What to Expect in a Seattle Home

Speaker 1: [0:00] Hello, hello, and welcome to another edition of the Awesome in Seattle podcast. My name is Christian Nossum. I am the host. And I am here with my co-hosts, the wonderful dog whisperer, Mr. Les Cutting.

Speaker 2: [0:14] Yello

Speaker 1: [0:15] The data guru of the Awesome Nossum group, Mr. Jason Saldarriaga.

Speaker 2: [0:20] Mr. Jackson, if you nasty.

Speaker 1: [0:24] And the Seattle native and, uh, well, I'll just leave it at that. Seattle native, like myself, Reid Watson.

Speaker 3: [0:32] That's me.

Speaker 1: [0:33] That is you. Uh, today, we are talking about what to expect if you are moving to Seattle in regards to Seattle homes that may be different from another part of the country, or even world, that you're used to. We really wanna just kinda go over what you should and shouldn't expect when you're buying a Seattle house.

Speaker 3: [0:52] Yeah. So let's just start with the basics, the types of homes. There are some parts of the country that have really distinct styles of homes that are super common in that area, but in Seattle, we have a really huge variety of different types. Something you won't see as much of, especially in the city, is sprawling ranch-style homes on big pieces of land. That's mostly just due to our geography. There's just not a lot of space for it. You will get Tudors, Craftsmans, mid-century moderns within the city limits, w- truly just modern homes within the city limits. Further out into the suburbs, then you'll start to see a ton of split levels and tri-level homes. Areas like Shoreline, Lynnwood. I've seen a lot in Everett and also down further south near SeaTac. That's where you'll also find newer large scale developments with those more kind of cookie cutter style neighborhoods, but you typically won't see any of those types of developments in the city of Seattle. And all those different types of styles of homes that you see in Seattle are mostly just due to how and when Seattle expanded. So originally, we were kind of a cluster of little hills, including Denny Hill, really close to downtown. That one, Denny, got taken down. Queen Anne and Capitol Hill remained, so they have some older homes. And then sprawl kind of went out from there. Neighborhoods also often have a variety of different looking homes within them, but those homes typically stay somewhat true to the vibe of the neighborhood itself. For example, in Ravenna, you'll see Craftsman and Tudor homes, but they're all gonna have that sort of Ravenna garden-y feel, single family home. That's just one good example. Some homes in Seattle are really old, but they're not super, super old, like you'll see on the East Coast. Um, the oldest you're generally gonna see out here in Seattle is homes that were built after 1900, some time after 1900.

Speaker 2: [2:52] Yeah. Good point, Reid. You know, what you see in the East Coast, much older homes compared to Seattle, and quite frankly, the West Coast. A lot of people moving into the area from out of state- And they can come with a certain expectation of real estate that just doesn't align with what Seattle offers. Quite frankly, every area in the US has slightly different property types, and that's the case here too. So I do wanna talk really quick about the aspects that you generally see in a normal, quote-unquote, "Seattle home" that might surprise you, especially if you're from a different area. A lot of these call-outs are really rooted in our temperate climate. You know, especially when you consider just how far north Seattle is. It's actually the northernmost major city in the country. It's, uh, farther north than even Quebec City. For those who, uh, know about snow, that's kind of surprising. But yeah- Mm-hmm some really common surprises that people have when they start looking at homes in Seattle include, first off, how rare AC cooling is. Again, it's really rooted in our temperate climate, not necessarily needed, not all too common as, as a result, although you are seeing AC becoming more and more common, especially in newer homes and townhomes. Um, you'll come across what Uh, usually mini splits, which are kind of the European style, not necessarily the forced air heating and cooling that you would get in Texas and the South states. These units are very compact and very efficient, and they do heat and cool, which is really nice. In Seattle, though, you don't need a lot of cooling. There might be one or two weeks a year where you're like, "Oh my gosh, a little too hot." Um, fans, portable units, window units, those can generally suffice for a lot of people. But again, over time we're seeing more cooling. Garages are another item that a lot of people, when they move to Seattle, they realize most people park on the street. Um, homes in Seattle that do have garages, especially the older homes, a lot of times the garage is pretty small or quite inaccessible. It might have a really steep and short driveway that's not really used for a car or meant for a car. Again, street parking is definitely the norm throughout most, most of the city, especially since your car generally won't be exposed to extreme hot or cold periods. Another thing that surprises some people is the lack of sprinkler systems. You don't come across this too often, especially in the normal Seattle home. In luxury properties, you might. We get frequent rain, so- I don't know if

