By Brian Olsen, Chief Operations Officer at Cooper Jacobs Real Estate, 206.327.4420, on April 6th, 2012%
Heads Out for Spring
The turtles have come out of hibernation on Green Lake and Lake Washington and many people are thrilled to see them. For some folks, seeing the turtles bask in the sun on wooden logs is the unofficial start to Spring.
Turtles surfacing the waterline is a magical time in Seattle. These shelled critters act as a barometer for this body of water we know as Green Lake.Many of the flowers and cherry blossom trees have been out for about a month now but the turtles seem to know when there’s little chance of going back to freezing temperatures.
Baseball’s in the air too! The Seattle Mariners have their season opening game at Safeco Field today after starting the season overseas in Japan. There have been more and more Green Lake open houses, too, and that’s another sign that warmer weather and sunny days are more common. If you are interested in open houses held by Cooper Jacobs please contact us at courtney@cooperjacobs.com.
If you are looking at homes for sale in Seattle, then Green Lake is a great place to live.
Active Green Lake real estate listings can be viewed at Green Lake Properties.
For ALL the listings in Seattle and surrounding neighborhoods go to www.cooperjacobs.com.
By Molly Cartwright, Realtor, Cooper Jacobs Real Estate, Molly@CooperJacobs.com, 206-841-6800, on February 16th, 2012%
Should I buy a Co-op?
“Should I buy a Co-op?” asked my client. Hmmm…good question! We’ve been looking at condominiums in a higher end neighborhood in Seattle. It’s a good shoe-in for an expensive neighborhood.
I think we can largely agree it’s a good time to buy real estate in general right now. But let’s back up for a sec. First let me answer the question what is a condo association and what is a co-op association.
Condominium is a big building with individual units. Each unit has a tax parcel number and the owner has ownership of the interior walls inside. They also own the Title for the unit. Each owner pays a home owner due (HOD). Which it turn goes into an account managed by the home owner association. If there are any needed assessments (aka repairs) on the building or lawsuits to pay out, it is debited from this account. You qualify. You buy. You’re in.
Co-Op is a big building with individual units. The building is the company. The units are the shareholders within the company. You don’t hold Title. The co-op committee does. And usually the building is one big parcel number. There are home owner dues just like condo ownership. You interview with the co-op board. You buy. You’re in. Oh yeah, and no dogs (usually) and no leasing (usually).
Should you buy a co-op? Yes, you should. If you are a person who likes people, who likes sharing, who likes working together for a common goal, then yes buy a co-op. If you like relinquishing some of your control issues and collaborating with your fellow shareholders, then yes you should think about buying a co-op. If you don’t want to pay 1.78% excise tax as a seller in King County, co-op is a way to avoid this tax.
Should you buy a co-op? No, you should think twice about buying a co-op if you own a dog (usually), if you like larger buildings (co-ops are generally smaller buildings), if you are an investor/landlord and intend to rent. Oh, and perhaps you don’t want to know who your neighbors are.
Financing is no different for co-ops. You can do an FHA loan if you want. Just make sure you ask for the Financials Addendum from the building. This is similar to the Resale Certificate for a condo building. It contains meeting minutes, financials, and future assessments.
Hope this bit of info helped you make the right move. Questions? I’m here.
Ciao.
Molly@cooperjacobs.com
206.841.6800
By Courtney Cooper, Seattle Realtor, 206.850.8841, courtney@cooperjacobs.com, on January 8th, 2012%
Green Lake Real Estate in Seattle, WA
Click on any of the Green Lake homes for sale below – This page has all listings from all Seattle real estate companies and is current from information swept from the NWMLS for changes every 15-20 minutes. You can find all Green Lake Seattle real estate here including Green Lake homes & condos and even some Luxury Green Lake property for sale.
Green Lake Real Estate in Seattle WA – Find Green Lake homes For Sale
By Molly Cartwright, Realtor, Cooper Jacobs Real Estate, Molly@CooperJacobs.com, 206-841-6800, on December 15th, 2011%
 Friends want to know, am I keeping busy in the Green Lake Real Estate Market for 4th quarter…notoriously a sleepy time of the year for Realtors. The answer is YES I’M BUSY! Keeping track of the real estate market is a daily, constant routine and the inventory is literally changing every day. Clients want to know what’s going on every day.
Many buyers are asking what’s up with this lack of inventory. On the flip side, sellers are asking is it a good time to sell with home values seeming to be slipping. True, the Green Lake real estate market has seen better inventory before, but the homes that are active are selling! A home listed for sale on my street went for $10,000 over list price which means, yes, multiple offers. Then there’s the bank owned property for sale around the corner. So you really do need a professional Realtor in this market who can help you understand the market and the pros and cons.
