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      12-09-2015, 09:48 AM   #1
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Moving to Bellevue area

Hello to all Northwest enthusiasts,

I am looking for feedback/suggestions. I am going to be moving by end of January from my beloved Northern Virginia to Seattle (specifically Bellevue) area.. I am currently searching for places to stay around Bellevue area only.

Option 1: Rent an apartment until I find a good house to buy.

Option 2: Skip renting and buy house as soon as I arrive (if house value is expected to increase next year)

My question is can I find a nice decent small house or town-home between the range of 300k to 400k? Of course I am not expecting to find one in downtown Bellevue but I am not planning to drive more than 30 min for my daily commute to reach my office in Bellevue downtown

My other question is if I decided to rent a place first, can I find a 2 bedroom apartment between the range of $1400 to $1500 around Bellevue area. Again I am looking to keep my daily commute under 30 min.

Any suggestions would be really appreciate it.
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      12-09-2015, 11:17 AM   #2
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North is going to be your friend as far as housing prices go. Look into mill creek or bothell. Not cheap, but cheaper and still very nice.
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      12-09-2015, 11:35 AM   #3
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I am no expert but the housing market is at an all time high, and seems unsustainable to me. Renting seems like the better deal. I was also in the market and decided to wait a bit.

1.5k/month will be doable in Bellevue except in downtown. I would look Newport/Eastgate/Factoria area. Really nice neighborhood, very quiet and should fit the budget.

Daily commute of 30m will be tough to do in neighboring areas like Renton, Bothell, Mill Creek as 405 during rush hour is just the worst. When I use to work in Kirkland and did my commute to south Bellevue, it always took more than 30m (Kirkland is just north of Bellevue). Issaquah may be a good option, much less traffic on i90 east of Bellevue. Hope this helps.
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      12-09-2015, 02:01 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Donger Kim View Post
I am no expert but the housing market is at an all time high, and seems unsustainable to me. Renting seems like the better deal. I was also in the market and decided to wait a bit.

1.5k/month will be doable in Bellevue except in downtown. I would look Newport/Eastgate/Factoria area. Really nice neighborhood, very quiet and should fit the budget.

Daily commute of 30m will be tough to do in neighboring areas like Renton, Bothell, Mill Creek as 405 during rush hour is just the worst. When I use to work in Kirkland and did my commute to south Bellevue, it always took more than 30m (Kirkland is just north of Bellevue). Issaquah may be a good option, much less traffic on i90 east of Bellevue. Hope this helps.
Thanks for your feedback. I am wondering how is the house market right now around Bellevue? is it still going up or it saturated already?
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      12-09-2015, 02:41 PM   #5
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Hard to say, I'd like to think it's saturated but seems to show no slowing down in price. Zillow shows it is at an all time high.

I grew up in Bellevue and a lot has changed, especially the down town area. Fwiw during the 2008 financial crisis, there was a significant fall in prices, even some construction in downtown bellevue was at a complete halt, so it's not to say Bellevue is recession proof for how healthy the job market seems.

I think renting and getting more familiar with the east side is the best idea here.
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      12-09-2015, 02:54 PM   #6
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The big issue is a lack of supply. Available housing for sale has been at an all time low for a while now and it has been driving prices up. I agree with the folks here, renting is a good plan. It also allows you to get a lay of the land and know where you want to end up living. The demographics and geography can be odd in this area so it is best to get your bearings before you buy.
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      12-09-2015, 03:13 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jwzimm View Post
The big issue is a lack of supply. Available housing for sale has been at an all time low for a while now and it has been driving prices up. I agree with the folks here, renting is a good plan. It also allows you to get a lay of the land and know where you want to end up living. The demographics and geography can be odd in this area so it is best to get your bearings before you buy.
looks like that what I will end up doing. Is there places that I can rent for less than 1500 for 2bd apartment? in clean nice area of course
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      12-09-2015, 03:17 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by OneSickM View Post
looks like that what I will end up doing. Is there places that I can rent for less than 1500 for 2bd apartment? in clean nice area of course
Honestly, I am not sure. I live in Renton which is a good distance from Bellevue. I also haven't rented in a long time so I am bad at looking up places. I know that Factoria and Newcastle are nice areas and pretty close to Bellevue. Issaquah is also nice and has been building out a lot. Like folks have said, try to avoid being too far on 405 as it is a parking lot at rush hour.
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      12-09-2015, 05:05 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OneSickM View Post
looks like that what I will end up doing. Is there places that I can rent for less than 1500 for 2bd apartment? in clean nice area of course
Yes, 1500 is very doable for a 2bedroom in Bellevue. All of Bellevue is safe, although some are more safe than others
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      12-10-2015, 12:50 AM   #10
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I believe you can rent a 2 bed, safe but basic apartment without a garage for $1500 in some parts of Bellevue.

