Adrian Willanger's Blog

Cedar Park gateway to the Burke Gilman Trail

One of the very best kept secrets in Seattle is the Cedar Park neighborhood.  Bordering on the western shores of Lake Washington and bordered by Matthews Beach to the south, 145th is the north border and 35th Avenue  and Sand Point Way provide the west border for this 4 mile long wooded residential area.

The natural sloping Cedar Park topography offers many homes with great views of Lake Washington, Mount Baker and to the south Mount Rainier.  Originally developed in the 1920s to the early 40s  as vacation cottages, after 1945 the area developed into a single-family residential community with the bulk of the homes being built from 1950-1970.

The waterfront homes in Cedar Park are separated by the Burke Gilman trail that runs from Gas Works Park in Seattle to Redmond’s Marymoor Park.  The Burke Gilman Trail was formerly a rail road line converted into a public trail in 1978.

Cedar Park is located close to the University of Washington, Lake City and the Northgate shopping area conveniently located to several freeway on and off ramps.

The currently inventory of homes for sale are priced from $299,000-$1,3 million.

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Built Green Homes in Seattle are extremely energy efficient saving the owners money month after month on home operating cost.  Energy efficiency can be achieved in many ways utilizing advance design and building science techniques incorporated with a “whole-system” approach to home building.

A good example of this would be in a new home that could get away with using a smaller more efficient heating and cooling system because the builder has increased the normal amount of insulation by using advance framing techniques, installing high-performance windows and doors, advance air sealing techniques to minimize air and water infiltration, and positioning the home to take advantage of the sun and prevailing wind patterns.

Not all green built homes are created equal, it’s important to talk to with a knowledge real estate broker that is familiar with all of the different levels and components of a green built home in Seattle.

Today, Green Built homes in the Seattle area are built with higher standards compared to a typical code built home.  With special focus being given to:

Energy Efficiency

Indoor Air Quality

Conserving Natural Resources

Water Quality

For more information regarding Green Built home in the Seattle area please visit my website or feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

Green Built Homes in the Seattle area

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1. Where are the green home buyers (16.6)
2. Seattle Green Builder freshens up marketing to reflect trend towards Zero-energy(15.8)
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We’ve all have heard the expression “when buying real estate its location, location, location.” Intuitively we get a sense of what makes a good neighborhood,  well keep streets and homes, low crime rates, good schools and close to shopping.

I tend to look at neighbors and communities in a circular or radius patterns.  A good example of this is with my new listing in Magnolia, 1911 31st Avenue W.  I tend to look at the location of the home in terms of how close are the  community resources, transit, open spaces and how walkable is the neighborhood.

When I asked the sellers what attracted them to this house, they previously lived just north of Dravus, and they mentioned that “a larger home was needed but the main attraction was its location.”  The 4 bedroom, 3 baths home is a five minute walk to “Magnolia Village” home to many specialty stores and professional services, some of Seattle’s top restaurants, and industrial and marine services. The amenity rich community also has strong connectivity to schools, parks, churches and public transportation.

Homes in this sought after  “walkable” area of Magnolia are blessed with many tree lined boulevards, open green spaces and fresh salt air breezes coming off Elliot Bay and Puget Sound.

Currently they’re 21 homes for sale with ½ mile radius of Magnolia Village prices range from $519,000-$5m.

New Listing

911 31th Avenue West, this 1950s home has its roots deeply embedded in a “new urbanism” theme, built in an extremely walkable community. The architecture design offers some subtle features from its counterparts, large inviting covered entry, natural daylighting from well thought out window placement, “BIG” rooms and an abundance of storage.  Extremely well maintained with some updating, a rare 2-car garage and 3 bathroom daylight-rambler located just east of Carlton Park in South Magnolia. Open Sunday May 20th from 1-3pm. Offered at $639,950.

 Related posts:

1. Sunday’s Home Tour in Magnolia (12.2)
2. Street Smart Green Builder Selects Queen Anne Hill Location (12.1)
3. Seattle s intercity real estate activity proves location is once again a key price driver(11.8)
4. (10.2)
5. Magnolia’s real estate days on market on the decline (9.1)

Dateline Seattle Wa. May 16, 2012 – During the preparation and staging of a new listing in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood the stager suffered an ankle sprain and minor knee bruises.  The stager is reported to be in good condition and said “I’ll finish the job prior to Sunday’s public open house.”

The home is a 1950s daylight rambler, originally build as the personal residence for the homebuilder; the home has its roots deeply embedded in a “new urbanism” theme, built within an extremely walk-able neighborhood represented by its walking score of 80. Local residences, while passing by, can often be heard commenting about the subtle architectural characteristic of this home compared to other homes built in this era.

