Seattle has buses. Use them In which case you might as well find a place to live along a line. One line at a time. Here's the next one, selected at random for the fun of it.
The name Metro makes it sound like the bus routes always go downtown. Not so. Route 347 runs from Mountlake (not Montlake) Terrace and Snohomish County down to Northgate through Ballinger Terrace, North City, and Ridgecrest. Nothing south about it, except the ride to the mall.
↑ Once upon a time that shade of carpeting was in style. It must have been, because they used it in more than one room. This 4 bedroom, 2.75 bath house was built in 1960, back when carpeting was considered better than wood. A lot of the 2,330 square feet are covered in unapologetically bold colors, that are also matched with the paint on the walls. They were consistent! For $375,000 you get all of that plus the bonus for many which would be the 0.36 acres and a sizeable shop out back. Room for your own makerspace, or a place to hide during the inevitable remodel.
↑ Carpet hides hardwood again. More proof that 1954 wanted something on the floor that was manufactured instead of natural. At least the carpet protected that good wood for decades, or at least it looks that way in some of the rooms. The house is 960 square feet, so any remodel is necessarily small. There is 1 bath for the 3 bedrooms, and the price is $230,000. Everything is a bit smaller and more manageable. Maybe one thing you get for the price is a shorter to-do list.
↑ This phrase looks familiar: 1 bath for the 3 bedrooms, and the price is $230,000; but the details are why numbers aren't enough. The house is bigger, at 1,212 square feet, so the rooms must be bigger. The yard is a bit smaller, but it comes with two storage sheds and a hot tub, which are valuable to some but not to all. It looks like most of the carpeting is gone, and what remains isn't purple and shaggy. Check that driveway though. Is it just the lens or is it really that steep?
↑ Skip the debate over carpet versus hardwood. How about distressed concrete, and maybe not in a good way? It must be a baby boom neighborhood thing, but here's another post-World War II house with 3 bedrooms and 1 bath, but this one is only $195,040. But, there is the issue of condition. The floors are either purposely distressed, or are midway through a remodel you'll have to finish. That dishwasher in the middle of the kitchen might not be the optimal location. As long as the structure is fine you'll be able to concentrate on the aesthetics.
↑ Maybe going modern is a better idea. Apartment living has its advantages. There are 3 bedrooms and 2 baths in the 953 square feet, so the rooms must be smaller, but the price is smallest yet, $150,000. The floors are so innocuous that you can spend more time noticing what folks normally notice, like a clean kitchen, bathroom; and fixtures that can't be older than 1986. Relative to the other houses, this is practically new. Evidently it is old enough that they still haven't found cabinetry for the microwave. Less than a quarter households had them then.
· Route 113 [Metro]
· All Bus Tours coverage [CS]
Written by Tom Trimbath