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We bought in Tampa which has not been hit by a hurricane since 1921 and we bought inland enough (about 7 miles from the coast) that a potential hurricane would lose quite a bit of its potency.
I was not interested in the Atlantic coast.
Our house is built within the latest FL construction code (2010), the house is all concrete blocks and reinforced steel with steel beams for the roof no exposed wood, thank God no more worries about termites and other creatures chewing up your house. Our area is rank 1 on a FEMA scale for flooding (meaning basically no risk at all)
We have modern impact windows and doors (can withstand 150 mph impact).
The community is beautiful with an amazing amenities center, trails, so lush and green.
I'm 30 mins away from the nicest beaches in the United States (Sarasota, Anna Maria Island, etc..), Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater are all within 30-45 mins away as well with endless nightlife and excellent and refined restaurants choices. I have all sort of shops, restaurants and medical facilities almost at walking distance (or Golf Cart distance )
Insurance was not an issue, we are getting a very good one at reasonable price. Buy the properly built home and in the right area and you can get insurance.
I advise anybody to do their homework before buying in Florida...avoid old homes, avoid being too close to the coast, make sure your house in on a FEMA Zone 1 for flooding.
We are not immediately retiring. We will spend few weeks every 3 months or so in this house working from home for quite few years ahead before actually retiring. We will not sell our West Seattle home.
It's unreal the level of home you can get on Tampa for the same money of these crapboxes in Bellingham.
Regarding WFH, I've been doing it well over a decade, long before COVID and the more recent trend. While there are some workers returning to a physical office, I think the remote option ship has sailed and there's a substantial permanent shift to that type of setup for many.
In more remote places like ID and MT, it may be more of a gamble, but I'm confident that cities like Bellingham and Olympia will remain popular for WFH, as it still is an option for many who only need to come in 1x per week or a couple of times a month.
Anyway, I don't see the prices going down anytime soon.
The interesting thing about these threads is that people are at different stages in their lives, and that people have different preferences. If I was younger and just starting out, I couldn't afford to buy in WA at today's prices. If I was older, I may want to cash out and buy something cheaper somewhere else. As it is now, I like it a lot here.
So, I'm not sure why you feel the need to trash Bellingham but I understand that it's not an appealing deal for you at this point.
Likewise, I actually grew up in Clearwater and am quite familiar with the area where you bought. Yes, it's substantially cheaper, and I'm sure the dollar goes much further, though it's worth noting that like here, everything doubled in price in the last five years, so it is an issue to many people there, relatively. But yeah, it should be a good deal, noting that you're not moving to a beautiful beach or even Tampa, you bought a house on formerly undeveloped swampland turned distant inland suburb 45+ minutes from the city, and an hour+ from good beaches. That does absolutely zero for me, but again, these things are often a matter of taste and stations in life, and I respect that.
Last edited by bartonizer; 12-08-2023 at 03:07 PM..
I'm going to push back a bit here. The area in question is on South Hill, and while some of the housing may be older and near part of Western's campus, I can assure you that it's substantially nicer than you're giving it credit for. Our good friends live three blocks from the first listing, and as someone who walks and bikes by there frequently, I can confidently say that there's absolutely nothing about the the housing or the landscaping surrounding the first two properties that gives a run down or in-decline vibe whatsoever. I don't think the listing provides that context, but a walk around that area would.
I'm going to also assume that some of the observations from Seattleites on this thread are due to a bit of a pre-COVID mentality about the real estate market here, which is understandable. But it's a bit off from the reality of the situation. I understand your preference is Edgemoor, but many people in Bellingham- especially those who've flocked here in the last five years, place as almost as much of a premium on convenience as they do on a view. Edgemoor is really separated from the rest of the city. It's very private but has no sidewalks and feels disconnected for a lot of people.
And that brings me to the next point, which is that work from home employees making six figures+ dot the landscape and in addition to retirees make up the "who would pay $1 mil+ to live in Bellingham. I think you and the OP are drastically understimating how many work from homers are out there, and the effect they've had on housing. Many outdoorsy people from CA, CO, and WA would prefer parking their $250k sprinter van and $10k bikes here and having easy access to the mountains than to live in the crush of the Seattle area (or Denver or Seattle), as you pointed out.
I didn't mean to say that Bellingham, or parts of it, look like the more run-down and ramshackle areas of Seattle. I've been there a couple of times, and didn't see anything like that. But the tiny lots do make me think of old university district neighborhoods with small lots and old Craftsman houses that haven't always been well-maintained.
