Wendy Leung's Seattle Condo Blog

Developer for Queen Anne High School Conversion ordered to pay $9.4 million

Puget Sound Business Journal and Seattle Times PI recently reported about the lawsuit brought on by Queen Anne High School homeowners against the project's developer. The judge has ordered the developer to pay QAHS's HOA $9.4 million in liability and legal fees. 

"The lawsuit alleged leaks and cracks in the building, including such defects as exposed, unprotected drywall and wood framing, substandard windows and drains, missing and ineffective flashing, insufficient weatherproofing and unprotected joints. Reported damage includes water-stained drywall, covered-up rotted deck sheeting, water-damaged plywood, mortar turned to sand and powder, and cracked and flaking bricks and terra cotta."
(Source: Seattle PI)

If you recalled, the project was converted in the summer of 2006 and completed sometime in 2007 and had a successful close out auction in 2009. Matt over at Urbnlivn has the time line on the suit. It's quite amazing within a few years, the owners discovered the problems, sued the developer and won the lawsuit with such a substantial judgement. What a speedy process! I wonder which firm they hired. It must be a relief for the homeowners. Now, the hard part is probably going through all the repair work. Being through one myself for 1 1/2 years while living in a condo, I sympathize with what the owners will have to go through. On the bright side, when it's completed, it's just going to make Queen Anne High School that much more desirable as a livable historic condo. 

Related posts:

Queen Anne Condo Auction-by the numbers
Updates on Queen Anne High School
Queen Anne High School Updates
Queen Anne High School Begins Selling
Want to own a piece of Seattle History?

Almost Half of Queen Anne Condos Sold were Bank Owned or Short Sale

Back in April, I put together some charts on bank owned and short sale properties in Seattle looking at how long it takes to close on these types of properties.

This time we are going to look at which neighborhoods have the most bank owned and short sale inventory and sales. Active listing data is from the first day of August 2011.  Sold data is based on the last 6 months (2/11-7/11). Co-op's are removed from all these areas. So, we will be looking at purely condos.

Some highlights:

• While Belltown may have the image of the epicenter of the condo bubble, almost half of all Queen Anne condo sales were either bank owned or short sales compared to 1/4 for Capitol Hill and 1/5 for Belltown/Downtown.
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• Of today's active listings, Capitol Hill takes the prize with 23% of short sales compared to 20% and 11% for Queen Anne and Belltown/Downtown, respectively. 
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• For those of you sensitive to what you can get for your money, the average price per square foot sold for short sale condos in Queen Anne and Capitol Hill is $258.11 and $304.31, respectively. As for Belltown/Downtown, they are going for $368.88/square foot.
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• Queen Anne has the highest number of bank owned condos sold (in fairness, 1/3 of them are from 200 W Highland project). 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

200 West Highland Relaunch

200 West Highland is a high-end boutique condo on Queen Anne hill and is relaunching on November 16th, Tuesday at 3pm for brokers and 5pm for the public.  The building avoided foreclosure this past June and the developer worked with Bank of America to continue to sell homes.  As of their last press release,  they have sold 8 homes.  The relaunch event will be hosted by Apprentice Winner and HGTV Star Kendra Todd, who is also a real estate broker. 

The remaining two and three bedroom homes ranging from1,500to 2,800 square feet will be priced from $700,000 to more than $1.7 Million. 

Related posts:

200 West Highland avoids foreclosure
200 West Highland Update
200 West Highland 

Carrara Condos- Queen Anne

I always enjoy showing condos in Queen Anne.  Parking is easier to find and the neighborhood is pleasant.  One of the few condos that I show several times a year is the Carrara I & II Condos.   Carrara I is located on 123 Queen Anne Ave N, near Denny Way, the street separating Belltown and Queen Anne.  Carrara II is located right behind Carrara I on 120 1st Ave W.  Both buildings were built in 2000. 

Queen Anne- Victoria Condo

Victoria Condo is a 4 story vintage building perched on the south slope of Queen Ann Hill (100 W Highland) steps from Kerry Park.  It was built in 1921 and converted to a condo in 1998.  If you're a big fan of vintage brick building, this is one of the condos in Queen Anne that you don't want to miss checking out.  