So how is my favorite neighborhood, Green Lake, faring in this 4th Quarter so far?
Just to show you how active Green Lake’s real estate has been as we are nearing the end of the 4th quarter, here’s a quick snap shot.
Green Lake 4th Quarter 2011 Solds
If you want the short version, here goes:
High Sold Price
$910,000
Median Sold Price
$482,500
Low Sold Price
$246,500
The average price per square foot rounds out at just about $240.00 and with 63 days on the market, things have been selling for 98% of list price.
If YOU’RE interested in understanding the Green Lake Real Estate Market, I’d be happy to help. I’ve lived in this ‘hood for 17 years and love every minute.
molly@cooperjacobs.com / 206.841.6800
By Molly Cartwright, Realtor, Cooper Jacobs Real Estate, Molly@CooperJacobs.com, 206-841-6800, on July 10th, 2011%
The Value of Siding
The way I see it, vinyl siding is a love/hate relationship. I love the fact that it’s inexpensive, low maintenance, and just keeps on giving back … especially on those southwest exposures. I hate the fact that it doesn’t give a $$ return on your investment and the awkwardness of finding a charming 1916 bungalow with vinyl siding. Its all that worth saving $3.00 per square foot from installing wood products?
And sorry, you can’t paint it. I don’t care how many Google searches you do on it, the fact is vinyl is made to resist anything so painting will only mean chipping, peeling, and fading later.
Are you curious of how much new siding cost? Me too. So I did a quick search and it appears, much like everything else in real estate, the price per square foot is about $8.00 for wood and $5.00 for vinyl. So for my Green Lake house, it would cost roughly $23,000 to reside my house. And that might be something in mind to to think about when it comes to selling your home too.
By Molly Cartwright, Realtor, Cooper Jacobs Real Estate, Molly@CooperJacobs.com, 206-841-6800, on June 23rd, 2011%
Twins!
My client is pregnant with twins. And while this new experience is super exciting for her and her husband, the four story townhome is not so much exciting. There is literally a bedroom on every floor. Not screaming practical here.
Time to stock up the car with plenty of bottled water and m&m’s.
They live in the uber-urban neighborhood of Wallingford and didn’t want to venture too far away since schools are a major focus now. So my checklist reads:
- Great Schools
- Walkable and Safe Neighborhood
- Practical Floorplan with Four Bedrooms, 2,000 sq ft.
- Easy Commute to Work
- Updated
- $500,000 to $600,000 Range
Do any of these ring a bell?
 Green Lake Beach First we look in Greenwood because of an amazing 2011 home just built. Almost a perfect fit: 4 out of 6. Bonus: Two car garage! Overall, the neighborhood wasn’t for them. No sidewalks (one of those things I keep hearing about Greenwood) and walkability was poor. And I’ll give it a 5 out of 10 on the school-meter.
We look in Ballard. Too far West for commuting purposes. Plus they weren’t familiar with the neighborhood and I think this psyched them out a bit.
Wallingford was up next. They found some wonderfully updated bungalows in this uber-urban neighborhood. They were shocked by the price per square foot and really – when you’re having twins plus a nanny – you want square footage.
I guess I left the best for last. Green Lake was our final destination. Bingo!
 Wallingford Park and Wading Pool It was a Sunday afternoon and I was at an open house for my own Green Lake listing. She and her husband went to an Open House and fell in love with it. Who said Open Houses don’t sell houses? We wrote it up the next day. They can walk to PCC, Green Lake Park is across the street and when they get hungry they can walk to Duke’s, Blu Water Bistro then Ben and Jerry’s for dessert. Daniel Bagley Elementary is one of the top desirable k-5 elementary schools and they also have a Montessori. If private schools are more your thing, St. Joseph’s is right up the road on 80th Ave.
Happy Mommy. Happy Daddy. And soon to be Happy Twins this Fall.
By Molly Cartwright, Realtor, Cooper Jacobs Real Estate, Molly@CooperJacobs.com, 206-841-6800, on June 10th, 2011%
Welcome to Green Lake, New Home Owner!
 My Favorite Yellow Castle Congratulations if you are one of the lucky 26 people who can call Green Lake home. The month of May turned out to be a successful month for sales in this paddle-boarding, bike-riding neighborhood. The previous two months – even more successful! Crazy to imagine 87 homes were sold in the last three months – all of which have 1, 2, 3…5 each in a household. I know of a couple households which sold their Green Lake home only to move two blocks away. It’s nice to know growing families want to stay here. So let’s look at the numbers in a glance:
March 2011 - Booming! 34 homes sold with an average of 84 days on the market. Okay – that last number is not so great. Probably just people getting out of the winter hibernation. We want days on market to be more like 30. Homes were also selling on average for roughly $423,000….better (if you’re a seller) than the average price today.