I'm not fixated on Edgemoor, either. But it does have larger lots. However, I've seen empty lots for sale all around B'ham, that are large and well-treed, that look like they'd be great to build on. I've also seen large lots with farmhouses on them, that used to be part of a farmstead both over near Lake Paden, and also in the opposite corner of town, out where there are still functioning farms, over near the airport. Maybe a lot of that land has been subdivided and developed since I last looked pre-Covid, IDK. But if I were in a position to move to B'ham, there are several areas I'd be interested in.
I can see from the photo of that big house with the basement rental, that the other homes behind it are nice. Still, it's clear from those two listings that a lot of money was poured into the those two houses. I'm surprised that a similar process still hasn't happened in Seattle's more bedraggled areas. But maybe it's a good thing, that it hasn't, because people do need affordable basic homes.
Anyway, I always enjoy your posts and respect your opinion. Feel free to push back when the need strikes.
Not my cup of tea. I much prefer old-growth woods, mountains, rivers and lakes. A matter of taste I guess.
To each his own...I grew up in Mediterranean environment (Sicily) and I miss the sunshine, the beautiful blooming flowers, the spring scent, the turquoise warm waters, the white beaches and the brutal but short summer downpours. After 24 years, I had enough of the North American Scandinavia.
What Tampa gave me is choice. The best beaches in the United States are half hour away, I can drive to Greenville SC up in the mountains, lakes and snow in 8 hours or so if I want to, in 4 hours I'm in Miami, a bit over 7 in Key West....technically form the snow capped mountains to the Caribbean with your car.....
In Seattle in 8 hours I'm maybe where....in Medford OR??......a decent swimmable beach (Loreto in Mexico) takes 3 and half hour plane ride and a stop in LA in the middle.
Last edited by saturno_v; 12-08-2023 at 03:20 PM..
So, I'm not sure why you feel the need to trash Bellingham but I understand that it's not an appealing deal for you at this point.
I'm not trashing Bellingham, simply I'm saying that the prices are absolutely unjustified in my opinion
Quote:
Likewise, I actually grew up in Clearwater and am quite familiar with the area where you bought. Yes, it's substantially cheaper, and I'm sure the dollar goes much further, though it's worth noting that like here, everything doubled in price in the last five years, so it is an issue to many people there, relatively. But yeah, it should be a good deal, noting that you're not moving to a beautiful beach or even Tampa, you bought a house on formerly undeveloped swampland turned distant inland suburb 45+ minutes from the city. That does absolutely zero for me, but again, these things are often a matter of taste and stations in life, and I respect that.
I do not think the land was a swampland but, yes, definitely farmland. Tampa downtown is exactly 20 miles away, 45 minutes and even more if you have heavy traffic, in no traffic is half hour.
Not buying closer to a beach was my choice....I wanted a community with lots of space and a big amenities center....and, most of all, FEMA level 1 on the flooding risk ranking. Not interested in gorgeous homes on FEMA 9 or 10 land.
I heard prices in Tampa went up quite a bit...for me, used to the PNW, everything looks like a bargain not to mention the absolutely stunning homes made with concrete, steel and tiles unlike our glorified shacks in the PNW.
The relative closeness to Sarasota and Anna Maria Island is a huge plus for me.
I didn't mean to say that Bellingham, or parts of it, look like the more run-down and ramshackle areas of Seattle. I've been there a couple of times, and didn't see anything like that. But the tiny lots do make me think of old university district neighborhoods with small lots and old Craftsman houses that haven't always been well-maintained.
I'm not fixated on Edgemoor, either. But it does have larger lots. However, I've seen empty lots for sale all around B'ham, that are large and well-treed, that look like they'd be great to build on. I've also seen large lots with farmhouses on them, that used to be part of a farmstead both over near Lake Paden, and also in the opposite corner of town, out where there are still functioning farms, over near the airport. Maybe a lot of that land has been subdivided and developed since I last looked pre-Covid, IDK. But if I were in a position to move to B'ham, there are several areas I'd be interested in.
I can see from the photo of that big house with the basement rental, that the other homes behind it are nice. Still, it's clear from those two listings that a lot of money was poured into the those two houses. I'm surprised that a similar process still hasn't happened in Seattle's more bedraggled areas. But maybe it's a good thing, that it hasn't, because people do need affordable basic homes.
Anyway, I always enjoy your posts and respect your opinion. Feel free to push back when the need strikes.
On fundamentals alone, the homes I posted in Bellingham should cost no more than 500-600K tops and even that is probably stretching it.
I didn't mean to say that Bellingham, or parts of it, look like the more run-down and ramshackle areas of Seattle. I've been there a couple of times, and didn't see anything like that. But the tiny lots do make me think of old university district neighborhoods with small lots and old Craftsman houses that haven't always been well-maintained.
