Greg Smith is the same developer for the new facility at 200 Occidental Ave S that Weyerhaeuser will occupy in Pioneer Square in a few years.
Read the entire article here.
Happy Investing!
Showing posts with label Seattle real estate development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seattle real estate development. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Artists Hub in Pioneer Square
Greg Smith is the same developer for the new facility at 200 Occidental Ave S that Weyerhaeuser will occupy in Pioneer Square in a few years.
Read the entire article here.
Happy Investing!
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Yay, Bicycle Commuters!
More and more folks are getting around on their bicycles these days, and that is a good thing! It has a profound impact on creating a livable urban environment. Here are some cool bike facts from the good folks at Washington Bikes:
Washington is the #1 Bicycle Friendly State in America for the 7th year in a row
We have some of the best new bike lanes in the country.
The greater Wenatchee area became the state’s first multi-jurisdictional Bicycle-Friendly Community.
Bike touring is better than ever with the release of Cycling Sojourner: A Guide to the Best Multi-Day Bike Tours in Washington.
We rolled out US Bicycle Route 10, the first US Bicycle Route on the entire West Coast.
Thousands more students walk and bike to school thanks to our Bike and Pedestrian Safety Education Program.
WA Bikes partnered to rally support for the 27-mile Whitehorse Trail connecting Arlington to Darrington, aiding in the region’s recovery from the devastating Oso mudslide.
Washington is #1 in America for rail-trails—over 1,000 miles and growing.
Local bike advocacy is growing by leaps and bounds, and Washington Bikes opened an office in Spokane.
More and more elected officials at every level “get it”—and work for better bicycling.
Open Streets events are held in more communities.
Bike challenges from serious to off-the-wall (coffeeneuring, anyone?) inspire people to ride more.
Bikes mean business: Biking was recognized as part of the $20+ billion outdoor economy in the state, with Gov. Inslee naming a Blue Ribbon Task Force and appointing the WA Bikes executive director as co-chair.
For nearly 28 years Washington Bikes has made connections for better bicycling. Learn more about the work that happens thanks to people like you: Read our blog and follow us onFacebook, Twitter (@WAbikes), Instagram and Pinterest (#WAbikes).
What does this have to do with real estate investing, you ask? It means that more and more people will be living near public transit and looking for easy commutes to their places of employment. Look for big increases in Transit Oriented Developments in major urban centers like Seattle.
Happy Riding! Happy Investing!
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Encroachment Issues
Our survey at Van Gogh Lofts development project on South Henderson Street revealed an encroachment by the neighboring property. Owners there had erected a walkway that projected over our property line.
1. What is an encroachment?
An encroachment is a situation in real estate where a property owner violates the property rights of his neighbor by building something on the neighbor's land or by allowing something to hang over onto the neighbor's property. Encroachment can be a problem along property lines when a property owner is not aware of his property boundaries or intentionally chooses to violate his neighbor's boundaries. This is also known as structural encroachment.
In some cases, when the encroachment exists before you purchase your property, the owner that has the encroachment is not required to remove it, particularly in the case of a house eave or addition that extends the original property into an encroachment situation. When you have an encroachment situation where an agreement cannot be reached, it will be necessary to take the matter to court and let a judge make an official ruling.
We do not want to grant the neighboring property an easement for this encroachment, as it will negatively impact our project development.
2. What is an Easement?
An easement allows the usage of a pathway between adjacent properties. An easement may involve a pathway to reach a common play area, yard or even a fish pond. The legal terminology of easement allows someone the legal right to use something not belonging to them. Easement refers to real property and allows a legal right of usage. An affirmative easement is the official permission and right to use another's property for a specific reason. A negative easement disallows the right for someone to use another's property.
a. Easement and Common Law
Easements are ruled and followed by real estate law, yet common law procedures enforce certain types of easements. There are four types of easements that are typically, over time, enforced by the common law courts.
The most common easement is called the Right of Way in which people can pass through an area. Easement of support refers to excavations of property. Less common are Easements of light and air and rights regarding artificial waterways. The four types of easements are usually for very specialized scenarios. The most used easement is the Right of Way easement. The letter carrier, water meter reader and UPS delivery person all have the right to step on your property by easement of right of way.
b. Creation of Easement
Easements are mostly created by a binding written document. Most courts in the United States favor a written explicit easement. Verbal and implied easements are complex. Courts base the allowance to have an easement on intention of the original parties in each situation. Courts take into account customs, habits and practices for the property in question for usage of easements. Courts prefer having written intentions, although courts will allow implied easement after researching intent of the parties.
Fortunately, this encroachment on our property has been there for less than two years. The property owner was unaware of the encroachment, and did not allow it. Therefore, it should not qualify as adverse possession.
