Help! Real Estate Agents not Responsive! - Issaquah / Sammamish (Seattle: rental homes, homes)

[TonyG5003]

Okay... so I finally have some information/resolution on my problem connecting with agents in the Seattle area for rental homes.

Like I stated earlier, what was odd to me, was that all the homes I was interested in were all listed in the MLS, and several were NOT with property management firms. One would reasonably assume you would need to find an agent to show you these properties - or at least, get in contact with the listing agent themselves (the ones not with PM firms). Well... all I got was total silence.

So, I finally picked-up the phone today and called Windermere. I found out that they can do a "fee-based" Relocation Property Tour which includes properties not under their management. Some people may not like this option, but I wanted to post this for the benefit of others later, as this option is not apparent anywhere online, that I could find. All we needed was an organized method for looking at rental homes - I don't care who they are listed with. I'm glad to pay for this assistance.

Thanks for the replies.

[AddyLaddy]

We attempted to use an MLS agent to find a rental before arrival but they let us down in the end, so we ended up arriving from abroad with just one week to secure a house.
We found only two suitable properties and they were both off Craigslist. Hotpads has a nicer map based interface but mostly has the same CL properties.

Almost all the landlords I've contact on CL have been very friendly and professional about the whole process. But as people have previously mentioned, the nice houses (correctly priced) are often gone within days.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by AddyLaddy

But as people have previously mentioned, the nice houses (correctly priced) are often gone within days.

Yep! The one I mentioned earlier on 212th is gone. Drove by today on the way home to check, sign gone and 2 cars in the driveway.

[happyhunting]

But as people have previously mentioned, the nice houses (correctly priced) are often gone within days.

I came from a housing market dead in the water. Except maybe to investors. We were one of the hardest hit (possibly THE hardest) but coming into Seattle it's as if nobdoy was as affected. Housing prices here are still through the roof, the houses on the rental market are gone within the week. The first house we put in for had multiple bidders.....for rent. We were competing with 5 other couples and the leasing agent actually told us to make our "best offer" as if we were buying. Wow! So we knew that these were moving fast. We would initially find our house on Hotpads, then contact the agents directly ASAP. We hopped on one quickly within the hour that it posted on hotpads, snagged it up. We are very happy in the house, although our initial plan was to rent a year till we knew the neighborhood thouroughly, and then maybe move on, I'm not so sure now. We have a landlord willing to re-sign us and it was exhausting moving cross-country and going through the process. I may stay till I buy. Rentals go quickly here for sure. The advantage to actually BEING here now, is that you will find a lot of rentals not listed in CL or any other site, while just walking your own neighborhood, and striking up conversations. I may go that route next time.

[TonyG5003]

Yes, the rental market is pretty hot in Seattle - and it is here in Austin as well. My current home will be rented very quickly as well, but that's because it's new construction in a gated community - people are almost literally salivating for good quality rentals.

I'm not seeing the same frenetic rental market in Seattle - not quite anyway. So far, with the exception of a few very exceptional properties, they look like they're in MLS for 1-3 weeks. But, I'm looking in the $2700-$3300 range... so perhaps those stay on for a little longer.

I'll post again after we successfully rent something, just to pass along my experience.

[happyhunting]

But, I'm looking in the $2700-$3300 range... so perhaps those stay on for a little longer.

Yep, there's your difference. We were looking in the 1800-2200 range. Below that moved even quicker. I think there are fewer rentals at that price point and fewer people that can afford 3000 a month for rent. As a landlord, I'd also be pickier who was renting and making sure they were maintaining the property well.

[TonyG5003]

Originally Posted by happyhunting

Yep, there's your difference. We were looking in the 1800-2200 range. Below that moved even quicker. I think there are fewer rentals at that price point and fewer people that can afford 3000 a month for rent. As a landlord, I'd also be pickier who was renting and making sure they were maintaining the property well.

We would be buying instead... but we've made that mistake before when moving to a new area, plus, I think the prices are going to come down a touch more in Seattle (generally speaking).

For even slightly bigger budgets above mine, it's really amazing to see the number of enormous homes with amazing finish-outs available for rent. Definitely a better to rent than buy in many cases - the interest alone on a mortgage for some of those homes would be more than the rent.

[texastrigirl]

I just received some stats in the mail from an agent with Windermere. The figures were for avg three-bedroom home prices based on MLS data for homes sold 9/1/10-2/28/11. It listed Sammamish as $508,000, Issaquah at $426,000, Kirkland at $471,000, Redmond at $457,000 and Bellevue at $487,000 among others. When we moved here in 2007, our experience was that we could not even touch Kirkland and Bellevue prices...so opted for Sammamish. Wonder what's going on in these numbers? I know Seattle Met said Sammamish was an up and comer, but that does not explain these numbers quite yet. IRA - any thoughts?

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by texastrigirl

I just received some stats in the mail from an agent with Windermere. The figures were for avg three-bedroom home prices based on MLS data for homes sold 9/1/10-2/28/11. It listed Sammamish as $508,000, Issaquah at $426,000, Kirkland at $471,000, Redmond at $457,000 and Bellevue at $487,000 among others. When we moved here in 2007, our experience was that we could not even touch Kirkland and Bellevue prices...so opted for Sammamish. Wonder what's going on in these numbers? I know Seattle Met said Sammamish was an up and comer, but that does not explain these numbers quite yet. IRA - any thoughts?

I'm guessing that these numbers are pretty meaningless because sales have been so low. Which means it's likely not a good representative sample. A lot of people who bought a few years ago and would like to sell are holding off, waiting for higher prices, so maybe the Bellevue numbers have a higher proportion of Lake Hills/Crossroads older homes, and maybe the Kirkland numbers have a higher proportion of Kingsgate/Totem Lake homes. Bellevue is not seeing a lot of new homes being built, and those that are are very high priced. And those take a lot longer to sell, generally. Sammamish, on the other hand, has seen a fair amount of new construction, and it's not the like zillion dollar homes (which don't sell) closer to downtown Bellevue. I'd bet that the avg home sold in Sammamish was far newer than the average home in Bellevue.

[Swigchow]

Originally Posted by TonyG5003

First... let me clearly say I'm NOT looking for direct referrals - though I invite a direct message or two. I'm looking for a bit of advice for how rental properties are handled in Seattle.

I am looking in the Eastside areas - primarily Issaquah and Sammamish - for a rental home asking $1700 - $3000 per month. As many know, a large portion of these homes are with one particular property management firm. But, I'm not entirely comfortable going directly to that firm, as I'd like at least SOME guidance from someone on my side - so to speak.

Therefore, I've sent out a few inquiries to the agents who represent those rentals directly, but it's been 3 days now and I have not received a single reply. The clock is ticking - I'm arriving on Tuesday! Call me silly, but I would think the listing agent would rather lease it directly rather than working with a second agent. These are all MLS listings.

My email is direct - I'm simply asking for their suggestions in how to "efficiently" go about looking at these homes. There's 8 to 12 which I'm seriously interested in viewing, and some are not with that one firm. I make quick decisions - and I'm not looking to be literally ferried around from one house to the next - both of which I've actually stated in my email.

Any serious suggestions, or thoughts as to why I'm not getting any replies?

Because they are so busy making so much money.