Real Estate Broker · Tacoma, WA · Member since 2016 · 545 posts · 252 votes
Hye Guys Im in Tacoma Wa and there a house Im looking at, it has ALOT of issues so I havent made a decision yet but Im wondering about the effect changing the street address of the home in order to make it more attractive...
The house is on a busy corner but I still think it could work. But the current address of the house is on a known busy street, however the street that crosses it is known to have quieter areas. Even though i obviously cannot change the physical location of the house, has anyone ever changed the address off the house in order to make it more attractive? Ive seen them do it on TV and of course that's not what its actually like but it made me think a little.
My plan would to be turn the current front of the house in to the back and fence off the yard making it less visible from that main street.
Any input helps.
Best Regards,
Jameson M Sullivan
Seattle, Bremerton, Tacoma, Gig Harbor, Pierce county, Olympia
Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 18k+ posts · 17k+ votes
9y
Yes, yes, we've done this before. In our situation, the mailbox and driveway we're on a different street then the address indicated. So we had the address changed to reflect the street where the mailbox and the driveway where. Because the mailbox and driveway were on the other street, the county had no issue with us making the change... Though it did take a couple months...
Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2016 · 338 posts · 444 votes
9y
@Jameson Sullivan, Actually, I did this once with an apartment complex. The building ran between two streets that were parallel with a front entrance and a back entrance. I went to the city recorder and had the address officially changed to the street with better curb appeal (better maintained neighbor buildings). Every situation will be different, but it really helped with the marketing and I got my price. It was a pretty inexpensive switch to make, so might be worth your time just to try it out.
Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 18k+ posts · 17k+ votes
9y
Yes, yes, we've done this before. In our situation, the mailbox and driveway we're on a different street then the address indicated. So we had the address changed to reflect the street where the mailbox and the driveway where. Because the mailbox and driveway were on the other street, the county had no issue with us making the change... Though it did take a couple months...
Real Estate Broker · Tacoma, WA · Member since 2016 · 545 posts · 252 votes
9y
@Chris Mason Thanks for your input! I really don't think any appraiser is going to be "fooled" or anything like that, I just think that effectively turning that busy street to the backyard and changing the address over to the adjacent street will make people feel like they live in a nicer, tucked away home. Can you elaborate what you mean by "business of the street"?
@Robert C. Thanks for chiming in... My case might be a little different because its a small lot and the two streets intersect so id basically be moving the address around the corner, however walking to your mailbox in one location would have a different feel than on the busy street side. But I think youre right, it worth the test just to try it if its a fairly inexpensive switch!
@J Scott I'm sure it differs from county to county, but do you know about actually physically MOVING the mailbox in order to make the address change. I believe the current mail box is a fence hung one right on that busy street, the type where the mail man parks and gets out to drop everyones mail at once type of thing. Have you had any experience actually relocating the mail box? By the way the driveway for this house is in the alley behind but the direct access to the alley comes off of the street that I want to move the mail box to... By the way, youre the man. Thanks for your input.
Investor · Wichita, KS · Member since 2016 · 133 posts · 63 votes
9y
I'm not sure how just changing the address would help for resale purposes. Almost all serious buyers will view the property in person or at the minimum a video walk through from their agent and will see the street. Might think about changing the access so that the buyer's first impression is coming from the side street. If they park on a side street, enter through a side street, and don't actually see the busy road until they've already been in the home then it will lessen the impact.
Change the street address itself could be interesting though. I'd be curious to see how that goes?
Investor / Lender · Seattle, WA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 730 votes
9y
We've thought about this too.
We have a house right now in Seattle that's at the corner on MLK and Denny. Having the street name be Denny is much more preferable than MLK, since people usually associate that with a busy street in a high-crime area in South Seattle, but we're actually in Cap Hill / Madrona / Madison Valley and our price tag is $1.3M.
We never followed through with it though, although we'll always wonder :-)
I honestly think we lost some buyers who didn't even want to visit the house because it was on MLK. The house is amazing if only they saw it in person...
Investor · Seattle, WA · Member since 2015 · 38 posts · 9 votes
9y
I have a property along the Rainier Ave S too. I contacted city of seattle regarding the change of address into the alley way street name and here is their answer:
“ You can submit a request to change the address with our Addressing Team in the Applicant Services Center (ASC location and business hours), but there may be a problem since this site has no frontage along **** Street. “
We have four lots located on a corner which I had condensed to two lots so we didn’t have to pay for four lots to the mandated community center. However, our driveway and mailbox are on a more prestigious street, but our mailing address is on a different street with another driveway, that even Google maps doesn’t recognize as our address. So, I go to the county to have this changed? Also, I believe we’re being taxed/assessed inappropriately due to this confusion. Thanks