Archive for March, 2007
March 23, 2007
Although this little Rainier Beach cottage has only one bedroom and one bath, the view across the street packs quite a punch. This is where location drives the price tag, pushing the price per square foot up to $368. There’s a panoramic view of Lake Washington and Mercer Island, with the safety buffer of a scenic boulevard to preserve it indefinitely. I know the following picture doesn’t look too alluring, but it was pouring rain when I dropped past.
It’s a quiet neighborhood with a lofty, airy feeling to the hillside and the house is a pleasant walk away from Lakeridge Park.
Still, in today’s world of living large, it’s hard to imagine having a family in a 950 square foot house. A couple could probably manage reasonably, and speculate that an addition or second story would make those dreams of a home office come true. Nice big windows, a Spanish flavored stucco exterior, and an interesting layout could tide you over until it was time to stretch out. I’ve been seeing properties get snapped up quickly in a 10 block radius of this house, so this little spot might not last long.
The Measurements: Price: $349,500. Last sold in 2004 for $170,000. 950 square feet. 1 bedroom, 1 bath.
March 23, 2007
Recent posts on Sweet Digs Seattle:
Ballard: Eager to Sell
Bainbridge Island: Romancing the Rambler: Price Reduced
Windows of Opportunity
Open house this weekend in Sammamish:
Saturday, March 24, 2007, 11am-7pm
900 233rd Ave NE #949
Sammamish, WA 98074
The most clicks on Redfin today goes to a quaint house in Kirkland. These days if you’re in the market for a property under $500,000 that is in good condition, move-in ready, and isn’t a townhome or condo you’ll be hard pressed to find anything. For under $500,000 you probably won’t find anything near a downtown either. Not anywhere close to downtown Seattle that’s for sure, not in downtown Bellevue, not even downtown Kirkland. Today’s most clicked house is about 15 minutes north of downtown Kirkland and looks like it’s in great shape. The listing provides a floor plan and the layout look like a practical use of space.
STATS:
Price: $471,500
Location: 8128 NE 125TH St Kirkland, WA 98034
Last sale price: $159,000 (1993)
MLS: 27041662
March 22, 2007
I wonder what caused a steep, 20 percent drop in the asking price for this two-story home. Seventy days on Redfin, or…? Wish there were pictures. Whatever the reason, that large a cut indicates a “motivated seller.” The location is good: close to the Sound and Golden Gardens. Just purchased last September after 22 years with the same owner. Senior exemption. Hmmm. 3006 NW 73RD ST cut from $762,500 to $610,500. It’s a 2 bedroom, 1.25 bath house, 1800 square feet.
Here are some other properties that have dropped in price recently:
2200 NW 59th St #403 cut from $289,950 to $279,950. It’s a 2 bedroom, 1 bath condo in a 55+ building, 904 square feet.
3200 NW 73RD ST cut from $875,000 to $850,000. It’s a 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath faux Craftsman, built in 2003, 3440 square feet.
8341 29TH AVE NW cut from $504,444 to $499,000. It’s a 4 bedroom, 1.75 bath, 1670 square-foot home that’s been listed on Redfin for – yikes! – 112 days. Maybe it looks better in person than in the pictures.
March 22, 2007
I JUST discovered a price drop on this ramber I zipped through the other day:
It is another in a series of ramblers I’ve visited that fall into the half million dollar range. Most houses in this ball park are totally liveable, but would benefit from basic cosmetic updating and decorator touches to catapult them into the current century.
The house is located in old Commodore where I got to admit, some of the architecture is really pretty–um–dated. It’s a neighborhood that varies in terms of appeal–some of the houses have shall we say–unfortunate design aspects that seemed like a good idea at the time.
But this great little rambler has the advantage of an updated kitchen and bathrooms (including a cute, old fashioned tub), and well-maintained hardwood floors. If I bought it, I’d consider opening up spaces–knocking down a wall or two to meld the kitchen with either the living and/or family room–but that might cost a few bucks and it isn’t a must.
Popping in a French door to replace the slider would add to the romantic atmosphere of this house–that would be money well spent.
The huge, fenced and private back yard is a grand palette for someone with a strong back and a Sunset Western Garden book–it has a stone patio that could be highlighted by a good design.
Speaking as one who hugged a large Sequoia tree during Harmonic Convergence back in the eighties, would it be wrong to fell one of the massive cedars in the front yard to allow more natural light into the living room?
1532 Whited Place NE
3 br, 2 ba
Approx. 1745 sq ft
Approx. 0.29 Acres
Last Sold 3/16/01 for $279,000
nwmls # 26149858
Dropped from $514,500 to $499,500
March 22, 2007
As you are out looking to find the perfect home, don’t let old windows discourage you. I bought the house I live in now a few years ago and most of the windows weren’t worth keeping. When I started getting quotes to replace the windows, I realized it would be far too expensive with other renovations needing to come first.