Most houses that I saw recently in Bellevue that were under 500k were 30+ years old, 1300sqft and only 1 bathroom. $420-480k can get you a 1500ish sqft house of good quality and fairly new in Bothell (3bed 2bath 2 car garage). You want a 30 year old house, it is less but then you have more work to do. $300k, you need to be south in the S curves of Renton or north of Mill Creek. Just my thoughts.

I would rent for a year, and see where you work, the traffic and the areas you like (close to whatever). Seattle/Bellevue is different in that we are landlocked with sometime limited ways to get to different points. Driving from Everett to Bellevue is 1.5 hours in full rush hour traffic. Bothell is 25 minutes to Redmond (Microsoft) in full rush hour.

some (rare) larger apartment complexes allow (in writing) to get out of the lease if you purchase a home.
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Last edited by schnazzy; 12-10-2015 at 09:58 AM..
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      12-10-2015, 10:39 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by schnazzy View Post
I believe you can rent a 2 bed, safe but basic apartment without a garage for $1500 in some parts of Bellevue.

Most houses that I saw recently in Bellevue that were under 500k were 30+ years old, 1300sqft and only 1 bathroom. $420-480k can get you a 1500ish sqft house of good quality and fairly new in Bothell (3bed 2bath 2 car garage). You want a 30 year old house, it is less but then you have more work to do. $300k, you need to be south in the S curves of Renton or north of Mill Creek. Just my thoughts.

I would rent for a year, and see where you work, the traffic and the areas you like (close to whatever). Seattle/Bellevue is different in that we are landlocked with sometime limited ways to get to different points. Driving from Everett to Bellevue is 1.5 hours in full rush hour traffic. Bothell is 25 minutes to Redmond (Microsoft) in full rush hour.

some (rare) larger apartment complexes allow (in writing) to get out of the lease if you purchase a home.
Thats exactly what I see right now. All houses around Bellevue that goes under 500k are 30+ years old. I am not considering anything older than 10 years because I know the work that needs to be done on them.

I am considering Bothell right now, I heard they are a little bit lower than the rest and newer (or have new development).

My concern is what if I rent for 1 year and then decide to buy, would the prices still be 420-480k or would go higher than 500k at that time? That's the debate I am having that I cannot figure out. Here in Virginia, I can tell you that the price of houses will stay as it is 1 year from now. But I am not familiar with Bellevue area. I heard from some that prices are still going up due to demand is more than supply. If I find a rental that allows me to break the lease anytime, that would be awesome but I know that is just a dream.
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      12-10-2015, 11:33 AM   #12
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As others have said, definitely rent first. The market here is crazy right now. Plus you need to experience the traffic patterns firsthand to get an idea of what is/is not acceptable to you on a daily basis. Certain roads (405 comes to mind) are absolutely brutal during commute times.

Welcome to the neighborhood!

-X-
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      12-10-2015, 09:38 PM   #13
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Rent in Bellevue in somewhat of a newer 2 bed apartment is close to 2k+ a month.
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      12-10-2015, 09:47 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Xerxes480 View Post
As others have said, definitely rent first. The market here is crazy right now. Plus you need to experience the traffic patterns firsthand to get an idea of what is/is not acceptable to you on a daily basis. Certain roads (405 comes to mind) are absolutely brutal during commute times.

Welcome to the neighborhood!

-X-
Thanks for the feedback man. I would definitely choose to rent first but I am afraid to regret not buying if value of houses increased another 20k in a year lol...do you see/expect that happening?
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      12-10-2015, 10:01 PM   #15
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Amazon is still growing and so is Seattle. Market has not peaked IMHO. Not even close.
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      12-11-2015, 12:24 AM   #16
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Amazon is still growing and so is Seattle. Market has not peaked IMHO. Not even close.
Yup.
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      12-11-2015, 03:01 AM   #17
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Bought my house 3 years ago in a new neighborhood after relocating. 3 neighbors sold their 3-6 month old (similar) houses for +$200k than they bought it for, after they relocated again.

This market is nuts.
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      12-11-2015, 05:36 AM   #18
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Amazon is still growing and so is Seattle. Market has not peaked IMHO. Not even close.
Incredibly unsustainable, I guess we'll just have to wait and see
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      12-11-2015, 07:22 AM   #19
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Interest rates will be going up. Curious if that slows ppl down a little. Outside investors are driving market prices up.
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      12-11-2015, 10:46 AM   #20
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Quote:
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Bought my house 3 years ago in a new neighborhood after relocating. 3 neighbors sold their 3-6 month old (similar) houses for +$200k than they bought it for, after they relocated again.

This market is nuts.
Jesus!!... +200k !! ..is that for real??
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      12-12-2015, 05:56 AM   #21
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Jesus!!... +200k !! ..is that for real??
Yes...
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      12-12-2015, 07:28 AM   #22
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When I see million dollar homes being built in Bothell with no views you know this market is nuts.
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