by "just-a-scratch" (just-a-scratch)
Published 02/14/2017 at 13:50
by "just-a-scratch" (just-a-scratch)
Published 02/14/2017 at 13:50
No Tags
STARS: 3
The big hurdle in the process was getting over the contractor’s estimate. I got my wife on board too. I’ve been working on that angle for years.
Next came the funding. Apparently houses in Seattle have been going up in value very quickly. So even though I haven’t paid the mortgage down much, I have a lot of equity in the house. The bank gave me the money.
Terms are negotiated and the contract is signed.
Now I need the permit to come through. Hopefully the city agrees with me that this is very beneficial to me, the neighborhood, and the city. [crossing fingers, hoping, holding breath... okay maybe I’ll have to breathe]
It’s going to go from a 14' x 25' single car, to a 14' x 45' tandem, attached.
"Roundbadge" (Roundbadge)
02/14/2017 at 13:56, STARS: 0
Gratz!
I really want to tear down and build a new embiggened garage, but I’m afeared the city won’t let me do so. My garage is 2 feet from the neighbor’s property line to the left, and 4 feet from the neighbor’s property line behind. Zoning wasn’t a big concern in 1927, apparently. I think the best I’m going to be able to do is a ‘remodeling’ where I leave one wall standing while rebuilding the rest.
"Spaceball-Two" (spaceball-two)
02/14/2017 at 13:57, STARS: 0
Nice! This housing market is nuts. We bought ours 7 years ago for a little over 200k and we refi’d a couple months ago and the appraisal was 400k. I work in real estate and in over 15 years I have never seen anything like this.
"OPPOsaurus WRX" (opposaurus)
02/14/2017 at 14:00, STARS: 0
usually if you have a non-conforming structure you are allowed to rebuild what exists. Depending on the city, you could probably enlarge it but you won;t be able to enlarge it within the new setbacks so if it was adding to the front you may be ok
"OPPOsaurus WRX" (opposaurus)
02/14/2017 at 14:00, STARS: 0
do you have a set of plans?
"Mid Engine" (jdlogan2006)
02/14/2017 at 14:04, STARS: 0
If you’re in King County, good luck getting it approved
"just-a-scratch" (just-a-scratch)
02/14/2017 at 14:11, STARS: 0
Yes. Even though I could’ve drawn them myself, I opted for the contractor to put that together. The permit is so much more likely to go through that way.
"just-a-scratch" (just-a-scratch)
02/14/2017 at 14:13, STARS: 0
Yes, I do. Seattle is the authority having jurisdiction on this. So far, this type of permit looks like they’re turning them around quickly. There are worries about the impermeable area calculation though.
"just-a-scratch" (just-a-scratch)
02/14/2017 at 14:15, STARS: 1
The appraisal on my house is up more than 30% over the sale price, in two and a half years. I wouldn’t be able to buy the same house today, even though I make more money.
"Spaceball-Two" (spaceball-two)
02/14/2017 at 14:17, STARS: 0
Same here!
"Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck)
02/14/2017 at 14:26, STARS: 0
Yeah, even with my nice pay increase over the last two years, my buying power has actually diminished because my wages can’t rise as fast as house prices. And I live in Everett.
"MylesD" (mylesd)
02/14/2017 at 14:31, STARS: 0
Just moved here and (yes I knew what I was getting into) it’s crazy! Not sure if we will even end up buying out here at all.
"Spaceball-Two" (spaceball-two)
02/14/2017 at 14:42, STARS: 0
Prices get better the farther out of the city proper you get.
"Roundbadge" (Roundbadge)
02/14/2017 at 14:49, STARS: 0
Can’t go much further to the front...would have to expand into my yard to the side. That would be my plan anyway.
I want to replace the driveway (asphalt over crumbling concrete), and I think if I do, it’s going to become evident that the drain from the garage doesn’t actually flow all the way to the street, which will necessitate getting that fixed, which will then require the floor of my garage to be dug up....and at that point we might just as well build a new garage since we’re halfway there.
All this has me looking at other houses.