3. What is Adverse Possession?
Adverse possession is a method of gaining legal title to real property by the actual, open, hostile, and continuous possession of it to the exclusion of its true owner for the period prescribed by state law. Personal Property may also be acquired by adverse possession.
Adverse possession is similar to prescription, another way to acquire title to real property by occupying it for a period of time. Prescription is not the same, however, because title acquired under it is presumed to have resulted from a lost grant, as opposed to the expiration of the statutory time limit in adverse possession.
Title to land is acquired by adverse possession as a result of the lapse of the Statute of Limitations for Ejectment, which bars the commencement of a lawsuit by the true owner to recover possession of the land. Adverse possession depends upon the intent of the occupant to claim and hold real property in opposition to the entire world and the demonstration of this intention by visible and hostile possession of the land so that the owner is or should be aware that adverse claims are being made.
The legal theory underlying the vesting of title by adverse possession is that title to land must be certain. Since the owner has, by his or her own fault and neglect, failed to protect the land against the hostile actions of the adverse possessor, an adverse possessor who has treated the land as his or her own for a significant period of time is recognized as its owner.
Title by adverse possession may be acquired against any person or corporation not excepted by statute. Property held by the federal government, a state, or a Municipal Corporation cannot be taken by adverse possession. As long as the property has a public use, as with a highway or school property, its ownership cannot be lost through adverse possession.
It is the job of the Seller to deliver clean title, and in this case, Van Gogh Development Corporation expects the Seller to clear title on this property, prior to our closing in July.
Happy investing!
1. What is an encroachment?
An encroachment is a situation in real estate where a property owner violates the property rights of his neighbor by building something on the neighbor's land or by allowing something to hang over onto the neighbor's property. Encroachment can be a problem along property lines when a property owner is not aware of his property boundaries or intentionally chooses to violate his neighbor's boundaries. This is also known as structural encroachment.
In some cases, when the encroachment exists before you purchase your property, the owner that has the encroachment is not required to remove it, particularly in the case of a house eave or addition that extends the original property into an encroachment situation. When you have an encroachment situation where an agreement cannot be reached, it will be necessary to take the matter to court and let a judge make an official ruling.
We do not want to grant the neighboring property an easement for this encroachment, as it will negatively impact our project development.
2. What is an Easement?
An easement allows the usage of a pathway between adjacent properties. An easement may involve a pathway to reach a common play area, yard or even a fish pond. The legal terminology of easement allows someone the legal right to use something not belonging to them. Easement refers to real property and allows a legal right of usage. An affirmative easement is the official permission and right to use another's property for a specific reason. A negative easement disallows the right for someone to use another's property.
a. Easement and Common Law
Easements are ruled and followed by real estate law, yet common law procedures enforce certain types of easements. There are four types of easements that are typically, over time, enforced by the common law courts.
The most common easement is called the Right of Way in which people can pass through an area. Easement of support refers to excavations of property. Less common are Easements of light and air and rights regarding artificial waterways. The four types of easements are usually for very specialized scenarios. The most used easement is the Right of Way easement. The letter carrier, water meter reader and UPS delivery person all have the right to step on your property by easement of right of way.
b. Creation of Easement
Easements are mostly created by a binding written document. Most courts in the United States favor a written explicit easement. Verbal and implied easements are complex. Courts base the allowance to have an easement on intention of the original parties in each situation. Courts take into account customs, habits and practices for the property in question for usage of easements. Courts prefer having written intentions, although courts will allow implied easement after researching intent of the parties.
Fortunately, this encroachment on our property has been there for less than two years. The property owner was unaware of the encroachment, and did not allow it. Therefore, it should not qualify as adverse possession.
3. What is Adverse Possession?
Adverse possession is a method of gaining legal title to real property by the actual, open, hostile, and continuous possession of it to the exclusion of its true owner for the period prescribed by state law. Personal Property may also be acquired by adverse possession.
Adverse possession is similar to prescription, another way to acquire title to real property by occupying it for a period of time. Prescription is not the same, however, because title acquired under it is presumed to have resulted from a lost grant, as opposed to the expiration of the statutory time limit in adverse possession.
Title to land is acquired by adverse possession as a result of the lapse of the Statute of Limitations for Ejectment, which bars the commencement of a lawsuit by the true owner to recover possession of the land. Adverse possession depends upon the intent of the occupant to claim and hold real property in opposition to the entire world and the demonstration of this intention by visible and hostile possession of the land so that the owner is or should be aware that adverse claims are being made.
The legal theory underlying the vesting of title by adverse possession is that title to land must be certain. Since the owner has, by his or her own fault and neglect, failed to protect the land against the hostile actions of the adverse possessor, an adverse possessor who has treated the land as his or her own for a significant period of time is recognized as its owner.
Title by adverse possession may be acquired against any person or corporation not excepted by statute. Property held by the federal government, a state, or a Municipal Corporation cannot be taken by adverse possession. As long as the property has a public use, as with a highway or school property, its ownership cannot be lost through adverse possession.
