Downsizing

Skinny Houses a Good Downsizing Solution

Downsizers have been discovering that Seattle’s skinny houses are perfect for simplifying their lifestyles. They are also finding them to be much more livable than townhouses. Here’s why:

• Skinny houses are generally 1200 to 1600 sf, which are smaller than detached houses, but larger than most townhouses.
• Most skinny houses in Seattle are 2 levels instead of 3, and have more area per floor. Many have bedrooms on the main level, offering mostly one-level living.
• Their lot sizes are around 2500 t0 3000 sf, which leaves a manageable amount of yardwork and enough room for developing pleasant outdoor living spaces.
• Unlike townhouses, they are built in quieter, less dense single-family zoned neighborhoods.

Click here to view Skinny House listings in Seattle

SilverPlanet.com article on Senior Real Estate Specialists

SilverPlanet.com is a website with useful information on aging, housing, finance, health and lifestyles. I spent a few minutes looking at it and found many interesting articles. You can also take a look at their Facebook page.

Here is an article introducing Senior Real Estate Specialists and how they do business differently than traditional Realtors.  The most important distinction is that we look at the big picture of a downsize move, and help with decisions about different possibilities for a downsize, including aging in place, rental,  or purchase of a single home or condo.  We also look at the process as a longer one as there are many more important decisions to be made.

Reverse Mortgage Rules Changed for the Better

With the difficult economic times, many more borrowers are taking advantage of Reverse Mortgages.  With recent changes, reverse mortgages can now be used to buy a new house, not just to take equity out of an existing one. Also, the loan limit has temporarily been raised to $625,000 as part of the stimulus package.

Here is an article that explains it.

Washington Post
Reverse Mortgages Come to the Rescue
By Mary Beth Franklin
Kiplinger’s Personal Finance
Sunday, August 9, 2009

Reverse mortgages have been around for nearly 20 years, but it wasn’t until the current financial crisis that they caught on. Seniors are turning to these loans to tap the equity in their homes and generate tax-free income to help them ride out hard times.

You can take it with you. A reverse mortgage can be a good option for people who want to relocate or move to a smaller home but don’t want to sink all of their cash into a new house or might not qualify for a traditional mortgage.

New rules that took effect in January allow seniors to use a reverse mortgage to buy a new home. Say you own a house in Massachusetts worth $500,000 and you want to buy a $400,000 house in Florida. If you were to sell your house and pay cash for your new home, you’d have just $100,000 left to add to your savings. But if you took a $100,000 reverse mortgage on the Florida house, you’d have twice the amount left — $200,000 — to add to your savings.

How it works. You must be at least age 62 to take out a reverse mortgage. Plus, your house (current or future) must be your primary residence, and your mortgage must be either paid off or have a small balance. Unlike a traditional loan, there are no income or credit-score requirements, and you may use the money as you wish. The older you are, the higher the appraised value of your home (up to the maximum federal loan limit) and the lower the interest rate, the more you can borrow.

As part of the economic-stimulus package, Congress raised the reverse-mortgage loan limit to $625,500 through the end of 2009. After that, the lending limit reverts to $417,000, unless Congress intervenes.

You can take your payment as a lump sum, a monthly cash payout, a line of credit held in reserve or a combination of all three. No repayment is due until the last homeowner moves out or dies, at which point the home can be sold to pay off the debt. The loan repayment can never exceed the home’s market value (even if it declines), absolving your heirs of any liability.

High fees. You’ll pay the usual closing costs, plus loan-servicing fees, an origination fee of up to $6,000 and interest over the life of the loan. Also, you’ll pay an initial insurance premium equal to 2 percent of the home’s value plus 0.5 percent per month of the mortgage balance.

If you are thinking that a reverse mortage may meet your needs, call Greg Bartell at DownsizeNW at 206-713-2921 for names of local reverse mortgage specialists.

Staging, Inspection, and Pricing Essentail for Sellers

I just finished two days in the classroom for the Seller Representation Specialist course. It was a sobering review of current industry standards and new technology for getting houses sold in this market. It can be best summed up with the three P’s: Preparation, Presentation, and Pricing.

