All Forum Posts by: Edward Seid

Anywhere up and down Coal Creek Pkwy works well. I have a friend who rents out rooms in his house just east The Landing for $700-800 per room granted they are friends and not randoms. Don't forget there's lots of Boeing employees to draw from too, though be mindful that 737 max's are assembled in that plant in Renton. Fingers crossed FAA OKs 737 max this year. 

Last week, the new bill was passed by city council to address housing affordability.

Here's a summary of the changes to existing ADU laws in Seattle.

https://www.seattle.gov/council/adu-eis

- Allowing two ADUs on one lot 

» Removing the off-street parking requirement 

» Allowing DADUs on lots of at least 3,200 square feet 

» Removing the owner-occupancy requirement 

» Requiring one year of continuous ownership to establish a second ADU

» Allowing DADUs of up to 1,000 square feet, the same size currently allowed for AADUs 

» Increasing DADU height limits by 1-2 feet, with flexibility for green building strategies 

» Providing flexibliity for one-story DADUs accessible to people with disabilities or limited mobility, with limitations on tree removal 

» Establishing a new floor area ratio (FAR) standard that limits the maximum size of new single-family homes (2500sqft) and encourages ADUs

In the past, opportunity zones deals were not very lucrative because of the $$ requirement to double the improvement value ($200k-400k+?). By adding a detached ADU, you could double the improvement value easily if you add in cosmetic upgrades from the main part of the home.

Regardless of combining OZ with this new bill, I think its very lucrative for investors to start snagging properties with intention to build a DADU rental. Essentially, a SFH can now be a "triplex" though you will need to live in the home for 1 year+. Works only for house hackers.

Sadly, I think city council didn't thoroughly analyze the effects of this bill very well because many affordable housing advocates LOVE it. One thing I learned from this most recent economic boom is NEVER underestimate RE investors... we will take advantage of this new bill and renters aren't going to benefit much at all. It's not going to provide more affordable housing... just more opportunities for investors to make $$. This will exacerbate the net worth/affluence of renters vs home owners, the income gap, the rich vs poor, etc. 

BPers, especially those in Seattle, what do you think of this new bill? Will it provide more affordable housing and will investors end up benefiting the most?

Hi Britta, check out the meet ups on meetup(dot)com. The one I've attended is called Real Estate at Work and they meet in Seattle and Bellevue. There's a bunch of other groups that you can search for on the website. 

I feel like Houston is a russian roulette w/ all the flooding. You never know which neighborhoods are safe from floods or future floods. 

Hi @Matthew Riggs! Throw out "rough" with anything Seattle or Tacoma related. You're not in Chicago or Phili :). 

From what I gather, you want to be close to:

-small businesses

-hospitals

-schools for your daughter

-family friendly amenities

Beacon Hill:

I can only speak for Seattle, but as far as 600k goes, you can get close to hospitals and decent schools in the Beacon Hill area. There's a large VA hospital in Beacon Hill, a huge park, and a golf course/range and plenty of restaurants/bars. In fact, it's one of the gentrifying areas in Seattle right now. 600k is at the bottom of the range for cosmetic fixers (3bd+). Beacon Hill also runs along the light rail route so you can be sure there's plenty of transit oriented development.

Northgate:

This neighborhood is just north of University of Washington. Northwest hospital is just a few blocks from Northgate Mall. In terms of small businesses, Simon Properties is actually overhauling the entire mall and they're building 3 practice ice rinks for Seattle's new NHL hockey team. One of the newest light rail stations is opening at Northgate Mall in a couple years. If you can aim for Maple Leaf, Greenwood/Licton Springs or anywhere close to the mall, you'd really stand to benefit from all the new businesses and light rail coming in. 

Renton:

Valley medical center is here and so is the Seahawks training center so there's tons of sports medicine places too. Once you get out to Renton, there's more cookie cuter homes if that's what you like, but also home prices much lower than the other neighborhoods I mentioned and IMO better schools than Seattle. Renton is a bit what you'd expect from the burbs. 

I know we've contacted each other before, but let me know if you have any other questions about Seattle!

Take care.

Maybe Burien, Tukwila, or Rainier Valley for condos and the slim amount of townhouses (if any) under 300k. They won't cash flow or will barely break even though. 

Maybe SeaTac and try to rent out each room for pilots/flight attendants though its very niche space. You could find a fixer upper rambler for a little over 300k. 

Let me know if you need any help finding any :). 

Parking could be hard on game-days. Is it permitted parking around that area? Parking is important for rentals in Seattle since parking space is a premium - I always get asked if parking comes w/ the unit when renting out my triplex in the CD area. 

It also looks like there's a curb cut right in from of the bus stop (keep in mind the noise coming from that too!). Can you make a parking pad or will that area fit a car? You'd lose the privacy fence though, but perhaps the extra value from that could benefit. 

@Blake King You're doing a great job starting young. As most have said, the property doesn't cash flow. I started this way in 2012 with a triplex in Seattle. House hacked and didn't make a dime until I moved out of the 3rd unit. I plan to use the 500k+ equity I built up to purchase something bigger in the future. There are strictly cash-flow and strictly appreciation style investors and then there's the blended type that look at the IRR (internal rate of return). If you're planning to keep the properties long term, you're more appreciation/IRR like me. Neither style is incorrect, but a matter of preference.

Back to your question, you won't be able to until you move out and have a signed lease in hand. Can you live with parents or friends for a while?

Redfin just released their future business model today, albeit only in BOSTON right now. It's called Redfin Direct and you can elect to have no agent representation when buying a Redfin-listed property. 

https://www.redfin.com/blog/redfin-direct-unrepresented-buyers/

Sellers who chose these non represented buyers pay a 1% buyers fee on top of their 1% sellers fee for a grand total of 2% for the transaction! As an agent, I can see my commissions eventually taking a hit.

Redfin is a true market disruptor. Can I get a holla from everyone in Seattle?!

Columbia City is pretty saturated as of a couple years ago. Beacon Hill was up and coming 2 years ago - and I am speaking mostly about NORTH Beacon Hill. Central and South Beacon are still gentrifying and you will see some new construction SFH in the area. If you're planning to AirBNB I'd stay closer to Seattle DT and close to mass transit.

I might suggest Northgate cause the lightrail station is slated to open in 2021. In the mean time, there's a big park n ride there too. 

Central district, Cap hill, fremont, u-dist/ravenna are still good neighborhoods for AirBNBs. There's also a new light rail station in Ravenna opening in 2021 - its a great established neighborhood and close to the UW. 

If you're looking for more affordable homes, I'd look further down the light rail line like Othello Station or the Columbia City station (which is not really in Columbia City).