The Hunt
Seeking a House in Seattle for About $600,000
After a decade of renting apartments around the city, a first-time buyer wanted ‘something a little quieter,’ but centrally located. Here’s what he found.
Ted Land had almost given up on being a homeowner.
When he moved to the Pacific Northwest in 2014, he was an award-winning television journalist, having lived and reported in Indiana and Alaska before arriving in Seattle to work for a local station, King 5. At first, he rented a studio apartment in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.
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“It’s very walkable, with lots of transit, very L.G.B.T. friendly, great restaurants, nightlife, parks,” said Mr. Land, 40. “It has everything I like in a neighborhood.”
His journalism career had been fraught with unexpected transitions, so it didn’t seem sensible to buy a home. “I thought I was going to move up and be a reporter in New York City or L.A. or D.C.,” he said. “I had my sights set on that. It really wasn’t even on my mind. Buying a house seemed so out of reach for me.”
As the years passed and he bounced from rental to rental, the hustle of TV news began to wear him out. Finally, in 2022, he grabbed an opportunity to move into corporate communications. With that choice came a higher income and a more stable future in Seattle with expanded living options.
“I kept signing lease after lease, not wanting to confront the daunting process of purchasing, and increasingly frustrated with the fact that I didn’t lock in a low interest rate during Covid like so many of my peers did,” Mr. Land said.
He had up to about $620,000 to spend, but as a single-income buyer, he was vexed by the down payment. “Everyone says that you’ve got to put down 20 percent. It’s like, ‘Where am I going to get $100,000? Does anyone know? Can you please tell me that?’”
With help from his broker, Mark Chavez of Windermere Real Estate, Mr. Land arranged to structure a purchase with 10 percent down using a mortgage insurance that costs him less than $100 per month, with his payments reducing in size until they total 20 percent of the home price. “I mean, $50,000 is a lot easier to save for than $100,000,” he said.
But even with that cushion, options were limited in pricey Seattle, especially for the kind of home he wanted. “Apartments are noisy places,” Mr. Land said. “They just are. And that kind of gets old after a while. I was looking for something a little quieter where I’m not hearing neighbors all the time.”
Most of Mr. Chavez’s clients want single-family homes, the broker said, but “it’s a bigger expense and there’s more to take care of, like the landscape. It used to be that to get into a condo, the entry point was more affordable. However, with many homeowner associations underfunded for future expenses, it is becoming more challenging to buy into a condominium.”
The middle ground? Townhouses. But every square foot needed to count, and location was critical. Mr. Land loved Capitol Hill, but felt he couldn’t afford to buy there. “I just really like being in the central part of the city,” he said. “The more I looked, the more I realized that walkability is a really important attribute for me.”
Among his options:
No. 1
Charming in the Central District
With 830 square feet, this centrally located townhouse with two bedrooms and 1.5 baths was the smallest place Mr. Land considered, and the least expensive. Built in 2005, it featured warm touches like wood trim on the windows, a gas fireplace, and a fenced flagstone patio with garden boxes and a fire pit. “I love a campfire on a cool night,” he said. The sellers had refinished the hardwood floors and installed new carpeting in the bedrooms. The open layout with a breakfast bar in the kitchen appealed to Mr. Land, who likes to cook and entertain, and while the bathrooms were small, one of them had a skylight. The house didn’t have air-conditioning, but it did include a parking spot. The price was $519,000, with annual taxes of about $5,050.
No. 2
Spacious in West Seattle
This modern three-bedroom, two-bath townhouse from 2017 featured an open living space, large windows, stainless steel appliances, a gas fireplace, and a top-floor primary suite with a walk-in closet. With 1,080 square feet, it also had spaces for a home office and entertaining guests. The three-story house, which came with a parking spot, was “very well built” and had nice finishes, Mr. Land said. It was located in West Seattle, which was filled with grocery stores, gyms and other shops and services, but noisy. “The sound of the traffic was fairly loud,” he said. The $619,950 asking price was at the top of his budget. Annual property taxes were about $5,950.
No. 3
Brand New in Beacon Hill
This brand-new detached house in north Beacon Hill made good use of its footprint, fitting two bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms into 993 square feet. Like the West Seattle townhouse, it was designed around open-concept living spaces on the main floor, but also had a small patio and fenced garden. It was a “very nice home with nice finishes, but it felt wedged in the back,” said Mr. Land, who worried about the lack of a parking space. A popular park, a grocery store and bars and restaurants were all within walking distance, as was a light rail station connecting the neighborhood to downtown and Mr. Land’s beloved Capitol Hill. The price was $575,000, with a $9 monthly HOA fee and about $5,700 in annual taxes.
Find out what happened next by answering these two questions:
Which Would You Choose?
Charming in the Central District
Spacious in West Seattle
Brand New in Beacon Hill
Which Did He Buy?
Charming in the Central District
Spacious in West Seattle
Brand New in Beacon Hill