April 2001 – Sweet! 27 homes sold with an average of 49 days on the market. Okay – better! People thinking ahead for summer and school changes. Homes were selling on average for roughly $406,800…better (if you’re a buyer).
May 2011 – Looking ahead! 26 homes sold with an average of 41 days on the market. Okay – getting there! More sun, longer days. Homes were selling on average for roughly $397,500….really better (if you’re a buyer).
So what if you’re a seller? Yes, the average prices have come down in the last three months IF YOU’RE LOOKING AT AVERAGES. See the thing with averages are there might be a million dollar home that sold…which happened in March ($1,225,000 to be exact) which then shoots up the average.
 Southwest Flare Then you look at April and the highest house sold was $698,500..which went OVER asking price. Yay! In May it looks like $785,000 was the highest house sold.
If someone were to ask me what the average price of a Green Lake home is, I would say a solid $500,000 with 3 bedrooms /2 bath, garage, and logical upgrades on a great avenues like Corliss and Bagley.
 Corliss Ave Tangletown has really sprung into action too. Tangletown is known around here by mostly the locals. Here’s the equation:
Dive bar/nice bar/ to die for sushi,/cafe complete with free wi-fi/ hip salon/dentist/ dry cleaner, and of course you got your quick market + many zig zag residential (walkable) tree lined streets = tangletown.
Oh yeah, and it’s four blocks from the lake. Bam!
By Molly Cartwright, Realtor, Cooper Jacobs Real Estate, Molly@CooperJacobs.com, 206-841-6800, on May 6th, 2011%
Cindo de Mayo in Green Lake
Looking for Margarita-ville? It’s on the corner of Green Lake Way and 2nd Ave NE in Green Lake. Another year (that makes it 10 years running) that Tacos Guaymas kicks off their Block Party.
This isn’t just any Block Party. These guys are serious! Party goes from 11am to 1pm complete with a beer garden, margarita bar and, of course, jalepeno eating contest. Sing with the mariachi band while sippin’ on margaritas and celebrate Mexico’s independence day!
3,000 sombrero-wearing, pepper-eating amigos partied here last year. Bring your water bottles to cool down cause this is going to be HOT!
Oh and if you’re strolling down Green Lake Way and like what you see, contact us for real estate home sales.
By Molly Cartwright, Realtor, Cooper Jacobs Real Estate, Molly@CooperJacobs.com, 206-841-6800, on April 28th, 2011%
New Construction in Green Lake
“What’s THAT?”, asks a client.
I’ve been getting that question since 2008.
“Oh, that’s The Hole”, I reply.
The Hole has made its bed in Green Lake since 2008. Vitamilk used to occupy this entire 3 acre city block until they sold it to some developers that year.
Unfortunately the developers had a major fall out with the main tentant (heard it was Whole Foods or maybe Metropolitan Market) and the site has sat empty for all these years. And sits. And sits.
2011 brings promise! It’s been reported that PCC has stepped up to the plate and will be the main retailer anchoring the ”the hole” in Green Lake. Above PCC will live about 295 apartments. Might be competition with Circa, which is the other apartment/mixed use building, replacing my beloved Alberton’s years ago.
The Hole will be starting their new construction soon and the new 55,000 mixed use space will become Green Lake Village slated for completion in 2013!
By Courtney Cooper, Seattle Realtor, 206.850.8841, courtney@cooperjacobs.com, on April 22nd, 2011%
Green Lake Open Houses Highlight: Come See This Green Lake Home!
If you are looking for the perfect newer Green Lake Craftsman home just down from the lake and all that is offered there, then you should come check this one out. Open Saturday from 1-4 PM, this larger home offers all the conveniences of modern living with Green Lake Loop steps away.
Look for great features like a butler’s pantry along with a super large regular pantry, in city two car garage parking, covered front porch, two master suites, high ceilings on all THREE levels. Fully finished basement only partially underground and offers large bright windows, wet bar and room for your own dance club – or build out more bedrooms for a great mother-in-law or separate guest suite.
More info: Green Lake Home For Sale
You can find this home as well as other Green Lake Homes For Sale on the Cooper Jacobs Real Estate Website – it sweeps the MLS for changes so you always have current Green Lake listings and no forced sign ups.
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