Late night apartment hunting

"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion) 01/14/2019 at 03:13 • Filed to: None

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One of my goals is to live in a modern, downtown apartment with floor-to-ceiling windows, for a few years at lea st. Another housing-related goal? An industrial-style loft. Alright, Craigslist, show me what you’ve got.

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Numero uno, above. Some ugly laminate flooring in the kitchen and bathroom, bur oh man. That window wall makes me forget the flaws. Corner u nit ftw. I’m also a fan of random interior pillars.

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Number two is this old apartment. I’d kill for this much character in my home, the brick, the molding, the doors, the windows.... Gaaaah. Definitely out of budget though . Especially with that $200/month garage parking (3 blocks away no less). Oh, and open kitchen cabinets look great in staging photos, but terrible when actually used.

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This one’s even further out of budget, but again... I’m a sucker for nice windows, and this one has significantly better windows than the first apartment. Plus an awesome view. I’d set up a telescope ASAP and find someone to play chess with, which—yes—is a thing.

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So this one is neither a high rise or a loft, but... It’s close to the water in the downtown section of the city I already live in. I love this area. I already know all of the traffic patterns! The price is pretty good, likely because.... Shares laundry. Mmmm.... I normally consider that a deal-breaker but maybe that wouldn’t be the end of the world. Fantastic location, ample parking, lots of storage space, uninspired architecture/design.

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Real floor-to-ceiling windows, although unfortunately we’re back down into the vinyl window price bracket. An open studio-style layout that I really like. Small, but massive windows go a long way towards making tight spaces work.

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Aaaaand our first loft! C ement floor, high ceilings, ladder, barn door, super easy street-level access, and on the lower end of the price spectrum for this style of home. Something about the overall design looks... Off. This is new building,and on the Eastside, so maybe it just doesn’t have the soul of Seattle’s 50's lofts. Still cool.

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And even Bellevue has a few. I like privacy so those lower windows would have blinds covering them, but even so..... That’s a lot of natural light from the tops. Have I mentioned I like lofts?

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1 bedroom/2 bath + den + loft could make this the best deal here. By an absolute landslide. Unfortunately the photos don’t really do a good job showing off the upper level, and honestly I can’t make heads or tails of the floor plan . Is the unlabeled top right section the 2nd floor? Where is this second bathroom.

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This would probably be my top choice if I was making a purely logical decision. Close to work. Has a carport and g uest parking included in price. Actual rent is a good deal for the area. I just don’t like that window style at all.... The design in general is pretty bland. Why are most of the cool apartments a ll in Seattle, and $3000+/month?

Oh, bonus floor plan. This is a super common layout in new buildings, and is used predominantly for studios and “open bedroom” studios. I realize that makes it sound like a bad thing, but I actually really like the floor plan!

Rectangle with an entryway on one of the short sides, and a solid wall of windows on the other. In the above example the kitchen is part of the living room, but just as often you’ll see it alongside the hallway on the right. Bed and bath are on the left of the hallway. So you open the front door and have a clear shot to the end of the apartment!

Man. If I could do it all over again, I’d have gone to school for something architecture or design related. None of that medical stuff that I ended up disliking. Ah well, maybe someday.

Okay, that was my late-night Oppo contribution. Sharing my internal struggle between hardcore lazyness, and a desire for nice things . Post cool apartments! “loft”, “industrial”, “penthouse”, “floor to ceiling” are all good search terms.

facw > AestheticsInMotion 01/14/2019 at 03:20

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I lived in this for a couple years:

I can’t find any pictures now, but I can promise you that the two huge walls of floor to ceiling windows made for a spectacular living room .

