Fixer Triplex with Views in Renton

Investor/Builder/Contractor Alert!  

Finish off this high-quality project and reap the rewards! Legal triplex fixer, down to the studs! Corner lot with no neighbors and AMAZING territorial views from every floor, of Lake Washington, Olympic mountains, downtown Renton. Cedar River water property next door, will never develop. 

Great location-Easy walk to downtown Renton (walk score 83); close to airports, Boeing, public transit, The Landing, shops, restaurants. Gas at street.

Asking $500,000. Seller financing available. Please contact Wendy Ceccherelli at wendy@c21nwr.com for details or to schedule a showing.

339 Cedar Avenue S, Renton, WA

Happy Investing!

Buildable Land?

From Jeanne Lang Jones and the Seattle Business Magazine 

Only 3,900 new [buildable] lots are added annually…415,000 new residents to the Puget Sound area since 2012

Inventory is increasing, but it’s too little too late for Seattle Homebuyers.  Inventory levels in Seattle have grown 54.7% since April 28^th to a city-wide level of 764 homes for sale.  On one hand, wow!  Over 50% growth in inventory in the last 6 weeks!  On the other…  764 total homes for sale is still not very many, in a city where the US Census Bureau estimates 704,000 residents (year ending July 1, 2016). That’s about 1 house for sale for every 921 Seattle residents.

Part of the problem can be found in one of the best written articles for WHY Seattle housing is where it is I’ve read in a long time.  There are lots of reasons, but Jeanne Lang Jones from the Seattle Business Magazine takes a pretty in-depth look at two of the major reasons, one of which is simply a lack of new homes being built.  The link to the full article is below, but basically the Washington Growth Management Act limits the areas where builders can construct new homes, and for better or worse, it’s too constrictive.  Builders just don’t have enough buildable land near the city centers…and the land they can find, given the demand, it’s much more profitable to build townhomes or multifamily (condos/apartments).  Bye Bye white picket fence and big back yard  : (

On top of not enough land, institutional investors have purchased around 44,000 homes in the region in recent years.  The lack of new homes + the additional demand from investors has Seattle as the tightest real estate market in the country per Realtor.com. 

Again, if you have some time, I definitely recommend checking out the full article below

Full article by Jeanne Lang Jones:  http://seattlebusinessmag.com/real-estate/vanishing-dream-home-ownership

I have a listing for a buildable waterfront lot on Lake Walker in Enumclaw. Send me a private message at wendy@c21nwr.com for more details.

Happy Investing!

Seattle Housing Affordability

The Seattle City Council is considering legislation that would require developers of multifamily housing to include some affordable units in their projects or pay the city to help build the units elsewhere.

The legislation would take effect in conjunction with the council approving zoning changes across the city — mostly in multifamily areas.

Those changes would allow developers to build larger and taller buildings, offsetting the cost of the requirements.

Mayor Ed Murray unveiled the broad strokes of the policy almost a year ago, saying it would help make Seattle more affordable.

But there are a lot of important details for the council to investigate, including some that still need to be hammered out. For the complete article, click here.

As a developer, I know that construction costs and market variables are unpredictable. There are parts of the city where development lags behind because of its riskiness, places like Rainier Beach - exactly where more affordable housing is needed. The city needs to consider encouraging development in these areas, without additional costs and restrictions that impede economic growth and development.

Happy Investing!

Ballard Multifamily Tour

Approximately 15 people showed up today to tour several small income properties in and around Ballard; and to learn more about how to value multifamily real estate.

We were able to tour three properties, two in Ballard and one in Green Lake. There was one bank-owned duplex, two short-sale multifamily properties, and one or two properties with possible seller financing.

I would love to blog more about the specific properties we saw; unfortunately, most of the sellers elected to prohibit blogging, so I can't.

If you are interested in getting a list of small multifamily properties currently listed for sale in great neighborhoods in Seattle, like Ballard, Wallingford, Fremont and Green Lake, please contact me directly at HomeLandInvestment@gmail.com or at 206-355-1706. Or search on my website for Seattle properties that match your buying criteria at http://homelandseattle.com/listingssearch.asp.

Pet-Friendly Vintage Brick Triplex Apt w/ Garage!

Designer unit on corner lot in beautifully-remodelled brick triplex. Lots of architectural details, hardwood floors, new appliances, leaded glass front door windows, old world charm with up-to-code conveniences, in a desireable location. This unit comes with its own off-street garage with automatic roll-up door for storage or parking; and plenty of free street parking available for visitors. Walking distance to Lake Washington, stores and restaurants in a quiet residential neighborhood just 2.5 miles from downtown Seattle.

Updated energy-efficiency reduces tenant's utility costs for electric heat. Landlord pays for garbage, water, sewer, exterior lighting, regular yard maintenance, and professional property management. Tenant just pays electricity (and additional desired services such as phone, cable and/or internet).


About the neighborhood:
Neighborhood is close to Capitol Hill, Central District and the Madrona restaurants area. It is walking distance to wooded trails to Lake Washington. Douglass Truth Library, Samarya Yoga Center, Red Apple grocery store, a couple of coffee shops, Amazon.com, Lowe's and Walgreen’s.

Transportation:
Easy access to I-90, highways, and bus lines. Several bus routes nearby go to various areas including Capitol Hill, downtown, Queen Anne, south Seattle, University District, etc. (#2, 3, 4, 8, 14, 27 and 48).