Seattle Afloat: Seattle Houseboats - Floating Homes On Lake Union: Washington: Seattle: Eastlake

Seattle Floating Homes Financing Update 2010:  You might think with all the other changing real estate financing guidelines that financing for floating homes would be hard to find, but not so.  There are some great local bankers who specialize in just this type of home and the process is still pretty straightforward for a houseboat that is in the category of floating home. 

With the changing lending environment, what is the range in programs available today for floating homes? According to Gary Olson at Banner Bank who is quite  a hard working guy and specializes in Seattle floating homes as well as doing a great job with your other real estate needs, the normal down payment for a floating home in Seattle would be a minimum of 20%-30% or more depending on the size of the loan.  After the potential purchaser has been given a conditional loan approval, the bank then orders the additional items required by the bank to finance the floating home.  In this case, they order a dive inspection as well as a current appraisal of the home. The bank must then review all items and both the bank and the underwriter for Banner Bank must approve all items.

In addition to these expenses, there are of course title insurance fees, recording fees, etc. just as with traditional Seattle real estate.The floating home must be on a co-op or condo dock for the program and the loans from Gary at Banner are amortized over 25 years with a 15 year term (the rate the client starts out with is what they keep for 15 years).  Gary is a great resource for your Seattle floating homes financing!

Seattle Houseboats:  Children on Floating Homes:  How do you raise children on a floating home?  I have asked this question quite a bit and it is always interesting to get the various answers, but I would love to hear your top ten tips for living on a houseboat with a child. 

Children and boating:  My in laws have a sailboat they sail around the Sound and all the docks at the marinas we stop in and see them at require children to wear a life jacket just to walk on the dock.  I agree with this policy. 

Children on floating home docks around Lake Union and Portage Bay:  I know some of the policies around the docks for kids and pets, but always wonder how some of the various Seattle houseboats co-ops cover themselves for just this thing.  I asked that question yesterday while previewing a brand new Eastlake floating home on the market (which is very cool by the way).  My question to one of the houseboat neighbors was what is your child policy?  He looked at me funny because of course that was a wacko way to word the question, but he smiled and said: "Parents."  Perfect answer.

Floating home child safety for houseboats:  What do some of the parents do to keep their children safe around the docks when you live in a floating home lifestyle?  I know of one family who keeps life jackets on hooks at every door.  It is just a way of life.  Other answers I have gotten over the years:  Of course they get swim lessons early as well.  Special railings on decks to keep toys, etc. from rolling off. What great solution have you come up with to keep your child safe while living life afloat in one of the very best Seattle waterfront lifestyles? Let us know!  SeattleAfloat@gmail.com

Eastlake Floating Homes: A Few Reasons Why I Love Eastlake

Eastlake is a small sliver of heaven in Seattle!  Even though it hugs I-5 there are great big sound barrier walls that make it a tiny little village right in the city.  A quick ride into South Lake Union or Downtown Seattle make it easy to see why this is such a great place to live.  It is a small laid back neighborhood which happens to be right in the middle of it all! 

Eastlake offers some amazing single family, condo, and townhouse type homes, but the shoreline is all about life afloat in Seattle floating homes.  These historical homes line the shore and their docks and offer a great peaceful setting while still being close to the action.

Want to see Eastlake homes for sale?

Eastlake Townhomes

Eastlake real estate

Seattle houseboats

Eastlake Seattle condos including Harbor Pointe

Come enjoy great places like Louisa's, Pete's, and trails like the Lake Union Loop (Cheshiahud), and more - Eastlake is a wonderful sliver in Seattle!

Seattle Houseboats:  Floating Homes Are Few And Far Between!  The inventory right now in Seattle floating homes is pretty much non-existent.  Seattle houseboat market update:

Seattle Floating Homes for sale:  Right now there are only a couple Seattle floating homes for sale - one of them is on Portage Bay and offers some additional moorage for income potential and the other is a lovely little historical gem that we listed last week.  List range is from $365,500 to $2,200,000.  There was another in Roanoke Reef but it is pending inspection at the moment and falls withing that same range of list price.  