Preparation

In this market, buyers are taking two bites out of the apple: once when they negotiate the purchase price, and again after the inspection. The first bite is about fear of the market, the second is about fear of what the house will cost them to own. The best way to eliminate the second bite is to have your house inspected in the pre-listing process. You will know the inspection issues your property has, and you will be able to address them before you put the house on the market. You will also have a clean report to show the potential buyers. Buyer’s agents still recomment their buyers have their own inspection, which is fine. But with your pre-inspection, surprises, and that second bite of the apple, will be eliminated.

Presentation

Presentation is all about how your house looks to buyers when they view it, first on the internet (87% of buyers look there for a home) and when they see it in person. The first step is de-cluttering and de-personlizing the home, followed by staging. Staging is no longer optional with this competative market, and it provides the drama necessary to get buyers into the home through the photos, and makes them feel at home when they get there to see it in person. When I list a property, I bring in a staging consultant early in the process, and I pay for the consultation. The consultant is an experienced decorator, and she looks at the house, the present furnishings, and recommends how to first work with the existing furniture, and then supplement if necessary. I highly recommend Pam Christensen of Staging for Charisma for her common-sense solutions and reasonable cost. A link to her website is in the right column of this blog.

Pricing

Here’s the dreaded third P, Pricing. Fortuantely, there has been an uptick in sales recently. This has at least given our market some sales prices to use as reference points when pricing and appraising property, and has to some degree arrested or slowed the free fall of prices. Now that we have somewhat predictable values, it is easier to predict what price will attract a buyer.

It is still VERY IMPORTANT to price right the first time, to avoid chasing the market down by over-pricing initally, then reducing slowly, but never enough to catch the market.  If you have been tracing the value of your property up over the years, it will be disapointing to know that we are at 2005 price levels in many area. The good news is that we can predict your homes sales price range easier now, and get it sold. And if you are buying again, there are some incredible deals out there!

Downsize to Investment Property

Here’s one case where downsizing can mean buying a bigger property!

As I mentioned in 10 Ways to Downsize, owning and living in a small investment property is a strategy for combining a smaller living space, and an investment that kicks off a good rate of return, plus annual depreciation to keep your accountant happy! It also involves a much more stable and tangible asset thats under your control, unlike those foreign energy stocks you may be considering.

I just noticed a bunch of new small apartment building listings in fantastic locations come on the market today at some very good prices. Yes, Duplexes, triplexes and more-plexes are on sale too these days. Even more so, because they are much harder to finance than single family homes in the present market. This alone should lead to some instant equity when things get straightened out.

For more info on these properties contact me here or at 206-713-2921. I can send you info about the properties, and show you how to work with the financial data.

Point Edwards

The last few days I have been working in Edmonds with some long-time clients. They are thinking that now may be the time to sell the big house and downsize. They will get less for their house than it was before, but they also realize there are some great deals on condos, and at great interest rates it makes sense to think about downsizing. Because they already live in Edmonds, moving downtown seems the most attractive option.

After surveying the recent condo market activity in the Edmonds Bowl, it is obvious that the Point Edwards community is setting the pace in pricing, and the water views and resort-style amenities are unequaled anywhere else in the downtown Edmonds area, or for miles beyond that. The one downside to Point Edwards that I hear from buyers is that it is not a real convenient walk to the downtown shops and restaurants due to distance, hills, and lack of sidewalks.

To be downtown and see all of the older condos there that are steps from everything, makes one wish that Point Edwards and its views were right there. There are some other offerings downtown in new construction and renovated conversions that are priced somewhat competitively, but they just don’t seem to be getting buyers as excited. The rest of the market there is the more traditional downtown Edmonds market of older condos for sale by estates, with some very nostalgic pricing!

CLICK HERE to see downtown Edmonds condo listings.

CLICK HERE to see Edmonds rambler listings

Aging in Place

The idea of aging in place seems to be everywhere these days. We boomers like our trends, and aging is place is a popular one right now.