It is the job of the Seller to deliver clean title, and in this case, Van Gogh Development Corporation expects the Seller to clear title on this property, prior to our closing in July.
Happy investing!
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Seattle Lot Restrictions
A popular tool for Seattle real estate investors has been to subdivide larger City lots in order to build a second house.
In 2012, the City started hearing some strong reactions from residents upon learning that tall houses were being developed in their neighborhoods on what had been considered back or side lots, but not anticipated to be a developable lot.
In September 2012, City Council adopted Ordinance 123978, interim regulations for small lot development in Single Family zones. The ordinance addressed public concerns that some developments on single-family zoned lots, which were approved through existing lot area exceptions, were incompatible with surrounding neighborhoods. This interim ordinance:
1. Eliminated one lot-area exemption that allowed lots to be established through historic County property tax records;
2. Established a minimum lot size of at least 50% of the minimum requirement of the zone; and
3. Imposed new height restrictions on new houses proposed for lots of less that 3,750 square feet.
The ordinance was adopted on an emergency basis. The progress to modify standards for small lots in Single Family zones has been delayed slightly by changes at City Hall - new Mayor and new head of the City Council Committee that handles land use matters - but are expected to get back on track soon. The new standards will likely be adopted in the next few months. Typically code amendments take effect 30 days after they are adopted by City Council and signed by the Mayor, so we may be looking at May or so before new standards are in effect.
Happy Investing!
In 2012, the City started hearing some strong reactions from residents upon learning that tall houses were being developed in their neighborhoods on what had been considered back or side lots, but not anticipated to be a developable lot.
In September 2012, City Council adopted Ordinance 123978, interim regulations for small lot development in Single Family zones. The ordinance addressed public concerns that some developments on single-family zoned lots, which were approved through existing lot area exceptions, were incompatible with surrounding neighborhoods. This interim ordinance:
1. Eliminated one lot-area exemption that allowed lots to be established through historic County property tax records;
2. Established a minimum lot size of at least 50% of the minimum requirement of the zone; and
3. Imposed new height restrictions on new houses proposed for lots of less that 3,750 square feet.
The ordinance was adopted on an emergency basis. The progress to modify standards for small lots in Single Family zones has been delayed slightly by changes at City Hall - new Mayor and new head of the City Council Committee that handles land use matters - but are expected to get back on track soon. The new standards will likely be adopted in the next few months. Typically code amendments take effect 30 days after they are adopted by City Council and signed by the Mayor, so we may be looking at May or so before new standards are in effect.
Happy Investing!
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Raising Private Capital
How does a developer go about financing a project from the ground up? Many use their personal wealth, but that is not always possible - and it is not the way that we intend to go with our artist live work development on South Henderson Street near the Rainier Beach light rail station.
I wanted to explain our business model, which is different from the owner-occupant model which is more typically used in a property management screening and with which my readers may be more familiar. Van Gogh Development Corporation is not an owner-occupant, but rather a developer of the property on Henderson Street.
We will be raising private capital through a private offering syndication, and will create a separate LLC to close on this transaction (to be named something like Van Gogh Lofts, LLC). We have met with a top-notch SEC attorney in Bellevue, Greg Russell of PRK, to begin this process. I personally have raised over $2 million in private funds for previous real estate deals, which is why I provided my personal credit history for review. My.
business partner O. Thomas Harper has used his own personal resources for previous developments, but does not plan to do this development that way.
We have hired architects, attorneys, and geotech consultants, all at our own expense, to begin this process. When we have preliminary plans and a pro forma budget, we will begin approaching private investors and equity partners to raise the funds we need.
We have not filed a tax return for the past few years, because there has been no recent activity in our corporate account. Our last project was a master plan for a 150-unit apartment development in South Seattle, which was scuttled as a result of the economic downturn. Because we had no activity, it did not make sense to keep funds in the corporate account. We have been financing the costs for the Henderson project out of personal resources, while we prepare for raising private capital.
I trust you understand how this business model differs from what you may be used to when screening a tenant for a commercial or residential property. What we are doing is quite different, but also quite typical for a development project. Talk with other builders and developers to verify this business approach.
We are willing to take a big gamble on a development in a part of town where few other developers have been willing to take this risk. We believe our proposal for artist live work space and ground floor commercial is the right one for this location, and one in which I think the community will be well-served.
But if we were to fail, at the very worst, the seller would keep our $10,000 of earnest money, and have a more valuable property with architectural plans, permits and geotechnical report. Trust me, we have already raised the visibility of this site within the community, through our meetings with SE Effective Development, with the Rainier Valley Community Development Fund, and with various arts leaders. This should prove to be a big win-win for our seller as we move forward.
Happy Investing!
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