West Seattle Blog…

Another condo conversion on the south end of Morgan Junction

August 27, 2007 at 11:10 am | In West Seattle housing | 18 Comments

At 6970 Cali, the Watermarke Apartments (photo below) are going condo. First we heard from a reader who was about to rent an apartment there – planning to move in next week, in fact – then got the news “oops, sorry, the building’s been sold, no new tenants, and the old ones have to vacate.” Then we discovered that one of those tenants just posted about it at ApartmentRatings.com. Seems to be getting to the point now where we can ask, which apartment buildings in WS are not going condo?

18 Comments

1. It’s happening all over in Seattle … I was in a great old 50s building on Queen Anne that sold to a californian corporate LLC who basically evicted us by rent increase ($905 base rent was going to 1850 at the end of my lease and I’d have to move from my unit anyhow to a different one that was renovated) … you never know… I specifically looked for a building that was privately owned, not a big corporate owner, when I moved back into Seattle … but it was sold and close to a hundred of us had to move … luckily I found a condo I could afford to rent “home” in W Seattle again… I always hear once you’ve lived here you always come back ….

   Comment by cleat — August 27, 07 11:30 am #

2. Unfortunately, this has become the nature of rentals in Seattle, and especially here in West Seattle – if we’re unable or unwilling to purchase, it seems we have no security in staying anywhere, and that’s a shame. I lived in West Ridge Park and had to move due to the condo conversion. I was afraid to rent in another apartment complex, expecting the same thing to happen. I’m renting a house now, and believe me, I wonder when the landlord will sell to build townhouses.
   The great irony of all of this is that these condo conversions probably have a higher-than-average amount of subprime candidates for mortgages since they’re more “affordable.” When the potential buyers can no longer afford to get mortgages in the current market, what will become of all these condos they’re building?

   Comment by Sue — August 27, 07 11:51 am #

3. Sue, I also wonder what is going to happen with all the condo conversions and townhomes that are going on right now. The market is getting a bit saturated and with loans harder to get the buyers are evaporating. I’m interested in seeing how long some of these units are going to sit on the market and how much the prices will drop.

   I find it sad that so many renters are being forced out of their homes because their landlords want to make a quick buck.

   Comment by m — August 27, 07 12:24 pm #

4. I agree that it’s sad. Some of us cannot afford to purchase at this time, much as we’d love to do so. I pay $650 for a >1000 sq ft two bedroom in a four-plex. With $200k in student loan debt between myself and my partner, we certainly don’t have the money (or the credit!) for a down payment.

   However, we are lucky. Our landlord has agreed to give us the option of purchasing if he were ever to put the building on the market. The 4 families who live there would potentially group together and form a co-op. The developers very much dislike my landlord as we’re in a prime location and they want to develop it. He simply will not sell to them.

   Comment by A — August 27, 07 12:30 pm #

5. I hear ya Sue and M. Sadly, we are in the minority it seems.

   Comment by Chet — August 27, 07 1:02 pm #

6. This happened in Palm Beach County, FL while I was living there and it has completely backfired. You can’t give those condos away anymore. So many have glutted the market. I was just back there visiting my parents and there were signs up advertising one year mortgage free payments if you purchased a condo in multiple developments.

   Comment by NATINSTL — August 27, 07 1:46 pm #

7. Yeah I live there now and I moved in less than two months ago and now I have to find a new place and move yet again. What a pain in the butt, would have been nice if the owner hadn’t been so shady and stopped taking new renters when he planned to sell the place.

   Comment by Ron — August 27, 07 2:39 pm #

8. I wonder what’s driving the conversions? Isn’t it (reportedly) getting tougher to get a mortgage? I’d think the apt bldg owners would do better to ride it out and wait to convert when inventory shrinks…

   Comment by Bill — August 27, 07 3:01 pm #

9. I don’t know, from what I hear from friends and such it’s getting harder to get a home loan, at least harder to get a zero down home loan.

   I honestly don’t know, it’s a good building and could certainly use the update but it’s a shame they’re converting it to condos, I would have been totally happy to stay here while they renovate and just move to a new unit. :(

   Comment by Ron — August 27, 07 3:43 pm #

10. Last legistlative session their was a condo conversion rider attached to HB1187 that would have required developers to give tenants an addional 30 days warning, not be able to do any construction until people moved out, and most importantly let each city and county set the developer fees for relocation reimbursement to evicted tenants.

    Lt. Gov Owen killed it…

    Comment by Pete — August 27, 07 3:45 pm #

11. The apartment owners that are finally hopping on the conversion bandwagon will probably be in for a big surprise when it comes time to sell(though it’s not going to be a surprise to anyone who commented here!).

    Comment by m — August 27, 07 4:10 pm #

12. I’m the manager of the Ripple Rock at 61st and Alki, and I know for a fact we will never be sold for condos as long as the current owner is alive.

    Comment by Eva — August 27, 07 5:23 pm #

13. THe other sad fact is, the units that are owned will be worthless, then they will have to rent them out for no where near what they are paying on the mortgage.

    Comment by Todd in Westwood — August 27, 07 5:43 pm #

14. It’s harder now to get a JUMBO loan…not just a plain-vanilla “conventional” mortgage. The increased lending standards really don’t apply to condo purchasers, because they are usually less than $475K (or whatever the number is for a Jumbo).

    Comment by Westseattlite — August 27, 07 6:00 pm #

15. I’m trying to figure out what profession(s) require $200,000 in student loans that don’t give you a return on investment?

    Comment by The House — August 27, 07 8:57 pm #

16. remember, that’s for 2 people, House. Yes, $100,000 is a lot of money for college, but depending on the school, maybe not for 4 years.Paying it back is even more difficult that college was, probably.And, who knows, maybe they majored in Philosophy at that expensive school…no return on your money that way – lol..unless it’s a job where you talk alot :)

    Comment by Jan — August 28, 07 1:51 am #

17. Well I’m not moving out. Legally we don’t have to since we have a signed lease. So in I will stay until my lease runs out. :)

    Comment by Ron — August 30, 07 12:15 pm #

18. House:
    Social Work. Requires a minimum of one master’s degree and social workers are paid a whopping $25-32k a year. Even in a state job it’s barely breaking $40k.

    And the other of us had to leave school for medical reasons. Never finished the dual degree we’re still trying to pay off. Even when you’re bringing home $35k each, when student loan dept gets a payment of $1600/month it makes things pretty darned tight. It essentially eats one entire income.

    Comment by A — August 31, 07 12:32 pm #

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