Seeing as WA market is highly appreciation based, that weighs heavily on my decision as well.Any insight to be offered would be much appreciated.Edit, footnote: I'm buying one of the very first houses in the neighborhood for the SFH.

With the amount of equity you have in the current house, you could find a local bank to give you a HELOC, which would increase your buying power significantly.Renting the current house and using the equity to pull a HELOC would likely be the best decision, and everyone has different goals.

The county website is just the record keeper but the decisions and rezoning are done by each city individually.  

We don't ever build/renovate for other people as someone else is making/changing decisions and all kinds of things go awry. 

First is assurance that I'm making wise decisions / deals.

First is assurance that I'm making wise decisions / deals.

Then, I'd make a decision from there as to how to handle the situation further.

Several of you commented and it really helped us solidify our decision, so thanks to all who commented!

Other then owner financing, talk to a loan officer so you have the facts to make an informed decision.

It sucked to watch, and I would hope this is a one-off experience but . . . .well, you know how things go.So, do your due diligence with the COA in addition to other aspects and make the best decision you can overall. :)