Seattle Housing Buzz

1. Condo Conversion Bill, Senate Bill 6411

Per the Senate’s listserv notification I received, the February 5th Public Meeting on the bill was cancelled. It is not currently on the agenda for this coming week.

2. Reserve Accounts & Studies for Condominiums, House Subsitute Bill 2541, Senate Bill 6215

Authorizes condominium associations to conduct reserve studies and to establish a reserve fund. The bills have passed their respective houses and now move to the opposite house for consideration. A public hearing of the Senate’s version will be heard in the House on February 20th while a public hearing of the House’s version will be heard in the Senate on February 21st.

House Subsitute version summary:

• Requires a residential condominium association, unless doing so would impose an unreasonable hardship, to (1) prepare an initial reserve study based upon a visual site inspection conducted by a reserve study professional; (2) update the study annually; and (3) arrange for a visual site inspection every three years by a reserve study professional.
• Encourages, but does not require, a residential condominium association to establish a reserve account, supplemental to the association’s annual operating budget, to fund major maintenance, repair, and replacement of common elements.
• Requires a condominium public offering statement or resale certificate to include (1) a copy of the current reserve study, or (2) a disclosure to the potential buyer stating that the association does not have a reserve study.

Senate version summary:

• Condominium associations (association) are encouraged to establish a reserve fund account to pay for major repairs or replacement of common elements. An association may withdraw funds from the reserve account for unforeseen expenses, as long as notice is given to unit owners, and a repayment schedule is set up.
• Associations must conduct and update reserve studies annually. The initial study and the study done each third-year thereafter must be conducted by a reserve study professional. Reserve studies must include detailed information on projected expenditures and current reserve account information.
• If an association has not conducted a reserve study prepared by a professional in the past three years, one may be demanded if 20 percent or more of the unit owners agree. An association may refuse the demand if conducting the study would impose an unreasonable economic hardship on the association. An unreasonable hardship exists if preparing the study would cost more than 10 percent of the association’s annual budget.
• Public offering statements and seller’s disclosures must include either: (1) a copy of the association’s current reserve study; or (2) a disclosure informing the buyer that there is no current reserve study and the possible risks that the buyer faces because of the lack of a current study.

3. Seller’s Disclosure Statement Revision, House Bill 2894

The bill amends the Seller’s Disclosure Statement, Form 17, to include wood burning appliances. The bill passed the House and has moved to the Senate. A public hearing as been scheduled in the Senate on February 22nd.

Tags: Condo Conversion, Condo Reserve Study, Housing Legislation, Real Estate Legislation, Seller Disclosure Form

The Seattle PI reported that Governor Gregoire signed into law a $1.5 million bill that’ll provide counseling to at-risk homeowners.

The money will go to agencies that counsel people facing foreclosures, as the governor tries to curtail effects of the mortgage loan crisis hitting the nation and the state. The bill signed Monday also will pay for a free number for people to call for help. The number, 1-877-894-HOME, will be operating in about two weeks.

Tags: Foreclosure, Foreclosure Counseling

The Master Builders Care Foundation is currently accepting applications for its May 17th Rampathon project which builds wheelchair ramps for disabled low-income homeowners in King and Snohomish Counties. Last year more than 400 volunteers constructed 25 ramps, bringing the total to over 200 ramps since 1993.

Applications are due to the Master Builders Care Foundation by Thursday, Feburary 28th. Click here for application information.

Tags: , Rampathon

The Downtown Seattle Association hosted its annual State of Downtown event last week providing an overview of downtown commerce, development and livability issues. Downtown housing highlights include:

• Approximately 13% of Seattle’s housing units, or 37,320 units, are located in the downtown area.
• The number of residents increased nominally to 54,773 people. However, the number of children living downtown increased to 2,814, about 100 more than reported for the prior year.
• 16% of downtown units are owner occupied, 84% are rentals, unchanged from the prior year.
• Since 1990, population grew by 61.1% compared to 12.7% for Seattle as a whole.
• The average household income rose to 3.5% to $53,294 with a per capita income of $34,472.
• 39% of residents over 25 years of age hold a bachelors degree.
• Interestingly, there was a drop in the number of residents under 35 years of age, from 41% to 39% of all downtown residents. The average age is 43 years.
• There are approximately 5,700 new residential units currently under construction or permitted.
• Subsidized housing makes up 26% of all housing units in the downtown area.

Other downtown tidbits:

• The number of coffee shops increased 2.9% in the past year to 207.
• 231,532 employees, or 49.2% of all employees in Seattle, work in downtown, down slightly from the prior year.
• 44.4% of Puget Sound’s office market is located downtown.
• Over $1.1 billion in development projects were completed in 2007, up 44% from the prior year. Another $3 billion worth are currently under construction.
• The amount of open space and parks expanded by 38% from 42 acres to 58 acres.
• DSA reports that the number of tourists, entertainment seekers, conventioneers and sporting event attendees stood at over 18 million people.
• 190 cruise ship vessel calls comprising over 781,000 boardings were experienced in 2007. The cruise ship industry generated $268 million in revenue and contributed $6.7 million in local & state taxes.

Tags: Downtown Seattle, Seattle