The bedrooms had little narrow windows though:

(also, that was the city’s busiest bus station, and those diesels were loud, as were the drunks waiting for a ride home after the bars closed)

CB > AestheticsInMotion 01/14/2019 at 03:20

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I have only ever lived in mediocre apartments, 60s houses or dorms, a cookie cutter build, and then a 2013 build that was... Well it was a long six months. Since the rest of my life is probably going to be rural, I love most of the apartments you posted and am slightly jealous.

gettingoldercarguy > AestheticsInMotion 01/14/2019 at 03:27

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I hope I can live vicariously through you. The loft is something I never achieved in my youth. A lot of those look almost great, but with some bad non updated 90s Denver aesthetics. It isn’t in motion, aesthetically if you will. The brick one looks fantastic, but that price. Every time I go to our through Seattle I want to live there, but that price is just too much.

My wife and I thought we may have to move up there about a year and a half ago and to get the same house and school as we have here in Oly would be like 2+.  Luckily we didn't have to.  

pip bip - choose Corrour > AestheticsInMotion 01/14/2019 at 03:40

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my housing goal is to never rent

AestheticsInMotion > CB 01/14/2019 at 03:57

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Funny how age isn’t the indicator of quality that most people assume it is. My sole experience with a newer home (also 2013!) was... Poor. So many issues.

Unless I shift careers, I’ll likely be at a stage soon where I’ll need a house to operate a business out of. Plus the whole multiple cars thing. Cheap beaters is a lifestyle now. This might be my only chance at the whole downtown apartment thing until retirement. I’m just worried I’ll never want to leave.

AestheticsInMotion > gettingoldercarguy 01/14/2019 at 04:01

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I haven’t *seriously* looked at buying anything, but seeing rental prices drop slightly and availability increase i n my area compared to the last few years has been a pleasant surprise. But yeah... Still crazy expensive. A lot of these buildings have unit rates of $3000/month, and need 3x that in verified income to consider a renter. That’s a pretty insane number of $100,000+ earners in such a tiny area. Makes me wonder what Seattle would have been like 20ish years ago.

AestheticsInMotion > pip bip - choose Corrour 01/14/2019 at 04:02

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That's a good one. I forsee a lot of change in my life over the next few years, and like the flexibility that renting gives me

AestheticsInMotion > facw 01/14/2019 at 04:04

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I like it. Crossing my fingers for a corner unit! 

gettingoldercarguy > AestheticsInMotion 01/14/2019 at 04:09

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Yeah, I’m not from here but I saw war games when it came out and geez us it was different. Same thing goes for where I’m from. I’d wait a bit longer, I think 2019 is going to be the year of the buyer, maybe 2020. Interest rates won’ t be as good as we had with the lemur brothers fuckup.

random001 > AestheticsInMotion 01/14/2019 at 06:17

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Get a place with low ceilings, and floor to ceiling windows are much easier.

OPPOsaurus WRX > AestheticsInMotion 01/14/2019 at 08:40

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the architect doesn’ t make a killing, its the developer and building that makes the money. One of my latest projects:

a lot of those rents are more than my mortgage.

fintail > pip bip - choose Corrour 01/14/2019 at 09:30

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Don’t move to metro Seattle without a well-stocked trust fund or a very nice salary.

fintail > AestheticsInMotion 01/14/2019 at 09:32

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I know someone who lived at Elements - apparently they can really nickel and dime you, beware. 

fintail > AestheticsInMotion 01/14/2019 at 09:32

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That was the tail end of the era when normal working people could still afford to buy.  It went up in smoke in the early part of the oughts.

Svart Smart, traded in his Smart > AestheticsInMotion 01/14/2019 at 10:06

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I’m looking to move to Capitol Hill in August, but I should stay below $1600/month, which really limits my options in newer construction.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Svart Smart, traded in his Smart 01/14/2019 at 10:25

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$1600 for a good unit in Capitol Hill ... Does such a unit exist?!

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > AestheticsInMotion 01/14/2019 at 10:29

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Sooooooooooo have you considered buying anyway even though you have no desire to buy? If your circumstances change and you absolutely MUST move, you sell for more than what you bought in 2 years (nominally) and likely even make a profit overall. I’m just looking at some of these rental rates and thinking, “you can get a nice chunk of house for these numbers.” I know this pushes you out of downtown Bellevue/Seattle/Kirkland, but you could have a garage, no shared walls, ample parking, etc.

