Mcguire Apartment Controversy

Carpenter’s Tower LLC reported this week it will be tearing down its 25 story apartment building located in the heart of Belltown. 272 units must vacate by the end of the year. Incentives have been offered to apartment tenants. Three months money back rent if tenants move out as soon as possible.


The conflict still remains between who is at fault. McCarthy Building Company LLC, who built the McGuire Building, stated that the building is entirely safe and demolition can be avoided by proper maintenance and monitoring, but the Seattle Department of Planning and Development said it had reviewed engineering reports of structural problems of cable corrosion and agreed it should be demolished. The estimated cost to repair the building was $80 million. According to county records, the build was assessed at $60 million.


The Carpenter’s Union filed lawsuit against the McCarthy Building Company and its architects who designed the building. McCarthy Building Company in turn filed suit against its subcontractors. Trial dates are set for Sept.


The verdict of weather or not the McGuire building will come down is completely up to the owner, Carpenter’s Towers, who has made its point this week that’s what they want done.

A few tips for your next move

Tips for your next move

Make your next move with ease! Ask yourself these few questions. The answer will help your moving experience be more efficient and less time consuming.

I.Know your financial situation.

• How much rent can you afford?
  
• How much of a deposit can you afford? (Homeowners can ask for first month’s rent, last month’s rent, and a deposit. Pets are usually an additional deposit.)
  
• What is your budget for utilities? (remember larger homes can be expensive to heat)

II. Know what areas you are willing to live in.

• You may not always find the perfect home in one area. Find other neighborhoods you wouldn’t mind living in.

III. Know what your needs and wants are.

• What are your needs? These are things you can’t live without (ex. 3 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, 2 car garage, etc.)
• What are your wants? Things that are not a necessity, such as a view or a tennis court.
  

IV. Know when you need to move.

• When is your current lease up?
  
• How much time do you have to relocate?
• Don’t start looking too early. Generally it is a good idea to give yourself 30 days to find a home. Landlords typically will give you up to 30 days to move in. In Washington State, tenants need to give 20 days notice before moving out and often tell their landlord 20-30 days in advance that they are moving out. Landlords typically want to fill the space without it sitting vacant. Thus landlords normally will not sign a lease for a property unless you are willing to move in within the next 20-30 days from signing the lease.
  

V. Talk with an agent.

• Real Estate agents have access to most rentals on the market. It’s a good idea to give your local office a call. Usually it’s at no cost to you.

Demands for rental properties are high right now and rentals do lease fast. Try to be as flexible as possible and remember to follow these few tips.

What Does It Mean To "Go Green"?

Is seems the term “going green” is becoming more and more popular these days. So what does it mean to build green? Building green is designed to reduce the overall impact on human health and the natural environment. It starts from the very begin of a building cycle and continues though the life of the building. The process of building green is environmentally responsible and resource efficient during design, construction, maintenance and operations. New technologies are constantly being developed to make practices “more green”. The U.S. Green Building Council (WSGBC) has put together a green building certification program known as LEED. LEED is an internationally recognized certifications that verifies that a building was designed and built using strategies that are aimed at making a difference on the impact it makes on its environment. LEED is a voluntary certification the recognizes performance in these areas: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy & atmosphere, materials & resources, Indoor environmental quality, location & linkages, awareness & education, innovation in design, and regional priority. Find out ways you can go green at http://www.treehugger.com/gogreen.php

Seattle is Hot (& Hip)!

This is a bit of old news (article came out about a month ago), but I came across it again so I thought I would mention it. According to a panel at the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Seattle (tied with D.C.) is the hottest, hippest city to live in for young, highly mobile people. The type of industries that call Seattle home as well as the culture and the easy access to nature put Seattle at number one. It was also pointed out at the bottom of the article, where you can click through to each city, that a newcomer to Seattle could rent an apartment for less than $1,000 implying, at least for renting, that housing is affordable here. This is certainly the case when comparing NYC (#3 on the list) - read my previous blog on average prices in Manhattan.

Read WSJ article for more details.

Average two bedroom apartments only $3,381....in Manhattan

The average rent for two bedroom apartment in Manhattan fell 8.9% from the previous year making the average price $3,381. The main culprit is the lack of work in the New York City. Unemployment in NYC was 10.3% in August the worst it has been since 1993.

Bloomberg News

Quick Look at Seattle Rental Numbers

I did a quick look at the rental numbers in the Northwest Multiple Service (NWMLS) at the Seattle rental numbers. Same disclosure as always: NWMLS only has a fraction of all the city's rentals because it only includes rentals by real estate agents that are members of the NWMLS. For example, there was 62 units rented by NWMLS members in Seattle for the first half of August 20009, but this is up from 49 units rented in the first half of August 2008. Anyway, at least for the first half of August when I compare the mean for 2009 with 2008, the price per square foot is up over 2%. The mean price per unit is down 16.5%, but the size of the units are down over 18% which keeps the price per square foot relatively high. It is interesting that presumably the units are lesser quality because in 2009 the mean unit is 2 bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms, when a year ago they were 2 bedrooms and 1.75 baths. So the amenities are less while the price per square foot is up. It does take 6 more days in 2009 (29 versus 23 days) to rent the units.

King County Residential Rental Data - July 2009 & 2008

The data from the Northwest Multiple Service (NWMLS) shows the following for King County:

In July 2009, there was 396 units rented with the median price of $1,795 or $1.15 per square foot. The median days on the market was 38 days.

In July 2008, there was 292 units rented with the median price of $1,963 or $1.12 per square foot. The median days on the market was 23 days.

(Note: See my June blog regarding the limitation of the NWMLS rental data.)

When comparing July this year with last year, you see there is over a 35% increase in the number of units rented which has been a trend the last three months (both June and May 2009 were both about 30% more than the similar month of the previous year). The MAJOR twist is the price increased over last July (July '09 = $1.15/ft versus July '08 = $1.12/ft). In fact the price per square foot in July jumped significantly from June ($1.01/ft) and May ($1.04/ft) of this year and reverses the trend of the price being significantly less than the previous year! This news should be tempered by the days on the market which continue to be significantly higher than in 2008, but the pricing news seems significant. We will have to wait and see if the pricing will continue to increase or at least hold to see if this was just a blip.