The home is located at 1911 31st Avenue West in Seattle features a large inviting covered entry, natural daylighting from well thought out placement of windows, use of stone & brick, “big” rooms, and an abundance of storage.

An extremely well maintained with some updating to kitchen and bathrooms, a rare home for the era, with a 2-car garage and 3 baths located just east of popular Carleton Park in South Magnolia.

Offered at $639,950

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1. Do You Need A Professional Stager When Selling Your House In Bothell (8.6)
2. Living in Seattle’s Magnolia Community (8.3)
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4. Getting a hi-performance home appraised (6.8)

 
Bothell currently has 70 homes for sale under $400K. In fact you can get a new “cottage style” home in Bothell for $229,500 featuring a large media room and vaulted ceilings.

You might find a limited selection of new homes in the Seattle (51) and when shopping for a new construction in the Kirkland market you need to start looking at about $464k and up.  Relax, take a deep breath and look at the available the large selection of new construction in Bothell area to select from.

Bothell is a 28 minute drive from downtown Seattle and is 15 minutes from downtown Kirkland.

No matter what your housing need may be Bothell has a wide selection of inventory of new homes to choose from.

Sign up to have FREE WEEKLY UPDATES on the latest Greater Seattle real estate market activity e-mailed to you weekly.

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If you thinking about buying your first Seattle home in a few years, you have to work out a budget plan to make sure that it happens. It’s hard to reach a goal when you don’t have a plan put in place first. If you’re serious about becoming a homeowner you’ll take the time necessary to make a realistic plan that you can stick to.

Budgeting for your 1st home

The problem that most people make when them putting together a budget is they ignore the small extra things that really make a difference. For example, if you stop to get a coffee every day and pay $3 for it, this is $90 per month that you could put towards a new home. While $90 per month isn’t going to get you to your end goal very quickly, there are probably a lot of other small expenditures that you make every day or weekly that you could cut out.

If you are dining out once a week you can reduce it to once every two weeks. If you are spending $50 for a meal for you and your partner, that adds up to a savings of $100 per month. When you add that onto your $90 that you have saved by preparing your own coffees and bring them along in a thermos, you are already up to $190 monthly. This is almost $200 and all you have done is stop buying coffee every day and only dine out twice a month instead of four times.

Instead of dining out on those certain days you can replace it by asking friends over for a potluck dinner, a movie on your Blu-Ray player and a bowl of popcorn. You don’t really need to miss dining out at a Seattle restaurant every week if you decide not to. There are a lot of options you can put into place for any type of things that you want to take out of your budget to save money.

You don’t have to go without food, shelter or utilities to save money. Often it comes down to the little things that you are spending money on every day or weekly that add up. If you’re serious about purchasing your first Seattle home in a few years take a look at the small things too when you’re making your budget. If you can put away an extra $200 just by doing the things mentioned above, think about what an effect you can make by addressing your budget for the next few years to finally reach your goal.

Sign up to have FREE WEEKLY UPDATES on the latest Greater Seattle real estate market activity e-mailed to you weekly.

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If you are considering moving, or are buying your first Seattle home, you’ll want to think of your dog. Most people that own a dog consider it to be one of the family members and treated it as such.  Even so, many people overlook the comfort of their dog when it comes time to buy a home in Seattle and just assume their favorite pooch will adapt to any new home. This may be true for some dogs, but there are a few dogs that need to be taken into consideration when looking at homes on the market

1. If your dog is older, it would be unwise to purchase a Seattle home with multiple levels and many staircases. An elderly dog can severely strain his bones and muscles attempting to climb steps, especially if you want your dog to have free run of the house. Steer away from these types of houses if possible. 

2. Young, active dogs or puppies need room to play. If your animal is one that enjoys running around, you should look for a Seattle home with a big backyard or at least a great dog friendly park in the neighborhood.

3. What sort of Seattle neighborhood are you placing your pet into? You should be wary of the kind of atmosphere you are moving into beforehand, and assess the general attitude towards animals that people in your potential area have. If your dog is one that barks and growls a lot, you don’t want to be stuck next to an elderly old lady that hates dogs.

There are also the local laws that you must observe, such as the laws for keeping your dog on a leash or letting him roam free. The area you choose to reside in should also have parks that permit you to walk your dog, rather than repel him away with nasty signs.

Moving is a big change in your life, but what many people don’t realize is that it is a change for your dog as well. His comfort should be taken into consideration before you make the next step towards buying a Seattle home. 

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