I'm not fixated on Edgemoor, either. But it does have larger lots. However, I've seen empty lots for sale all around B'ham, that are large and well-treed, that look like they'd be great to build on. I've also seen large lots with farmhouses on them, that used to be part of a farmstead both over near Lake Paden, and also in the opposite corner of town, out where there are still functioning farms, over near the airport. Maybe a lot of that land has been subdivided and developed since I last looked pre-Covid, IDK. But if I were in a position to move to B'ham, there are several areas I'd be interested in.
I can see from the photo of that big house with the basement rental, that the other homes behind it are nice. Still, it's clear from those two listings that a lot of money was poured into the those two houses. I'm surprised that a similar process still hasn't happened in Seattle's more bedraggled areas. But maybe it's a good thing, that it hasn't, because people do need affordable basic homes.
Anyway, I always enjoy your posts and respect your opinion. Feel free to push back when the need strikes.
Likewise, Ruth, I appreciate you! I think I read it wrong, and I see what you're saying. FWIW, there are definitely run-down (though often gentrifying) parts of Bellingham. I guess I just wanted to make it clear that those houses are in a really scenic area, and everything is well maintained on South Hill. And if you do a lookup of property values on all of South Hill, you'll be hard pressed to find something under a million, unless it needs serious updating or someone is dropping big dollars to teardown and build a dream house. I know the area you're referring to in the U area, but as a whole, this is a much better maintained area (and very, very few college kids in that vicinity, though the school and it's perch on the ridge are close by).
I think a lot of this conversation this goes back to preference, and you obviously like bigger lots. I will say I've stopped paying much attention to land as I think it's become prohibitively expensive to build on empty lots around here (and we built an addition on our house, so we're good for a while). Speaking of preferences, I'll mention it again- Bellingham and many of the people who seek to move here-including those with a good amount of money-surprisingly interested in urban components and are sometimes willing to pay even more for walkability, bikeability, etc. But that may make sense, because a lot of people are coming from Seattle, Portland, and places in CA where they seem to just want a little less hectic city, but want some urban components.
On fundamentals alone, the homes I posted in Bellingham should cost no more than 500-600K tops and even that is probably stretching it.
I'm not sure what the "fundamentals" are and maybe argue that we have more appeal here than you give us credit for, but I agree everything in the PNW (including Bellingham, obviously) is overpriced at this point, though the more I've looked around the country over the last year, I've been surprised at how expensive everuthing is compared to five years ago. At this point, 500k may buy you a 750 sf 2/1 that needs a total remodel, so its not surprising that there's a lot of inventory over a mil these days. That said, other than more new build, Seattle has a lot of the same type of housing stock (though obviously a lot of much larger homes, as well). Regardless, I think that Seattle's houses are much too high, as well. Interestingly enough, South Hill reminds me of West Seattle, with less gentrification and big vertical housing.
I'm not sure what the "fundamentals" are and maybe argue that we have more appeal here than you give us credit for, but I agree everything in the PNW (including Bellingham, obviously) is overpriced at this point, though the more I've looked around the country over the last year, I've been surprised at how expensive everuthing is compared to five years ago. At this point, 500k may buy you a 750 sf 2/1 that needs a total remodel, so its not surprising that there's a lot of inventory over a mil these days. That said, other than more new build, Seattle has a lot of the same type of housing stock (though obviously a lot of much larger homes, as well). Regardless, I think that Seattle's houses are much too high, as well. Interestingly enough, South Hill reminds me of West Seattle, with less gentrification and big vertical housing.
Ohh, I agree that Settle is expensive but at least there is some justification for this because Seattle is such powerful economic powerhouse....when I did mention "fundamentals" I meant in relation to a local economy.
This West Seattle house is currently standing unsold at $1.35 mil, they recently knocked down the price....still not selling.
Stunning Puget Sound and Olympic Mountains view, you are at a walking distance from the beach, shops, restaurants and you have literally 15 minutes commute downtown if you work in Seattle....You can avoid a car if you want to.
There are two separate kitchens, actually a young couple could rent out the lower floor as a "mortgage helper" as they say in Vancouver BC.
I guess, good luck to these Bellingham houses trying to sell at almost similar prices.
Did the restaurant scene improve in Bellingham in recent years?? It was not exactly great AFAIR.
The thing surprised me about Tampa but also Charleston (another city we did look into) is that not everything nailed to the ground took off like a rocket....you cant still buy a 150K home in Tampa....sure it would be a total piece of crap but you can......crapboxes are recognized and priced as such.
Last edited by saturno_v; 12-08-2023 at 04:07 PM..
It's nice to see someone excited about their future retirement spot, but I expect that people interested in Florida are reading the Florida forum
The topic of the thread was the Bellingham house prices, not my (non) retirement in Florida....
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