said no each time. After having lived there (it was okay; but it was definitely a rental environment; not a place to establish a home), we said no way we would buy there.

We have been looking to buy since 2017 and are still stuck in the rental market as we can no longer afford the prices. We made four offers in late 2019 on homes and we were outbid by cash buyers each time. We patiently wait and keep adding to our down payment, but the prices keep rising faster. We're asking ourselves daily "What exactly are we waiting for?". We don't want to join the desperate masses who are trying to buy and live here. And they do seem desperate.

It's scaring me.... How bad is it "out there", outside of Bellingham? Where the h*** can we move? Not much appeals to us anymore.We tried to look into some of the affordable housing options to remain in Whatcom county, but they are either in areas we can't live in (i.e. Point Roberts, rural Whatcom Cty) due to lack of transporation / medical services or we are "over-income" for the programs. There is no middle ground.

Bellingham sits in a beautiful geographic area but, personally, we do not find it much to write home about anymore. It really reminds me of the housing boom in Seattle in the 1990's and the influx of Microsoft employees in the housing market. I lived in West Seattle where my family had lived for over 50 years, and literally felt like I had lost my homeland. I feel like I'm witnessing the same thing here in Bellingham.

I have no right to complain though... I, too, chose to move here and "invade" Whatcom County. My family and I moved here in hopes of planting roots like everyone else moving here. Locals had to deal with our moving here like we are dealing with newcomers ourselves. We just want to leave the area now. It's over-crowded (we'd actually prefer Seattle over this at times; it's laid out better than Bellingham but we can't afford it), it's over-priced, we avoid PeaceHealth Medical Center / St. Joe's hospital at all costs, the isolation is difficult (we've never lived in an area harder to establish friendships in than here in our lifetime... despite our trying - pre-COVID - to get involved in the area). Would love some suggestions on where others are moving when they sell their homes and leave Bellingham... What kind of area are they gravitating towards? That will be the most difficult part for us - we love the proximity to the water, mountains and trees here.

Therein lie most of the problems of the area and the reason why we have such an "empty middle" here. In addition, most of the fun outdoor venues just have too many people using them and it's ruined them so what's the point?
Anyway, I'll go down the list of where my friends/co-workers that moved away went:

2 went to North Carolina
2 went to Arizona - 1 more is moving as soon as his house sells.
1 went to Oregon, he got lucky though with a high paying job in a small low cost of living town so can afford the high income tax.
1 went to Montana
2 went to Spokane
2 went to the Vancouver, WA area.
1 went to Idaho.

Of those I graduated high school with, THREE remain in the area.

All of them moved away due to the costs of housing/living, they were ALL able to have a much better cost of living/income ratio in their destinations. I think I mentioned earlier, one of my co-workers stopped in to see us that moved to AZ. He said it's obviously much hotter, and he misses the fishing here, but otherwise it was a huge step up moving there in every other aspect. A meager outdated home, old cars, and financial uncertainty of affording college for their kids here in Bellingham, afforded a gorgeous home on acreage with a screened in pool, new cars, money for vacations where you actually go somewhere instead of fixing your home, and kids in college.

[momma4evr]

Thank you, xPlorer48,for your kind response.



I'm sure you have seen all of these changes up close and personal. It's difficult to see the place where one grew up, or where their children were raised, change so much and become out-of-reach for many families to remain in.



I shouldn't slam Bellingham. It's easy to want to blame "the place". Who wouldn't want to call this beautiful area home? Just don't care for what I see happening here and not sure what the solution is. We've probably run out of patience and hope in buying a place; just not sure what the next step or solution is. I just can't take being a renter much longer...! :-)

[kynight]

I try to remember the advantages of renting like no maintenance, just cleaning. It's responsible to rent if you can't put a huge down payment down. The amount we can save in interest is a small fortune. I'm trying to get my credit as high as I can to save a few Ks when I do buy.

[LogaKoga]

Originally Posted by kynight

I try to remember the advantages of renting like no maintenance, just cleaning. It's responsible to rent if you can't put a huge down payment down. The amount we can save in interest is a small fortune. I'm trying to get my credit as high as I can to save a few Ks when I do buy.

As someone who got a house (mortgage) about 3 years ago, please don't feel obligated to buy. I somewhat regret it. My situation is OK, but I miss the simplicity of an apartment when all I had to pay was rent and electricity. No HOA, water, sewer, yard work, or eventual maintenance costs.