Speaker 1: [5:43] you've heard that about

Speaker 2: [5:44] Seattle- Yeah. … but it

Speaker 1: [5:45] tends to rain

Speaker 2: [5:45] here. Yeah. Our grass is usually well, uh, watered. However, there can be drought periods in the summer where things dry out quite a bit. You do find drip line hoses in planter beds, generally connected just to, uh, to the, uh, hose bib directly, as, uh, people do wanna ensure the- they plant… uh, their plants are watered properly. But grass, less of a concern for a lot of people here in the area. You might be surprised by how small the yards can be It is possible to find a large yard in Seattle, but you're probably gonna have to pay for it. Mm-hmm. Land is very expensive here. You'll especially see smaller yards with newer construction because over time, techniques to urbanize and increase density in the Seattle region with new construction has, have led to more efficient use of lot sizes. 3,000 to 5,000 square foot lots are pretty normal. Um, larger than that you will come across, especially the farther from the city center you go. Yep. Basements. You'll see a lot of basements in Seattle. A lot of them are not full height. A lot of them are unfinished. A lot of people don't want to have any bedrooms in the basement, but in Seattle, it's just very common. When these houses were built in the early 1900s, oftentimes they were a two bedroom, one bath with an unfinished basement, and now they're a four bedroom, and those two additional bedrooms are often in the basement, sometimes in the attic space, both areas being finished. In the past, obviously, these basements were unfinished. Generally, that's where you had the furnace or the water heater, perhaps a laundry set up, but needs expanded, and so finishing basements became pretty popular. I will say unfinished basements with adequate ceiling height can definitely command a premium in Seattle because people see that as a pretty simple way of, to add value over time, and you can generally do it while you're living in the house with less impact compared to other types of renovations where you might not have a working kitchen or something of that sort for a period of time.

Speaker 4: [7:57] All right. Well, there are other things that are common in Seattle homes that may be strange to somebody who's from out of state or not familiar with our area. But in reality, they're not that big of a deal, and they shouldn't be a big deal. And if you hate it and they're deal breakers, well, good luck finding a house that doesn't have any of these things I'm about to mention. Good

Speaker 2: [8:17] luck.

Speaker 4: [8:18] So good luck, seriously. All right, so number one, slugs or spiders. You are gonna see them at every single house you go to. There's no way around it. Whatever the price point is, you are going to find spiders and slugs in the summer. It's not uncommon at all. Houses on top of hills. So it's not uncommon, especially, I'm trying to think, maybe Magnolia, Queen Anne, those kind of areas, your house is sitting on top of a hill, so you have to walk up some steps to get inside your front entrance. However, most homes have alleyways, and you can access the house through your alley as well. That is another one.

Speaker 1: [8:55] Yeah, I'd say that's for sure in some of the older, more established neighborhoods where they're gonna have the alleyway. Um, newer, newer stuff, they're not generally gonna have an alley. But Those older, like early 1900s to 19 probably 30, it's pretty common to see that alley with a small garage or at least a parking spot off the alley.

Speaker 4: [9:16] Another big one, asbestos or lead paint. So this is gonna be in any house that was built before 1978, I believe. Is it 1978 or 1979?

Speaker 1: [9:27] I believe it, they stopped using it in 1978, so that was the last year.

Speaker 4: [9:32] Got it.

Speaker 1: [9:32] Okay, so nice- For lead-based paint, yeah. Asbestos is, I don't know if there was a drop dead date on that, but, uh, definitely lead-based paint, that stopped, uh-

Speaker 4: [9:41] Right. So lead-based paint. So I always tell clients this, we all tell clients this, just assume any house built before 1978 has it in it. Lead-based paint, keep in mind, is only hazardous if it's ingested in some way, shape, or form. So that means if you have chipping paint or something, and you're just eating it, don't know why you would do that. But it's only dangerous if you ingest it. So assume any house built before 1978 has it.

