South Seattle: A Vision in Brick

Happy to get out of the house following the storms, this past Sunday I visited a good-sized rambler on a large corner lot in the Seward Park/Lakewood area. This domicile has three bedrooms on the main floor and a one-bedroom MIL apartment in the basement (with it’s own working wood burning fireplace).

A fun bundle of 2,388 sq. ft., this house is in need of deeper cosmetic artistry than it’s received thus far although quirky details such as tiled windowsills can be found throughout. The doors to all the closets in the upstairs bedrooms are inexplicably missing. The main floor bathroom has new marble tile slapped on the shower/tub enclosure and on the vanity top but it did little to improve or modernize the space. The basement laundry room is equipped with two washers and two dryers so all occupants can always have clean knickers. The upstairs kitchen received a marble treatment similar to the bath, and again, the improvements make the older elements appear even more worn. Plus, they include a single, strange, shallow shelf along one wall, which may be intended to serve as a counter but sits at such an awkward height I can’t determine how it would work (shown without helpful context in photograph below on the left, just trust me, it’s funky).

Since the garage has become the MIL bedroom the sloped driveway is the only off-street parking available. This is a very pleasant neighborhood; you’re off the main arterial streets of Genesee and 50th but close to quite a few amenities.

Personally I would rather not pay the asking price of $585,000* for the slapdash fixes – I’d like to pay less and put the difference toward a makeover of my own taste and interest. I think a little more attention to readying this house for sale might have moved it off the market by now. It could hang around until it receives more TLC or a price lower than the current one. Moving the empty keg from the back patio could drastically improve those chances, but that’s just one woman’s opinion.

Baths: 1.75
$/Sq Ft: $245
Last Sale Price: $153,500 (November 1992)

* Flyer distributed on Sunday listed the price as $600,000 so maybe someone shares my thoughts on this property.