Went to look at a rental house
Not looking to move for a few months but decided to check out what I could get that is ~20% less expensive than we're paying now. One place popped up that had a "cool feature" we're looking for so I said "heck, why not have a look, if I like it I'll put down a deposit".
Didn't turn out to be what I was looking for (good location, bad condition) but my girlfriend and I hung around a bit and had a chat with the owner.
The house was newly painted outside and partially landscaped and he was in the process of repainting the inside. It looked like it had been empty for a while so we asked how long. He paused for a bit, then said "going on 6 months. I was trying to sell it but the market has slowed down alot so I decided to pull it off and rent it again".
Then he explained that "I've had 4 couples come by to look at it today, 10 calls and 20 emails about it, so I'm sure it's going to go fast. Which is kind of surprising, because I have another house in Loyal Heights (it's actually in Sunset Hill on 32nd) that I rented out last month. Only 4 people came to see it, and only 2 turned in an application."
Granted, that house wasn't in saleable condition by any stretch of the imagination so I can see why it didn't sell. (He missed the "slap on a coat of paint, start a bidding war" window by a few months) However the lot was 8000 sq ft and building a 2-3 story house in its place would have given it a view of the olympics. Builders would have been drooling over this as a teardown last spring.
Didn't turn out to be what I was looking for (good location, bad condition) but my girlfriend and I hung around a bit and had a chat with the owner.
The house was newly painted outside and partially landscaped and he was in the process of repainting the inside. It looked like it had been empty for a while so we asked how long. He paused for a bit, then said "going on 6 months. I was trying to sell it but the market has slowed down alot so I decided to pull it off and rent it again".
Then he explained that "I've had 4 couples come by to look at it today, 10 calls and 20 emails about it, so I'm sure it's going to go fast. Which is kind of surprising, because I have another house in Loyal Heights (it's actually in Sunset Hill on 32nd) that I rented out last month. Only 4 people came to see it, and only 2 turned in an application."
Granted, that house wasn't in saleable condition by any stretch of the imagination so I can see why it didn't sell. (He missed the "slap on a coat of paint, start a bidding war" window by a few months) However the lot was 8000 sq ft and building a 2-3 story house in its place would have given it a view of the olympics. Builders would have been drooling over this as a teardown last spring.
Comments
I hope you are right, however. I'm sick of mongo-McCraftmans on too-small lots ruining neighborhoods.
$1250. Optimally, I'd like to get rent down to around 10% of gross income, but that's probably not going to happen unless we get an apartment.
Here is a trend that is MUCH stronger this year in the "nicer" parts of the area (Madison Park, Leschi, Capitol Hill, etc.)....many Craigslist ads to rent "half a house" for the same price ($1600 to $2500) as you would pay to rent a whole house just about anywhere else in the area.
I think this is FBs and Infestors being "creative" to cover the fact that there is no way rents can cover the mortgages associated with the insane prices people have paid over the last 5 years. Oh yea, and those ARMS are coming home to roost....
I hope people see thru this and "just say no" to cramped communal living just so some FB/Infestor can continue on with their high-falutin lifestyle.
House prices and rent prices will benefit greatly when all the FBs/Infestors are purged from the market and living in "tent city"...
It is a great time to be a low-life, loser, scumbag...renter.
Sorry Neil......got Moosemunch?
My girlfriend's mom has seen her property value skyrocket, along with the tax bill She's made a killing on the appreciation, but it's getting to the point where she's seriously considering either getting a tenant or trading down to a condo.