Speaker 2: [10:08] Yeah, really quick. Apparently, I don't know from experience that I know of, but apparently it's pretty sweet. Like, that's what, it, it makes the paint have, like, this sweetness to it. And so-

Speaker 1: [10:18] Yep … Speaker 2: you might see babies or especially pets, they might lick areas of lead paint. And so you just need to be cognizant of it. Over time, people paint over it, so there might be lead paint like five layers deep in the walls. Yeah, so what I heard from inspectors was a lot of little kids would gnaw on the window ledge because that wood piece would kind of pop out a half an inch or an inch, and they would just kind of put their mouth around it and kind of gnaw on it because it was so sweet. So yeah, you were dead on, Jason. Good job.

Speaker 2: [10:46] Personal experience

Speaker 4: [10:50] So galvanized pipes is something that's pretty common as well, and basically what galvanized pipes are, it's steel pipe and it rusts from the inside, and it, over time it makes the hole smaller and it, it messes up the, uh, water flow in that pipe. Now what's pretty common is copper, which is really expensive, but now we're also seeing a lot of PEX being used. It's flexible, it's a little bit cheaper. Oil heating.

Speaker 2: [11:14] Oh, oil heating. You do see this in older homes still. Basically, you know, we used to have coal. I don't know if you've heard of it. You still see some coal rooms in some of these old houses and stuff. Mm-hmm. But, which is really fascinating. I've seen coal in some old houses. Like, not active, but like, they still had some coal remnants in some of the, the basements. And then it- Wow … kinda transitioned to oil. In Seattle, usually you would have an underground oil tank, and so a lot of these houses still have active oil heating. Basically a furnace that runs on oil, and there's a tank that's buried in the yard somewhere, and every few months or year or whatnot, some company comes over and fills up your oil tank. Over time, people have transitioned away from oil. A lot of people moved to natural gas, which comes from the street generally. And when you get rid of oil heating, you generally, if you do it the right way, you decommission your oil tank, which means you have somebody come out and verify that there's no oil left in the tank. They fill it with a, an inert filler, like a sand, so it doesn't collapse and that sort of thing. Because over time it just will rust and erode. And then you get a certificate by, I think the fire department actually signs off on it, which basic- basically- Correct … validates that it was officially decommissioned, and it's like protection for you as the owner that it was done correctly. So if you're buying a house that has evidence of an oil tank in the past, you might see like a, an oil wire in the basement, or pipe I should say, in the basement, or a cap maybe in, in the driveway where you would fill it. Uh, it's really important to ask the seller if they got it decommissioned and if they have the documentation. The city also has a database of the documentation.

Speaker 4: [13:08] All right. Rodents and moles.

Speaker 2: [13:11] Yay.

Speaker 4: [13:11] So, with this, um- Cute … it's not uncommon

Speaker 1: [13:13] to

Speaker 4: [13:13] do this. Everyone's favorite. We're not talking about

Speaker 2: [13:16] ex-boyfriends, by the way.

Speaker 4: [13:19] For rodents, what you're gonna wanna do is you're gonna wanna make sure every access entry point, like under the eaves of your house, they're sealed or, or covered up. 'Cause rodents, when it gets cold, what they do is they climb on tree branches and all that kind of stuff, and they try to get into your house. So what you wanna do is cut back any kind of tree that you have that's touching your house. Cut those back, cut back any bushes, and that should help the rodent problem if you have one. Yeah,

Speaker 2: [13:45] we actually- Or, or sh- In s- i- in this area, I didn't know this until I moved up here. We have burrowing rats. Mm-hmm. So they dig tunnels underground. So even, in some houses, even if you do make, i- you know, you walk the perimeter and you see, like, there's no access points into the crawl space. They're all covered. But you still have rats in the basement. It, they might actually have tunnels. And so if you have a problem, and you call out pest control, they'll look for that, and if they see that you have burrowing rats, they might dig a little trench along the perimeter just to add a little concrete so they can't dig underneath very easily.

