BelltownView.com: Seattle's Belltown

Seattle’s Condo Market

Downtown Seattle Condo buyers- pay attention!  Do you realize there are 210 (TWO HUNDRED AND TEN) available condominiums for sale right now in Seattle’s downtown district.  This would encompass Belltown, Pioneer Square, International District, Denny Triangle and general “downtown” condos which are along the beautiful Puget Sound keeping west of I-5.

And a lonely 9 are short sales.  Only 9 (NINE?).  Really?  Not sure if I’m believing that one.  Anyway, my point is there are some motivated sellers and hungry buyers in the real estate market right now.  When it comes to buying a condo,  buyers are particular…as they should be.  Is there parking?  Ground floor oR top floor?  Brick, contemporary, views, parking, kitchen updates (always high on the list), and finally location – all important but not as important as the main criteria:  Monthly Home Owner Dues.  This can be a deal breaker.  If the dues are high it’s because there’s an assessment to be paid by all the unit owners.  It’s the Home Owner Association to keep all the checks in balance.  Circumstances occur (market conditions, defaults, law suits) so when they don’t look far enough in the future, it can result in higher monthly HOD.

Would you want to pay more than $500 a month just because you have ZERO upkeep or you own parking spot or you have a gym on the fourth floor?  Some people definitely would.  It’s a lifestyle.  But look intently at the reserves.  Are they in good standing?  Reserves are like balancing your checkbook for 10 to 100+ people.  Hopefully the building has enough “reserves” and/or responsible condo owners (who don’t default on their monthly HOD) to keep the Association healthy.

Usually it’s not a problem.  But you always want to inquire with the building’s manager, the association, and look carefully at the resale certificate to make sure there are no bumps in the road.  Of course no one can predict the future but thousands and thousands of folks who live in condominiums cannot be wrong.  There is definitely ease and carefree when owning and living in a condo.  In my experience, walkability is in the top 3 reasons why people move in the first place.  So how about walking to Pike Place Market to pick up a just caught lobster, fresh tomatoes and vegetables, wine for dinner and some coffee for the morning – and don’t forget the huge bouquet of locally grown flowers to brighten the room.  Walk home and enjoy the sights and sounds of beautiful downtown Seattle.

If you are interested in one these unique condos for sale in the downtown area, feel free to email or call us.  We’d be happy to help.  And just so you know the average condo is actively for sale at $502,500 with the highest being $15.6 million (HUH?!) and the lowest at $129,000.

Condominium is latin for “ownership with others.” When you purchase into a condo you own everything inside of your unit…”air rights,” and own all other amenities as tenancy in common. For instance, you own a common share of the elevator, swimming pool, and weight room with the other owners in the complex, and these are called “common areas.” Depending on how many amenities a complex has, it is typically proportionate with the amount of homeowner dues you will need to pay. If a complex has a swimming pool, weight room, a rooftop deck, and an indoor tennis court, then hod’s will be higher then a complex with only a weight room. Hod’s are also very proportional to the size of your unit.  You will pay more in dues if you own a two bedroom 900 sq. ft. unit, compared to a studio containing 600 sq. ft. The money collected from the dues will pay for property insurance (but not private insurance), will pay for the upkeep of the common areas, and also a portion is allocated to a reserve account. Hod’s can be added to your loan amount, or can be paid by a check each month.  Ask your lender if you can roll it into your mortgage so it’s easier to pay. It’s also important to note that if you are approved for a residential house for 200K, typically your pre-approval will be lower for condos because you have to take into account the hod’s and property taxes if you choose to roll them over into your loan.

Another important aspect about purchasing a condo is the resale certificate.  A resale certificate contains by-laws, conditions, covenants, and restrictions (CC&R’s). If you are purchasing a condo, and you achieve mutual acceptance (that’s when the contract is executed), you will then receive a large packet of information regarding the complex. This packet will contain information on by-laws, CC&R’s, occupancy rates, and cash flows, etc. If it is a conversion…(an apartment that was converted into condos), the resale certificate is called a public offering statement. It will contain the exact information in a resale certificate, except it will not include a reserve account or a history of cash flows because there are none since it was previously rented. When you receive either the resale certificate or p.o.s. you will have five-seven days to review it. (Five for the resale certificate and seven for the p.o.s.) During this period, you can walk away from the contract for any reason at all and have your earnest money returned to you.  It really is a huge part of the contract and it is for your protection.  For example, if you are in contract for a unit and you have pets, but inside the resale certificate states that no pets are allowed, then as long as you get out of the contract before the fifth/seventh business day after mutual acceptance the contract will be void and your earnest money will be returned to you!

The Seattle Waterfront is in for some changes, but the city would like your opinion. From their site:

“On January 19, the Elliott Bay Seawall Project held an open house to share ideas about where the replacement seawall could be located. Take a look at the videos and images below to learn about opportunities and challenges in each zone. Please note that only the introduction video has sound.

Afterward, we’d like to hear from you. Share your thoughts about where the wall should be placed by February 8, 2011. Your comments will help the project team develop alternatives and work toward announcing preferred alternative(s) in April 2011.”

The plans and drawings are quite detailed and cover many different areas along the Seattle waterfront.