Aging in place refers to staying in our homes as we age, instead of moving to a retirement home or complex, and later avoiding the assisted living and skilled nursing nightmares some of us have seen our parents go through. Partially due to the economic crisis which has eaten into our home equity as well as retirement accounts, the hunker down mentality is more prevalent.

The benefits of aging in place are not having to move, and being around familiar surroundings and friends, preserving as much as we can of our same lifestyle; along with saving the cost of a move, and having to begin paying rent.

Being able to age in place does require some adjustments, though. Chances are the house will have to be adapted so it is easier to use as capabalities change. This is known as universal design, and involves changes to counter heights, floor coverings, door openings, adding grab bars, etc. If there is not a bedroom and bath on the main level, a lift can be considered.

Another change is a need for a support network of friends, family and care givers who can help out with home maintenance, shopping, and transportation. Often children don’t live nearby, or are not available to help with these chores. A notable solution to this is a community based organization in Boston called Beacon Hill Village. It’s an organization of volunteers who help each other meet these needs for a reasonable cost, and also provides a strong sense of community. In fact, there is a similar organization starting in North East Seattle called NEST.

Hanging onto a larger older home can also make sense if you want to share it. It can be as easy as renting out rooms to friends (like the “Golden Girls”) or the house may lend itself  to converting a part of it to an accessory unit, or mother in law apartment. With the slow economy and foreclosures, families are sometimes moving into to the same house, either gown children boomeranging back home, or older parents or grandparents moving in with children.

A big question still is “where will we age in place”? Some people I talk to would never leave their home. Others like the concept of staying home as they age, but can’t see aging in their same house. Many feel their present home is way is too large, or will be too expensive to maintain in the future on a fixed income. Others also feel it is easier to find something else smaller nearby rather than to go through the remodeling process or finding roommates.

No matter where you live in the area, there is a good chance there is a suitable apartment, condo, or one-level home nearby that would work better.

These days, most real estate conversations go to the subject of values, and whether they are going up or down. The answer to that question is, of course, “both”. Some areas and housing types are holding their values pretty well, and others are still declining. Now, homes in desirable areas that are close to transportation and amenities are doing well if priced low enough. The larger homes in the outer areas seem to be harder to sell, and are declining in price far more.

Interestingly, this coincides with what both planners are planning, and builders are building. Our future growth will be smaller homes in existing redeveloped areas. Transportation is a very important factor. In my career, I have noticed that what planners plan and builders build is usually what goes up in value.

So, if you are concerned about values going forward, you may want to factor this in the equation. If you live close in, in a smaller house, aging in place in your present home may make sense, and turn out to be a good investment going forward. On the other hand, if you are thinking of moving, and are in a larger home on an outer area, a move may make more sense.

Jackson Place Co-Housing Visit

Co-housing is both a way of living and a  kind of housing. Co-housing is preferred by people who prefer to be part of a community with a high degree of interaction, interdependence, and cooperation. For many, their co-housing community is like an extended family. In cohousing, all members are expected to work together in managing the community and maintaining the common areas. Participation in community meals and activities is usually optional, but many find it a convenience that they couldn’t get anywhere else.

If you visit several co-housing communities you will find houses of all sizes and styles: large and small houses, condos, and townhouses.  The buildings are often clustered in one area, leaving another large are of open space to be shared by all members, similar to cottage communities or cluster developments.  In addition to common open space, there is also a common building or area for activities that members share, such as preparing and eating common meals, recreation areas, workshop, studio, or play areas. Buildings in co-housing communities tend to be greener, and built with more durable, longer-lasting materials, and are innovatively designed by their initial occupants.

Recently I visited a friend in Jackson Place, a large community close to downtown in Seattle. I was surprised at the diversity of ages of people living there. I think what surprised me the most was what an ideal place it is for families. When visiting, I entered into the courtyard that is surrounded by the structure and was struck by what a safe place this is for children to play in. Indeed, there are many families there, along with a good number of empty nesting singles and  couples.