Speaker 4: [14:23] And yeah, moles, they're very common. I actually had a client that was from Texas And we went to look at the backyard, and they were like, "What is that?" And then at first I was like, "What are you guys talking about? It was just a mole hole to me." And they're like, "What's a mole?" And I'm like, "Oh, it's like a little animal, it digs." And it kind of freaked them out.

Speaker 3: [14:41] Let's talk a little bit about the positives, just to wrap up. We don't have time for my entire TED Talk on why you should live- … in Seattle, Washington, but if you want it, you can shoot me an email and, um, we'll go after it. So let me just hit the major points. And feel free, guys, to just chime on in, uh, while I go through this. So, so one great thing about buying in Seattle is the, the lack of sprawl protects your property value, and that's partially due to our geography with, you know, water on a lot of sides, and it's also enforced by the Growth Management Act, which was put in place in 1990. What that kind of does is make sure that if, say, you purchase a home that's next to a greenbelt or something like that, you're likely gonna stay next to a greenbelt as opposed to that undeveloped area turning into a shopping center or something like that. So the value that comes with the land is really protected.

Speaker 1: [15:35] Yeah, the Growth Management Act also did a really good job of forcing each city to create a plan for increased density within- Mm-hmm … the city, and not allowing for that sprawl, like you said, where they had to, you know, really dial in where exactly they want to increase density within their city. Generally, that happened around these transit hubs like light rail and stuff now, which before it was more, you know, bus lanes or kind of that main town strip.

Speaker 3: [16:08] Mm-hmm. And each individual neighborhood often does come with their own set of priorities about what they want in relation to growth management. But each neighborhood has its own community feel, and the neighborhoods here are really, really unique. That's something that is a plus, at least to me, that you have this community feel and you can tell once you're in your neighborhood, it feels like a neighborhood, which is really great. Some neighborhoods also, as Las was talking about earlier, have hills, which- Can be a negative for some people, but it's also a really great positive because so many properties have incredible views. The more stairs you climb, sometimes the better a view you will have. And that view here in Seattle could be one of many things, which is what brings me to location. So you could get a view of the city or of the Puget Sound. You could get a view looking out over the mountains. Just like you are near to the big city, to the Puget Sound, and to the mountains. If you wanna go skiing one day and then go kayak on Lake Union the next, you absolutely can. It's really easy to do. We're also really close to a lot of forested areas. Just even over on the east side, there are so many great places to go on hikes and get out into the forest, if that's more your thing. Some of the older homes in some of the neighborhoods closer in also have really unique character, like built-ins, cool archways. If you're lucky, you might find some original hardwood floors in certain homes, and those are really unique and valuable aspects to some of the older properties we see here in Seattle. We also see a lot of trees. There are so many pretty trees here. It feels very green, truly the Emerald City. And you can even, like, do a tour at seattle.gov of the urban forestry in the area, which is pretty cool. With the trees and just the environment in general comes very clean air and clean water. We can drink straight out of the tap here in Seattle. It's great. And there's really not as much smog as you would see in a lot of other major cities. With our temperate climate, as long as it's not raining, you can almost always get out to enjoy it.

Speaker 1: [18:20] Uh, so that is it. As you can see, Seattle homes definitely have some quirks, but really, once you understand them, once you understand the reasoning behind them, it's really not hard to deal with. If you are moving to the Seattle area, we hope that this episode was helpful. If you need help with learning or understanding about neighborhoods, learning or understanding what you can afford in a house, and learning where you can afford that house, feel free to reach out to us. We are happy to assist with that. There is no obligation, there's no cost. We are just here happy to help you out. Um, we never get paid until you actually buy or sell a house, so we're just here as a resource. So yeah, feel free to reach out. Our website is awesomenossom.com. We also have our monthly free home buyer class, which is beersandhomebuying.com. That's beers, as in the alcoholic beverage, beersandhomebuying.com. That's it for this episode. Thanks so much for listening, and we hope to hear you next time. See ya.

Speaker 3: [19:22] Bye, everyone.