1. 

   allisonw
   

   offline

   Member

   I know we have a lot of Loyal Heights loyalists here, and my SO and I have just fallen in love with the area. The two houses on 22nd just north of 83rd came to market *just* a little too early for us, but we are ready to go now and have a little more cash on hand than is typical, which might help. We're looking for one of those cute '40s salt box jobbies, ideally either in original condition or flipped. I know, seems like a pipe dream, but the 2 on 22nd that sold in the last couple of weeks both fit the bill.

   We have a pretty flexible budget that puts us into pretty much anything in the neighborhood. We like the wood ones the best, but brick would be fine too.

   So--if you are planning on listing your house, know of any coming to market, or just have an empty one on your block, please don't hesitate to shoot me an email--allisonwoods at earthlink dot net.

   If this seems like a longshot, trust me, ask for something on this forum and eventually there's a good chance it will come to you. Just the other day a fellow MBallardian pinged me to see if I still wanted a dress form, and I am...so that'll be going in my new house. Thanks in advance for any tips. The inventory's crazy tight right now. I plan to walk some blocks next week looking for empty houses.

   Posted 4 months ago #
2. 

   Compass Rose
   

   offline

   Member

   Allison, I would also suggest putting an ad on Craigslist outlining what you're looking for. That's how we found our boat. The few times I've put an ad on Craigslist looking for something specific, I've always gotten it. For real.

   Posted 4 months ago #
3. 

   Corvus
   

   offline

   Member

   Look for "make me move" houses on Zillow.

   Posted 4 months ago #
4. 

   crownhiller
   

   offline

   Member

   Since I live in that broadly general area, I can tell you they don't turn up very often - I check now and then to see what the current relative value of our house might be. It is a nice neighborhood generally, (with the exception of the new renting family with a penchant for illegal fireworks :o) -ack) There are a couple of houses on our block and the next that were up for sale not that long ago and then ended up becoming rentals when the market tanked - wouldn't be surprised if one or two goes back on the market this year.

   If anyone nearby decides to list, will let you know - we plan to sell about 5 years from now - after the kid is off to college.

   Posted 4 months ago #
5. 

   Mondoman
   

   offline

   Member

   Good luck -- that's a nice area!

   Posted 4 months ago #
6. 

   Apple
   

   offline

   Member

   Also, if you see a property you really like, you could try putting a note in the mail box asking them to contact you if they are thinking of selling. My parents found a piece of property this way and avoided realtor's commissions by doing so. Its a longshot but the only cost is a piece of paper. Good luck.

   Posted 4 months ago #
7. 

   allisonw
   

   offline

   Member

   I've been following the listings for 18 months and things DO come up. The SO found 133 that sold in the neighborhood in the last 2 years in our price range, so it's not a pipe dream. CL idea is an interesting one.

   Posted 4 months ago #
8. 

   Samkin
   

   offline

   Member

   Apple, my friend's dad swore by that strategy. Every time he saw a house he liked, he left a postcard with his contact info. He kept a handful in his car just in case.... He eventually found his house that way, but *years* after he'd left it. I always think about doing that...

   Alison, we live in Loyal Heights but are constantly searching for a 3+ bedroom closer to Adams. I'll keep you in mind if we find anything & decide to sell our current place. How many BRs, etc are you looking for? Ideal cross streets, etc?

   Posted 4 months ago #
9. 

   kellydeen
   

   offline

   Member

   The 2 on 22nd are still "Pending" could return to market. It is a great idea to develop a relationship with a real estate broker as the "cream puffs" in Loyal Heights often get offers on the day they are listed!

   Posted 4 months ago #
10. 

    allisonw
    

    offline

    Member

    Samkin, there's an interesting listing that came up this week that you might look at--2656 NW 63rd. It needs a lot of cosmetic work, but the infrastructure has been done and the house has great bones. I'm interested, but we want to find a salt box and will look at other styles only after it looks like none come to market for a few months, and that seems unlikely.

    Spacewise, the SF of finished space might vary, as we need 2 brs (one br, one office) and probably at least a bath and a half, but if the plumbing's there, we could add a second partial or full bath. So 1400+, and probably a bit bigger than that, but if there is enough storage, quite a bit could be unfinished. We need to be able to have separation in the house because my fella and I work severely oppo-schedules. Something in the basement that could be a rec room would be great.

    Here's our "perfect" raw house:
    http://www.estately.com/listings/info/8319-22nd-nw

    This flipped house is a "perfect" (though somewhere to work on projects would make it even better) finished house:
    http://www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/8312-22nd-Ave-NW-98117/home/163540

    I would say that the alley access, downstairs rec rooms (with bar, yeah!!), fireplaces (2 in the first house) are all icing on the cake. The location is killer--this is really the cream of the crop of LH IMO.

    We're open to other ideas, but these two are pretty bomb.

    Posted 4 months ago #
11. 

    allisonw
    

    offline

    Member

    KD, we have a Realtor, and her alert is set to notify if any of our desired houses return to market. I've also researched other LH homes that were listed, didn't sell, and were pulled from the market. The listing agents are being contacted by our Realtor.

    Having watched the market for a year and a half, I'm (painfully) aware of how long the really good ones are on the market, which is the whole point of my post in the first place. Becoming aware of a property before it comes to market is part of playing the game.

    Posted 4 months ago #
12. 

    boatgeek
    

    offline

    Member

    The more things change, the more they stay the same. We put in our offer in 1997 on the second day it was on the market IIRC. But Ballard was just starting to get trendy then.

    Posted 4 months ago #
13. 

    allisonw
    

    offline

    Member

    I sold a house in Ballard in 2 days with multiple offers in 1994, so yeah, that's true. Keep your eyes peeled for your friend Alli! :)

    Posted 4 months ago #
14. 

    Samkin
    

    offline

    Member

    Alison, so funny that you would post that one! We have actually been in it twice this week.... It's perfect in all sorts of ways (location & bedroom layout are absurdly perfect for our situation), and we've spent the last ~48 hours or so debating if we should go for it. At this point, I think we have talked ourselves out of it. The idea of that major a remodel with three young kids underfoot is a bit overwhelming. But I'm very curious to see what happens with it - I definitely think it will go for more than list price, but I know they rejected a cash offer from a developer, and want it to stay a single family home...

    Posted 4 months ago #

RSS feed for this topic

Reply

You must log in to post.