I'll definitely sell my house before I retire, then rent for the rest of my life. When I'm retired I want things to be as simple as possible.

[rkcarguy]

I thought we were in the clear regarding the smoke/fires, but apparently not (I know, give me the captain obvious award). The smoke is so thick that from Bellingham's Lakeway 7-11, the Lakeway I-5 overpass was not visible, the headlights and tail lights of cars going north on I-5 made them look like airplanes.

[rkcarguy]

Originally Posted by momma4evr

Thank you, xPlorer48,for your kind response.

I'm sure you have seen all of these changes up close and personal. It's difficult to see the place where one grew up, or where their children were raised, change so much and become out-of-reach for many families to remain in.

I shouldn't slam Bellingham. It's easy to want to blame "the place". Who wouldn't want to call this beautiful area home? Just don't care for what I see happening here and not sure what the solution is. We've probably run out of patience and hope in buying a place; just not sure what the next step or solution is. I just can't take being a renter much longer...! :-)

My two friends that left to NC were in the same predicament. Together they made about $130K a year, and rented a very small apartment so they could save lots of money. They wanted some acreage with a home, and were not the type to want to live in a 300sq/ft filing cabinet studio in an "urban village". Well 5 years went by, rent nearly doubled on the tiny apartment, and home prices rose so much that they were still short on cash by almost half to be able to get into the market.
They recently purchased 30 acres in NC with a home and two rental modular homes on it, and seem to be doing really well.

[kynight]

Originally Posted by LogaKoga

As someone who got a house (mortgage) about 3 years ago, please don't feel obligated to buy. I somewhat regret it. My situation is OK, but I miss the simplicity of an apartment when all I had to pay was rent and electricity. No HOA, water, sewer, yard work, or eventual maintenance costs.

I'll definitely sell my house before I retire, then rent for the rest of my life. When I'm retired I want things to be as simple as possible.

Yeah, wow. I once paid HOA but it was low, had a well and did yard work myself, it was a constant chore. And the house was new so didn't worry about fixing much except the huge patio which seemed to rot in 2 years after a month of constant rain storms. I learned never to have another patio like that or half acre sloped yard.

[kynight]

Originally Posted by rkcarguy

I thought we were in the clear regarding the smoke/fires, but apparently not (I know, give me the captain obvious award). The smoke is so thick that from Bellingham's Lakeway 7-11, the Lakeway I-5 overpass was not visible, the headlights and tail lights of cars going north on I-5 made them look like airplanes.

The worse day to me was Tuesday, then again on Friday. My throat has been hurting a little but the air level was only moderately dangerous, air advisory warning was suppose to expire at 11am today but if the fires keep burning it will continue.

[LogaKoga]

Originally Posted by kynight

Yeah, wow. I once paid HOA but it was low, had a well and did yard work myself, it was a constant chore. And the house was new so didn't worry about fixing much except the huge patio which seemed to rot in 2 years after a month of constant rain storms. I learned never to have another patio like that or half acre sloped yard.

Yeah, my house is small and fairly and my yard is small so the maintenance is fairly minimal, and hopefully I'll be in a position before any major maintenance; the most significant will be a new roof which it will probably need in about 15 years and will probably cost about $12K or so

I think degree of interest in owning your residence is mainly based on personal and generational differences. I'm 49 and owing has never been important to me, but both my parents seem to view renting negatively.

I almost backed out of buying (mortgage), but my mom pressured me and gave me a fairly large down payment so my monthly payment is less than it would've been, and if I do opt to sell the closing costs won't negate my equity. But I'm really looking forward to eventually selling my place and eventually renting. It's so much simpler and less stressful.

[rkcarguy]

Originally Posted by kynight

Yeah, wow. I once paid HOA but it was low, had a well and did yard work myself, it was a constant chore. And the house was new so didn't worry about fixing much except the huge patio which seemed to rot in 2 years after a month of constant rain storms. I learned never to have another patio like that or half acre sloped yard.

Wood decks/patios have about a 5 year life here
My last home had a decent sized cedar deck. I used a good stain that didn't have to be removed to recoat, and applied it every summer. It didn't matter, it was 6 years old and half the cedar 5/4 was rotten. You have to go with Trex composite decking or pour a concrete one instead if it's at ground level.