The southern part of the complex is townhouse style units, whose back doors all opened to the common courtyard area. The back doors of the units entered to the kitchen area, which most of us consider to be the informal part of the house. It reminded me of my childhood, where friends visited each others’ homes in the back doors, and the front door was the formal entry, used more by more formal visitors who were not as close (or the Fuller Brush man). A 3+ bedroom townhouse unit I visited had a lower level with a formal entry on the street side. Also on the lower level was a room with a bathroom, that could be used as separate living quarters, and rented out. Another option could be a live-work situation, using the street entrance as an entrance for clients or customers. The main level was the living areas with a half bath, and the upper level had 2 more bedrooms plus a den area with a balcony. It seemed like a small space for a family of four, but cohousing spaces tend to be smaller, as a lot of life takes place in common areas.

The northern part of Jackson Place contains apartment style flats above the common areas. In the hallway was posted a cat-stitting schedule, where neighbors post when they will be gone, and other neighbors look after their cats. There was also the front entry lobby, which, of course, gets little use as an entrance because everyone enters from the back entrance! They are considering turning the lobby into a library.

What also struck me is that this complex is unique to any condo complex that I had ever visited, both from how it looked, and how it felt to be there. As my friend showed me around, more unique features came up, including the cat-sitting cooperative, a large workshop for projects, a very nice play area for kids including a tree house, and an on-site pea patch. Already, this has more and better amenities than almost any other condo complex. Then, there’s common dining  area and huge well-equipped kitchen, along with the system of assigning cooking or cleaning tasks for the members who partake in the community meals 3-4 days a week. It was explained to me that to participate, a member had to cook or clean only 3 times a month, nd contribute to the food, and in return could eat 12-16 meals there a week! The only downside it seems could be the amount of time it sometime takes to finish a meal that has turned into a conversation.

There are three communities in  Seattle, a couple in Bothell, Bellingham, and others on Whidbey, Vashon and Bainbridge Islands and in Port Townsend and Indianola near Polsbo. More are being planned. Starting a cohousing community is very labor intensive, according to those who have done it. As anyone who has built a house knows, there are easily over a million decisions involved in the process, and I am only exaggerating a little. Imagine the decisions in building a community with a group of people, using a  consensus decision making process! Apparently it is worth it.

Cohousing has been growing nationally. The best website to find out more is cohousing.org. A rapidly growing sub-group of cohousing is senior housing. The Elder Co-housing website tells more about that.

The local cohousing community is especially energized about the upcoming National Cohousing Conference they are hosting at the University of Washington this June 24-28.

There are two ways to live in co-housing, either get together with a group and found a community and participate in cohousing from the ground up, or buy into an existing one. As good a life as it is, usually units sell by word of mouth to people who are known to existing groups, and occasionally some do get listed on the MLS. For info on listed properties, contact Greg.

The Future: Big Picture

Glen Hiemstra is a futurist based out of Kirkland. Here is a video of an interview in which he talks about the future of Atlanta from a wide perspective. He could be talking about Seattle, or any other major American city. The formative factors are the environment, energy, technology and an aging population. Watch the video to see how he puts them all together. Applying what he said, Seattle seems to be progressing along in its own unique way in term of transportation and land use planning. The one piece that will be the most difficult to address is the need for affordable housing for aging boomers.

According to Hiemstra, most of the aging boomers will want to be near family. And family is……everywhere. Dwellings will need to be about half the size of what we are accustomed to, or 1200 to 2000 square feet, if they are condos they need to be accessable with as few steps as possible, in a walkable neighborhood, and close to accessable public transportation.

Being a north end resident all of my life, I can think of a few developments that hit all of the requirements that hit on all cylinders, and many more that hit on some. The ones that have it all are in neighborhoods that are walkable and have transportation right now, such as Ballard, Wallingford, Greenlake, Queen Anne. Outside of the older neighborhoods, other neighborhood have their local higher density areas of condos, some in areas that are walkable and others that are not. Then there are the recent planned larger developments with their own center of gravity like Point Edwards in Edmonds, and the mother of all transit oriented developments, Thornton Place at Northgate. There are also other areas that were built in the 1970′s for the leisure retired population like in the Sand Point area, that worked well for a car oriented culture, but come up short for safe, walkable, interesting neighborhoods.
Not surprisingly, the large newer developments are priced at high levels, and the older or smaller developments are are at more affordable levels. It will be interesting to see what buyers in our “reset” economy will be willing to pay.