The real problem right now for potential houseboat buyers is that there is no inventory.  We have the high and the low end represented in this batch, but there are a real lack of Seattle floating homes in the $550,000 to $950,000 range which is where I see a lot of the demand. Obviously getting your foot into the door on a Seattle houseboat priced at $365,500 is also pretty desire able which is why we have had a lot of attention and activity at the home we have listed at 2764 Westlake Ave N!

Other Seattle Houseboats for sale (vessels, barges):

Vessels and barges are lower priced and boats rather than real estate so they fall into a completely different category of Seattle houseboat than the floating homes do.  Current listings for these other types of Seattle houseboats or liveaboards range from $110,000 all the way up to $385,000 and $395,000 with 7 or 8 available to choose from at the moment.  

Recent Seattle houseboats that have sold or are pending:

Roanoke Reef has one pending sale and there is also a smaller floating home pending on Portage Bay.  In the last 6 months there have been 11 closed Seattle floating homes sales and 3 closed vessel sales.  Stat Averages for these are as follows:  $765,929 listing price, 1645  square feet, 140 days on market, $709,552 average selling price.

Seattle houseboat Real Estate Market 2010 Summary:

Seattle houseboats are in demand!  If you have been thinking about selling your Seattle floating home, then right would be PERFECT.  There is little or no competition and the floating home market has for the most part not been seriously impacted by the rest of the Seattle real estate market.

Let us know if you want a market analysis and competitve bid for the listing.  We always clean, stage, and market our listings to the fullest and would love to see your Seattle houseboat!

Roanoke Reef Floating Homes:  Primo Seattle Houseboats - out in the rain today previewing a couple Roanoke Reef houseboats on the market and also meeting an appraiser.  By the end of the afternoon, I was soaked!

Roanoke Reef is a great Seattle houseboat community and the floating homes here are top of the line for size and amenities - Buying a Seattle floating home in this Eastlake community means buying via condo ownership for the dock  with your own submerged land (fee simple ownership).  It also means you get a gated entrance and parking.

Roanoke Reef floating homes have a lot to offer.  The dock is well maintained and all the homes are newer than other historical houseboat docks.

Additional info -

Seattle houseboats for sale

Eastlake real estate

Seattle houseboats:  Seattle floating homes are the ultimate in Seattle waterfront property - Seattle houseboat inventory has been low lately - obviously a change in season has something to do with the fact that there are not that many houseboats for sale right now, but the interest in these floating homes is still going strong.

Lake Union Houseboats:  And why shouldn't it be?  Seattle has some beautiful waterfront properties all around the Puget Sound, but none are so perfect as a houseboat. 

Seattle houseboats are the ultimate in waterfront living and Lake Union is the heart of the city.  Whether you are on the Eastlake, Southlake, Westlake, or Northlake side or in Portage Bay, Seattle floating homes offer an oasis for the waterfront lifestyle.

Seattle houseboat real estate market:  If you are thinking about selling your Seattle floating home for some reason, please let us know as there are a ton of interested parties and not a lot of Seattle houseboat to go around!  You can see what I mean by checking out the slim pickings available right now:

Seattle houseboats for sale

In the mean time, stay warm and please have a safe and Happy New Year! 

© Seattle Afloat:  Seattle houseboats blog about floating home life on Lake Union

Seattle Houseboats:  Looking for a Seattle floating home to live in? 

Houseboats in Seattle are a great waterfront choice because what could be better than living on the water? 

Seattle houseboat inventory is low right now and there are buyers out there looking to enter into this unique waterfront Seattle lifestyle - they are searching for Seattle houseboats for sale. 

Thinking about selling your floating home but wondering how the Seattle real estate market is affecting your value?

If you have a Lake Union or Portage Bay floating home right now might be a great time to put it on the market!  Seattle houseboats weren't that affected by the the real estate market softening as they have always required strong buyers and solid financing.  Although there have been some houseboat foreclosures recently, most of the floating homes around Seattle were not financed on shaky ground.  Let us know if you need help...

Seattle houseboat living is one of the most unique in Seattle: 

Are you a creative person looking for your perfect Seattle waterfront nest? 

As we go into the snowy winter this year, I wanted to share one of my favorite houseboat shots from this summer: 

The "Duck Lodge" floating raft is located on one of the Eastlake Seattle floating home docks and a great way to welcome in Seattle's nature.  This creative Seattle houseboater has made a duck house instead of a dog house on a floating raft attached to the float the home is on.

