Melissa,
Lots in N. King / S. Sno Co. assuming builder ready: power, sewer, water, curb & gutter, no steep slopes or wetlands last year started around $180k if you could find one. Today it's easy to find buildable, permit ready for around $160K-N. Bothell. That said I'd suggest you consider another approach:
What about a rental? Vacant land isn't the best place to stash your cash right now or borrow aganist at say 8%. If the next 24 months is projected to stay flat and inflation continues to climb then a rental is safer and much easier to acquire (less down payment, and makin payments on dirt gets old).
When you get ready to move back you can re-hab the rental or sell w/ greater chance of profit and less out of pocket,

Land is a safe bet. There is only so much available. So, if you are planning on building in a few years, it is a GREAT time to buy. The longer you wait, the more you will pay.

Taking a quick look on the MLS came up with lots of options...most ranging between $225,000 and $700,000 depending on size, exact location, view, etc...there are lots of good options.

If you work with someone local you may be able to find one not even listed at a better price for you. Vacant land isn't a bad purchase now as builders are slowing down their building with the slower market and land isn't in as high demand as it was. This will pick back up so why not take advantage of someone who held on too their land a little too long and didn't sell when it was in "high demand."

Look around and you can find a deal...just make sure that you research adequately...good luck and let us know how we can be of help.


By the way...downtown Bothell is doing a revitalization process over the next few years that should really help land value increase in the areas around downtown. Might be worth looking into and getting involved with...we are purchase a new office location just down the road across the UW Bothell hoping to make it a good investment as well.

You can see some of the Bothell city plans at http://www.ci.bothell.wa.us/

Good luck!

It all depends on the location and what is already done on the lot. If all the utilities are available then you will pay more of a premium, anywhere from about 150K and up. Every lot will be different. On the other hand if it is truely raw land it usually will be a larger lot but can very in price depending on what utilities are avialable. It is possible to find land for much less but the areas you are asking about tend to be a minimum of 150K. One other note, when buying raw land, expect to have to come in with a lot more down to finalize the purchase.

Hope this information has helped.