Just being the boring one, here.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > AestheticsInMotion 01/14/2019 at 11:01

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Even the cheapest on that list is more than my mortgage and taxes and utilities combined

:o

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > AestheticsInMotion 01/14/2019 at 11:37

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I’m not sure I understand what these ads are for... I mean, all but the cheapest is more than double my mortgage payment, on a nice 3 bedroom house, in good neighborhood, within walking distance to the university and largest employer in town . That much money for an entire place that is about the size of my living/dining room? Do they included servants a nd sexual favors for that much money   ?

AestheticsInMotion > Svart Smart, traded in his Smart 01/14/2019 at 12:16

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That's probably about what I should spend, if I was to be smart. But yeah I imagine you'll have a tough time finding much around Capitol Hill, unless you're looking for a roommate

AestheticsInMotion > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 01/14/2019 at 12:18

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Where do you live, and is your company hiring? 

AestheticsInMotion > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/14/2019 at 12:44

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I'm not ready for a soul-sucking commute :/

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > AestheticsInMotion 01/14/2019 at 13:07

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Las Cruces. The university is always hiring. The trade off is generally shit wages in New Mexico, but the cost of living is low. It is also oppressively hot a few months out of the year.   $ 150K will buy a perfectly fine 3 bedroom house in Las Cruces. $250k will buy something  very nice. $500k will buy a bigly house on a couple of acres of land.

Future next gen S2000 owner > AestheticsInMotion 01/14/2019 at 14:22

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Who needs a soul anyway?

AestheticsInMotion > Future next gen S2000 owner 01/14/2019 at 14:57

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I've got a good number of souls actually, but I wanna save 'em for dark rituals and stuff. You know how it is

Future next gen S2000 owner > AestheticsInMotion 01/14/2019 at 14:58

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I traded all my souls away during the Beanie Baby craze. Still waiting on the ROI.

AestheticsInMotion > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 01/14/2019 at 15:10

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I would imagine even with lower wages your buying power is still quite a bit higher than a similar position near Seattle?

Never been to New Mexico, but it sure seems pretty. My Miata inspiration lives there... 

AestheticsInMotion > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 01/14/2019 at 15:11

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Same actually 

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > AestheticsInMotion 01/14/2019 at 17:01

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I would imagine so.

Svart Smart, traded in his Smart > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/14/2019 at 23:05

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Yes, but they’re few and far between.

pip bip - choose Corrour > fintail 01/15/2019 at 01:59

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just like Melbourne and Sydney, the prices here  are just out of control.

supposedly there is a housing price downturn here, but it hasn’t dropped the prices that much yet

pip bip - choose Corrour > AestheticsInMotion 01/15/2019 at 02:01

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never rented yet, moved to another town in 2001. bought a house and paid it off.

moved back to my home town in 2011 and bought another house. sold the first for a handsome profit. 

fintail > pip bip - choose Corrour 01/15/2019 at 10:03

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So me o f the same forces at work in those markets and mine too, namely, lots of offshore-sourced capital parking and money laundering.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > AestheticsInMotion 01/15/2019 at 11:54

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Lofts are so neat! I went apartment shopping when our building got bought by new owners, in fear that rent would double or some shit. Thankfully it didnt budge much (like $40 I think?) so we didnt have to move. But anyways, I had looked at one apartment with a loft and it was the coolest thing ever. Square footage does not take into account ceiling height in any possible way so all of that extra space is amazing and feels like free space. If the building wasnt old as hell and had shitty unchangeable door locks and crappy parking, we might have moved. Just an awesome layout.

Also unsurprised that rent is about the same there in Seattle as it is here in LA.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 01/15/2019 at 12:03

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$150k isnt even enough for a down payment in LA lol