Lake Union Houseboats:  Living close to nature!

Ducks aren't the only nature a Seattle houseboat owner co-exists with.  Lake Union is a working lake with fish and fowl everywhere.Here is a peaceful guy.  For being right in the middle of the city, the banks of Eastlake are incredibly peaceful and a great place to land for Seattle waterfront homes! 

Seattle Houseboats Big Force In Keeping Lake Union Clean

In what seems like thinly veiled political agendas, the Seattle houseboat community has long been targeted as being potentially harmful environmentally over the years.  The truth of the matter is that Seattle houseboat owners have been a major force in cleaning up Lake Union so that we all can enjoy it.  One of the requirements for living on a floating home successfully is a fondness and care for the environment.

 Seattle houseboats:  if you are interested in learning more about Seattle houseboats including floating homes or other Seattle waterfront living, please let us know.  We are happy to help you find your perfect spot!

SeattleAfloat.com

Have you seen the current Seattle houseboats for sale right now?  There is a pretty good mix of Seattle houseboats on the market right now including floating homes and even some vessels.  It was beautiful in Seattle today, but I imagine that the coming winter weather will have everyone snuggling up to their fireplaces.  Houseboats are surprisingly efficient for keeping warm if they have been properly weatherized.

Winter Seattle Houseboats:  Maybe you might want to cozy up in one?  Cozy is the word for most of them as lack of space has always been the recurrent theme for houseboaters.  This is not always the case, though.  There are many quite spacious houseboats.  Some with concrete floats even have basements.

Seattle houseboats for sale right now include a $2,490,000 beauty with extra moorage - a lot of extra moorage (50% interest in 9 slips) for extra income potential as well as an unheard of garage - on Portage Bay. On the higher end of floating homes right now, there s also an Eastlake houseboat for $1,850,000 right in the heart of Lake Union.  The Eastlake floating home available for $1.2M is pending.  Bumping down in price, there is one just a couple in from the end with an awesome adjoining floating attached dock in its moorage spot for $799,950.  It recently had its stringers replaced according to the listing agent.  So just two in Eastlake right now and none in Westlake. 

Do you own a Seattle floating home in Eastlake or Westlake and are interested in seeing what your home might be worth in this market?  Even going into the "slow" season, I can tell you that there is great demand for Westlake floating homes and Eastlake floating homes! Let us know if you have one!  If you are interested in buying a Seattle floating home or finding out what it takes to live on a houseboat, please get in touch with us.  We are happy to give you lots of info and also can put you on a list to be first to get our alerts for any new Seattle floating home listings.

Eastlake is interesting because although there are single family traditional homes, most of them don't come up for sale very often.  That has been the case for the last six month of sales and also for the current Eastlake homes for sale that are available now.  Excluding Eastlake condos, single family Eastlake homesare comprised of mostly townhouses, then houseboats, then regular single family traditional homes. Eastlake Townhomes have been the dominating factor for single family residential in this Seattle neighborhood recently.

Current Eastlake Homes for sale:

There are currently 25 Active or Contingent homes available in the NWMLS in the Eastlake Neighborhood.  24 of them are Active and 1 Townhouse on Minor Ave E is listed as Contingent.  Out of these 25 Eastlake homes, there are only really three traditional historic Seattle homes-historical and not floating because we all know that houseboats are extremely historical.  Speaking of Seattle houseboats, there are three available in Eastlake right now that are Active. The other 19 Active listings are for townhomes or very townhome like homes.  You can see this is a major part of the market!

Eastlake Homes Moving!

There are 8 Eastlake homes in escrow right now marked as some type of Pending status in the MLS - four townhomes, 3 floating homes, and one home which is probably a tear down on Louisa right behind Louisa's Bakery.  It is pending feasibility right now because the prospective buyers probably need to find out if the height restriction on one portion of it will work for their building plans (this history on that one is kind of cool).

Eastlake sales:  There have been 13 in the last six months that have closed. Houseboats and townhomes are really driving that number with 6 closed Seattle houseboats and 6 closed townhomes in the last six months!  One 1921 little cutie sold as well - a traditional single family residence with 1 bedroom and 1 bath.. more townhomes there?  I hope not - it was so cute!

If you are interested in Eastlake real estate we are happy to help you find your perfect Lake Union home!