All Forum Posts by: Eva Croasdale

Hi all, I'm a Real Estate Agent that covers the great Seattle area and I always love talking shop!  If you end up me scheduling a meet-up, I'd love to join.  I've lived in the area for over 35 years, so I can give you perspective on neighborhoods and I usually have a few off-market opportunities up my sleeve.  ;)

Hi Matt, nice to "meet" you.  What a smart way to be a first time home-buyer!  If you're looking for multi-family under $500,000, Everett and Marysville have some options up North.  South of Seattle, Kent and Federal Way have multi-families in a similar price point.  You can get duplexes with a Seattle address in the $500,000 - $1,000,000.  I'll private message you a few off-market opportunities as well.

I just sold a flip in Everett for my investor client and he got a great return on investment.  If you're focusing up North, I think Everett is the place to get the most bang for your buck as a house-hacker.  Another (house-hacker!) client of mine just purchased in Edmonds (on the Lynnwood border) and I think he'll do very well too.

I just saw an off-market duplex in Everett for under $400,000.  What's your price range?

I just used Sound Credit Union on a First Lien Heloc for my primary residence.  I've also used BECU in the past.  I've had good experiences with both.
 

I know both allow HELOCs on investment properties, but the rate will be higher and the amount you'll be able to take out is less.  

Bob Malecki, YES on the overbuilding of apartments.  Not necessarily on condos though.  Vulcan, for instance, won't touch condo projects with a 10 foot pole anymore.  All of their residential or mixed use projects are Apartments due to liability for condo builders (Washington State Law is pretty stringent).  I attended a Commercial Brokers Real Estate Breakfast a few months back and Ada Healey, Vice President of Real Estate at Vulcan shared that they've only built three condo projects in their history, and they lost money on all three of them.  Matthew Gardner, Chief Economist at Windermere, also spoke.  He shared that his predictions for 2019-2020 are that rents will go down because of the over-building of apartment buildings.  He was begging the developers in the audience to start shifting over to condo builds instead.

As a Seattle Real Estate Agent, I feel the market shift in a very visceral way.  I’m absolutely feeling a cool down this last month or so.  May brought a record-breaking amount of inventory (over 14,000 homes on market).  The most since 2008.  Then June topped May.  My last 3 out of 4 transactions had no bidding wars. This would have been unheard of a few months earlier.  For the first time in years, I’m seeing a lot of good homes sitting on the market for 20-30 days.  I find it to be a combination of Seller over-confidence and Buyer absorption from the inventory influx.  Not sure how long this trend will last, but if you’ve experienced buyer fatigue, this is a good time to get back out there!  Feel free to message me if you’d like to see anything. Lastly, here’s a Seattle Times article that just came out about the shift:

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/...

I'm not sure what price-range you are looking at, but I know of a couple off-market opportunitiees: a duplex in Skyway and a triplex in Burien.  Are those areas you'd consider?

I can recommend a few.  Kenmore is in the process of major redevelopment and is a suburb just north of Seattle.  See http://www.kenmorewa.gov/lakepointe .  The entire waterfront area (which is now industrial) is currently under feasibility to become developed with shops, restaurants and high-end residential etc.  Investing within proximity would be worth looking into.  As far as timeline, my Councilman neighbor suggested 5 years until they start digging and 10 years before we will be able to enjoy the new waterfront village.  

The City of Everett is also in the process of redevelopment.  http://www.portofeverett.com/real-estate/developme... In relation to Seattle or even Kenmore/Bothell, prices are still cheap in Everett.

If you're thinking urban Seattle, I'd look into anything close to the Light Rail stations that are slated to be built.  Some examples of areas to the North that haven't been completely exploited are Nortgate, Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace and of course Everett to the way North.  To the South, I'm a big fan of Burien as private development is in the beginnings of a boom down there.

Feel free to reach out if you want more info about the Seattle area.  I've lived here for over 30 years, and specialize in working with investors and developers in the area.  

Anyone looking for land in West Seattle?  

Message me for details.

Hi, has this sold yet?