Moving to Seattle? What the recruiter’s won’t tell you...but you NEED to know!

The other day it happened again…the call came in. Being a relocation specialist, working with relocating clients going to work for Microsoft and others, my job is helping folks moving to Seattle, find a suitable replacement property that they can call home. Of course the majority moving here from out of state, have a home they are leaving. The call comes in and goes something like this, when the client is asked to describe the criteria for their new home:

‘I would like a 4 bedroom, 3 bath, about 3,000 square feet, all brick, on between 1 and 2 acres, newer than 5 years…and of course, I need to be 15 to 20 minute commute to MS….Oh, it doesn’t need to have a pool like we have in our current home, we realize it rains a lot here and we wouldn’t use it that much.’…and price? I ask…’Somewhere between $400,000 and $425,000 should work fine as our home just sold for about $350,000’, they add.

This makes life very interest. I am feeling quite concerned for the family moving here at this point, while they are excited about their new career opportunity, coming from a home described above, we are really in trouble at this point. I really need to get them on track with our real estate market here, and quickly, as well as start tweaking the criteria to figure out their priority’s, as we certainly can’t keep ALL the criteria as it is.

For instance, we can start with the preferred price along with the short commute and we find ourselves probably looking at a 2 or 3 bedroom, 1400 to 1500 sf., 10 year and younger town home in Redmond or maybe the Sammamish plateau. If we go to the criteria mentioned above, in a single family home, we are 45 to 60 minute commute and still at a price of at least $700k to $800k, minus the brick, maybe the age, and possibly the 1 to 2 acres. If we come in a bit closer in commute, definitely the lot size goes down and the price goes up. I feel like I sound like Howie on "Deal or NO Deal".

Without examining this to death, I really don’t know what the answer is here. I’m not blaming the recruiters; their job is to sell the recruit on the company and on our area. Quite frankly, they may not have the expertise to even guide the recruit with correct real estate information anyway. That’s not their job. Our job though, is and will be to find either a way to educate these folks ahead of time, or, give a crash course education as soon as possible, fine tune the priorities, and find the best possible home to meet their needs. Sometimes, it can feel like a trapeze act at the Barnum & Bailey…but I love the challenge and the happy smiles when we finally close on their new home by meeting somewhere between their initial dream and the reality of living in the Seattle area.

If you’re thinking of moving to Seattle, pick up the phone or drop an email, we’ll be happy to give you the straight scoop. It sure beats the alternative.