Multi-Generational Living, it’s Becoming a Trend

A trend that is often cited by urban planners is the shrinking household size. There are less of us living in each  home now for various reasons, therefore home size should shrink. This last year, average home square footage has inched downward for the first time.

However, there is a counter-trend of household size increasing due to more generations living together. Grandparents moving in with their children’s families is something  Realtors are seeing more and more of recently. It’s a trend we became aware of as more immigrants buy houses locally, as it is very common in other cultures worldwide. Now it is escalating out of economic necessity. As our economy constricts more of us rugged individualist Americans are realizing that all of that independence can get expensive. See an AARP article here with stories of families that moved together, and tips for making it work.

So, if you have a larger house to sell to downsize, do not fear! Demand is slowly rising again. Or, you may want to move the kids in….and the grandkids too!

Some types of  houses lend themselves better to accommodating multiple generations. For many families, having more than one kitchen makes a huge difference.

To add a separate living unit, nothing beats the Seattle area’s seemingly endless supply of basement ramblers and split entrys! These were built in north and south parts of Seattle and Bellevue, and the close-in suburbs from the 1950′s thru the 1970′s. They are also the cheapest to buy per square foot. They usually have 3 bedrooms and 1 or 2 bathrooms on the main level, and most already have bathrooms in the lower level, and adding another kitchen there is usually pretty easy.   If you do remodel, be sure to visit your city planning office and get the necessary permits. While you are there, ask if you can make your extra unit a legal accessory unit, (MIL) as this will add value at resale time. In some areas you may be able to make it a legal duplex, which is even better.

Another approach is to finish an attached garage. Again, check with your local planning and building dept first, as they may want to know where the cars are going to park.

Sometimes you can be lucky and find a property with 2 houses on it already. These are rare, but we do see them. Seattle has a provision to add detached accesory units in some parts of the city. This could be new construction, or possibly a garage conversion.\

Update: msnbc report 3/12/09

Thornton Place…..The New Northgate

Recently I visited Thornton Place, the huge new mixed-use development rising just south of Northgate Mall, in Seattle. It has huge promise as a major destination, combining Condos and Townhouses for sale, rental apartments, a huge IMAX theatre, shops, a retirement village, and the daylighted Thornton Creek weaving through it. See article.

The condo units available now are selling very slowly, the $450/sf pricing probably has something to do with it (Canal Station, a new development in the heart of Ballard has been selling at $400/sf). Although there are no elevators in the condos, combining adjacent parking it is possible for downsizers to have level entry to units on 2 of the levels. The units I saw were efficient and well-designed with lots of environmental-friendly materials, some had views of the creek and its natural landscaping.

Best of all is the synergy for a new neighborhood that comes from quality development on a well-located large piece of land. These neighborhoods are able to define themselves due to the quantity of housing being developed. Add quality retail and the transit station next door, and it becomes a destination itself. In fact. I think we can expect to see a ripple effect in the housing surrounding Thornton Place.

Buyer representation available form DownsizeNW. Contact us and we can set up a tour of Thornton place, or its neighborhood.

AARP Livable Communities Awards

Admitting that you are maybe finally beginning to get “up there” is not easy. However, I find myself running into AARP more often these days in housing issues. So, the last time their membership offer came in the mail, I sent it in. It’s the best $12 I ever spent! I cold go on about all the benefits, but I won’t bore you.

What is fascinating is what AARP has been doing lately in housing research. A recent survey they comissioned showed that of boomers who expect to move for retirement, (21%),  59% will look for a home that’s all on one level, 49% will look for a smaller home, and 50% will look for a newer home.

