Seattle Area Rental Tips

[blueskitten]

[LotharBot]

[mike2]

[blueskitten]

Just thought I'd follow up here...

We found a place we like and are moving in next weekend. The rent comes to about $1/sq foot + utilities, in a "luxury" complex in Des Moines that gives us both good access to Seattle and Tacoma. They seem excited to get us in the door, as they've got several comparable units available... they gave us some incentives in addition to the "specials."

We had about four properties on our "short list" ranging in price from $950-$1250/month, the most expensive of which was a house in Federal Way. The owner was disappointed we didn't choose his house, and he offered to match the price per square foot of the one we decided on (which would have meant him coming down $250). Another unit was owned by some mid-twenties specuvestor guy... brand new townhouse-style condo conversion with granite countertops. The granite countertops were actually a factor *against* that unit for us. Don't like 'em, and who wants to be liable for any accidental damage to them? Not me.

Initially it looked like there wasn't a lot of selection, but the properties that are available haven't been turning over very quickly. Owners are claiming that they've been taking, "TONS of calls on this one over the weekend!", but strangely they're still around a week later. Hmm....