Recent Stories with tag co-op

As you may know, I like to keep an eye on the motivated sellers on Capitol Hill, as a kind of market barometer. Here's a special case, likely due to financing.

This one bedroom is on the second floor of a 1924 brick co-op near Seattle University, 1136 13th Ave. Redfin says it's been listed for over a year; Windermere has it selling originally for $175,000, now for $149,000.

It's 600 square feet, with a redone kitchen: granite countertop, slate floor. It comes with a stacked washer/dryer combo, and the HOA dues of $312 include earthquake insurance (because brick, see). It faces south, which is terrific, and there's a large walk-in closet. Downside, baseboard heat, not FHA-approved. I imagine that last is a sticking point for bargain shoppers.

With a 20-percent down payment, your mortgage and HOA could still be under $1,000 per month. And, you have to like the location. At 13th & Union, you're blocks away from everywhere you want to be (i.e., Café Presse and Stumptown, Piecora's, the Pike/Pine corridor, Pony...really, anything fun that begins with "P"). Assuming it doesn't fall down around your ears in the Big One, you're in a good spot.

Yes, it's a fixer-upper. It's in a co-op. And it seems to be named after a down-market school. But at $109,000, it's like the time travel machine worked and we've landed back in the 1990s.

Your one-bedroom hideaway just north of Pine Street on desirable 15th Ave is 541 sq. ft., there's what looks like a claw-foot tub, and you get radiator heat. Oh, the luxury. The kitchen is Lilliputian. No getting around that. But with Teriyaki Madness and Zaw Pizza just flip-flop distance away, when will you be cooking anything besides toast?

Of course I'm right. Now get out there and make an offer. There's never been a better time to buy!

UPDATE: Matt Goyer found actual listings for you to choose from: Redfin, Windermere, and John L. Scott.