I was out driving around looking for deals when I stumbled across Northwest Window and Door. I went inside to ask the big question (one you might want to ask to): “Do you have any windows someone ordered that they didn’t pick up or are not happy with?” I got exactly the answer I was looking for, “yes”. I drove out to their warehouse on 220th Street between I-5 and Rte. 99 (close to Premera Blue Cross, on the north side of the street up the hill and tucked in a corner of some small buildings) and found everything I was looking for. I bought about $3,500 – $4,500 worth of windows for $450. Now that’s what I’m talking about. It’s worth the trip out there if you know what you are looking for and are willing to look through a room full of windows to find your own diamond in the rough. Here are a few tips to help you out:
1. Measure the rough openings before you go.
2. Don’t buy windows that are bigger than your rough opening measurements.
3. They have some screens too, so take the time to look for them (I found all of mine).
4. Keep an open mind on color. There is paint specifically for window trim and it works great.
5. Take your old windows to a reuse store (instead of the dump) for cash or trade credit.
March 22, 2007
Recent posts on Sweet Digs Seattle:
Phinney Ridge: Price Reductions
South Seattle: Anna Bahney Is My God
South Seattle: Sending Out An SOS
Northwest Seattle: The Full Spectrum, March 2007
Green Lake: Symphony In Wood
Magnolia: Every Dog Will Have It’s Day
Magnolia: Perfect Remodel
Magnolia: Small Wonder
South Seattle: Symmetrical Living
Sure it’s big, has upscale finishes, a terrace, nice tall ceilings, and cool paint colors. But a penthouse is always on the top floor! The listing remarks on today’s most popular property tout it as a “1st floor penthouse unit”. I know I’ve never heard of such a thing… and what penthouse, pray tell, costs under a million these days? This listing costs about half that. I would call this a really nice first floor condo.
STATS:
Price: $524,950
Location: 1609 Summit Ave #101 Seattle, WA 98122
Last sale price: NA
MLS: 27041748
March 22, 2007
This re-done Craftsman in the Seward Park area has a nice dose of curb appeal, and it isn’t too far away from Lake Washington. Unfortunately, the house isn’t too far away from Rainier Avenue either, which is one of the reasons I suspect it hasn’t sold yet.
The real scoop is, if the sale history is accurate, this house was purchased in November of 2006 for $285,000 and then fixed up in only four months to get ready for resale. Four months? In a few respects, this haste on this property seems to have shown up in the details and design.
For example, the balcony deck off the master bedroom is right next to the entertaining deck, both overlooking a fairly small and uninspiring yard. In my opinion, the balcony felt redundant and odd. For decks in the wet Northwest, it would have also been promising to see them choose a different decking wood.
By looking in the windows, I could tell that the hardwood floors, although refinished, had a long and hearty life behind them. And some of the windows (especially on the front door) bore the marks of an overenthusiastic caulk job.
One on hand, with properties like these, you get the benefits of a new electrical system, plumbing and roof, which is a serious plus. On the other hand, it is comforting to know that other work around the house is done with care and an emphasis on longevity. With these quick flips being all the rage in my neighborhood, it seems difficult to have it all.
The Numbers: Price: $444,000. Last sold in 2006 for $285,000. 1,608 square feet. 3 bedrooms, 2.25 baths.
March 21, 2007
The seller of that fixer with my favorite handyman’s helper – the basement urinal – took my advice and sliced some more off the price. 302 NW 74TH ST cut from $619,950 to $599,950. It’s a 4 bedroom, 1 bath house, 1310 square feet.
Here are some other properties that have dropped in price recently:
6214 3RD AVE NW cut from $640,000 to $620,000. It’s a 3 bedroom, 2.25 bath house, 2200 square feet.
124 N 54TH ST cut from $895,000 to $875,000. It’s a 4 bedroom, 3.25 bath two-story, 3240 square feet.
317 N 78TH ST cut from $699,500 to $649,950. It’s a 2 bedroom, 1 bath bungalow, 1620 square feet.
March 21, 2007
Long time readers know I dig the comparative piece the NY Times cooks up in their recurring property valuation feature, What You Get For $XXXK.
This week they not only feature an accessible dollar amount, they also include a Seattle condo. And yes, the price per square foot here is higher than that of three bedroom homes in North Carolina (on stilts!) and Colorado (of logs!). I think the Seattle condo is pretty hot in the NYT slideshow but I’m probably swayed by the pullout bar.
To bring it on home…here’s a smattering of what the same moolah scores in my stomping grounds. I always get excited to run Redfin search fields…tonight it’s $475-500K, house and condo, zip code…thinking I will trump the New York Times by turning up some amazing deal. As you will see below, it’s not always so, as I found a grand total of like, seven (consisting largely of dupes):
Home Sweet Pagoda and twin are on the market
39 Days on Redfin (at blogging)
One of these things is not like the other
There you have it. The vernal equinox report, many hours off from GMT.
March 21, 2007
I would be curious to learn what prompted city planners to put in the little knot of streets off Beacon Avenue where this house is located. The winding roads and mid-century ramblers make the whole place feel like a borrowed patch of Long Island and I confess to getting lost here as easily as I do on family visits to East Meadow, NY.
After finding what I am pretty sure is the deal of the month only a couple blocks away, I popped in to see what $349,950 looks like in this neck of the woods. In this instance it doesn’t look all that great. To cut to the chase, I think this house needs a lot of help and I honestly don’t know where one would start. Finding a way to raise the ceiling heights would be a good beginning, maybe. Neither of the two bathrooms held much appeal for me, but the one in the hallway had grout work that I can only describe as wretched. One can tell that the room with the adjacent bath is intended to be the master suite but I found it the darkest and least pleasant bedroom of the three. While it’s a decent size, the kitchen is showing a considerable amount of wear and tear, and for reasons not apparent to me the fridge has been relegated to live with the laundry appliances in the back hallway. At 5,170 sq. ft.* the lot is an OK size but doesn’t provide much privacy from the neighbors on either side. My favorite part of the entire property was a sturdy structure placed in the backyard to serve as a large storage shed or studio.
I wouldn’t totally fuhgeddaboudit but I do think you can find less work and more charm for the same price or lower in this neighborhood.
Sq. Ft.*: N/A
$/Sq. Ft.*: N/A
Last Sale Price: $84,950 (June 1991)
* Information from sources deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