Their Livable Communities Awards, co-sponsored with the NAHB, shows the detail they get into when working with what makes our homes and communities livable. Go here to see more. By the way, one of the award winners was Vineyard Lane on Bainbridge Island!

GarageTown

Downsizing and need a place to put your stuff, but don’t want to rent?

Want a place to hang out with the guys on Saturday afternoon?

Want an investment in commercial real estate?

Here’s your answer! GarageTown!

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Live-Work and Semi-Retirement

As a lot of people contemplate retirement, we are finding that the concept of retirement itself is changing. Many of us can’t stand the thought of completely retiring, either because of finances, or just because we simply can’t see ourselves not working. What this means for many is working part-time at what we did full-time, either for our long-time employer, or as a consultant. For others it can mean starting an entirely new business.

The next question is where will we work? Anywhere! The internet has made many of our jobs portable…worldwide. So, if your beachfront house in Mexico has a high-speed connection, you can do much of what you do in the office every day from your home-office at the beach. That makes semi-retirement almost bearable!

This brings up the idea of homes where we can live and work at the same time. The concept is not new, of course. I remember growing up in Seattle, and we had family friends who had small businesses in storefronts, and they lived in apartments upstairs, in small mixed-use buildings.

Recently, some developers have made these types of homes available in new construction. One Seattle developer is making live-work townhomes, with a bottom floor of work space with a bathroom, and 2 upper floors that contain living areas. There are separate outside doors for each of these units, and they are also connected inside. They sell very fast, too, as they are in popular neighborhoods! One client bought a unit as an office space for their business, and an apartment for their daughter who attends the nearby University of Washington. Developers in some suburban cities (I have seen these in Issaquah, Mukilteo, Lynnwood, and Poulsbo) also occasionally build live-work townhouses, with the work area either below the living areas, or beside them. A new listing just came on the market today for a 2100 sf unit with 3 bedrooms, 5 baths, and a separate office just off the main entrance. It’s located in Lynnwood near the Ash Way transit center for commuting convenience as well. These are affordably priced at around $350,000.

For more info on these or others in the area, contact Greg at 206-713-2921 or email below.

Small Homes, Cottages Score Big With Buyers

Also check out this Seattle Times Article here

More and more buyers are interested in smaller homes that consume less energy. If you are looking for the ultimate in compact, ecologically sound housing, and prefer to know your neighbors, you may want to consider a cottage. Cottages are popular with first-time buyers as well as empty-nesters. Developers in Seattle, Boston, Milwaukee and California have been building cottage homes to satisfy this need for several years. The best-known local builder is the Cottage Company, which builds designs by architect Ross Chapin. In the area, you can find cottages in Seattle, Shoreline, Kirkland, Mukeltio, Everett, Lynnwood, Whidbey Island, and more are being built all the time.

Cottages range in size from 1000 sf to close to 2000 sf. They are usually at least 4 in a development, and are arranged around a central landscaped area. Parking is usually in a separate structure near the street that houses all of the garages, and sometimes a separate shed or small work area. Because of all the common areas and structures, they are owned as condominiums.

Well-designed and build cottages are not inexpensive when priced by the square foot. All of the things that were packed in to a house are packed into a cottage, and some of the inexpensive things, like extra room are left out. Many cottages feature extensive built-ins to allow multiple uses of the same space. Those get expensive too.

In the Puget Sound area, cottage developments have been build in many cities and towns that have added cottage ordinances to their zoning codes. There is a variety among the different city’s codes that result in a vairety of sizes. Some are limited to 1000 sf, others are larger. When I talk to city planners, they are very enthusiastic about cottages and how they meet the needs for smaller houses in resideantial neighborhoods. Some neigbors of cottage communities, however, aren’t always excited to see them. They feel the increased density (usually 2 cottages can be built in the space one house could be) leads to a lowering of home values. Cottages usually sell form $100,000 to $200,000 less than the prices of similar-aged nearby homes that are much larger.

If you  are curious about what cottages may be avialable, contact me for a list of current listings. Also check the Featured Properties section of this website, there may be some there.

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