The building has 64 units in the east, west and the central wings and they're pretty big.  There are three different entrances to the building.  Step right out of this condo, you will see a large landscaped garden. This is a building that you could find an abundance of classic vintage elements : crown moldings, french doors, wood burning fireplace (in some), octagon / hexagon tile flooring, and hardwood floors.  The Victoria Condo amenities include an exercise room and a laundry room. 

200 West Highland Update

Just a few weeks ago, it was reported on Seattle Times that the 200 West Highland Condo project was facing foreclosure and Bank of America had intentions to auction off the remaining homes.  As it turns out, it looks like they are not going to sell them through auction.  Here is a full message from Bruce Lorig, the founding partner of Lorig Management Services regarding the latest status on the building.  Below are the highlights of the message:

As you may know, on May 5, 2010, Bank of America served us with a foreclosure notice on the remaining unsold homes at 200 West Highland.  Rumors abound.  Here are the facts, as we know them.

• The building is complete.

• Since the first of this year, we have closed 7 condominium homes, all owner occupied, and will be closing our 8th on June 25.  We are 32% sold.

• Bank of America intends to take title to the unsold units on August 6.

• We have been told by Bank of America that they will NOT be auctioning units, but rather will continue to sell them one by one.

• We also have been told by Bank of America that they will be holding the current pricing.  There will be no major price reductions.

• We have been instructed to continue our sales activity.
  
  

  -Wendy

Seattle Condo Update

 
Queen's Court

Queen's Court has reduced prices for their remaining home by $9,000-$25,000  Latest price sheet. 
 

 
The Marselle

Marselle has just received Fannie Mae approval.  The project is also FHA and VA approved.  The building is 52% sold with 57 homes closed and 12 pending.  Many homes are still available with studios priced at $189k & $199k, Open one bedrooms starting at $229k, One bedrooms with den at $284k, Two bedrooms at $379k.  All the homes include parking as well as storage.  The two bedroom homes come with two parking spots.  

 

Athena Condo (Queen Anne)

The Athena condo was one of the first apartment conversion projects during the condo boom in 2005.  This 91 residential condo building is conveniently located on lower Queen Anne (323 Queen Anne Ave N).  The project was developed by Pryde Corporation, which is the same group of developers who did the conversion for Onyx and Asia Condos.

Studio, one bedroom and two bedroom units offer square footage ranging from ~400 for a studio, 485 to 759 for a one bedroom, and 880 to 952 for a two bedroom.

Lumen Auction

 

Lumen announced today that they are auctioning off 19 of their remaining homes on Saturday, July 11th at 1.00pm at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.  A pre-auction seminar will be held for interested buyers on Wednesday, July 1st at 7.00pm.  Home buyers can learn more about the auction process during the seminar and participate in a mock auction as well.

Floor Plan                              Minimum Bid                  Square feet

One Bedroom                     $155,000-$175,000               629-829

One Bedroom + Loft                    $260,000                     1,003-1,034

Two Bedroom                     $275,000-$325,000             1,075-,1286

Large One Bedroom + Loft          $395,000                        1,631

Large Two Bedroom + Den          $795,000                        2,082

Related Posts:

Queen Anne High School Auction

Press Auction: Going once, Going twice, Gone!

Seventeen07 Auction

              

Queen Anne Condo Auction - by the numbers

As promised, here's a neat chart I whipped up showing the original listing prices and their ultimate auction winning price.  As you can see, some people picked up 2BR units for just over $300K which I suspect, at the risk of putting chum in the water for the pessimists, will turn out to be a really good price.

Overall, a few things struck me about yesterday's auction:

200 West Highland Update

 

(Photos provided by 200 West Highland and archived at Seattle Condo Review Gallery)

200 West Highland, in Queen Anne, will hold its Grand Opening event on Thursday, March 12 from 5.30pm-8.30pm.  I managed to take a preview this week so here's my initial take on things.

This 5 story building offers 25 homes with 2 color schemes (pre-selected).  So far, two homes are under contract.  200 West Highland's Interior finishes and design are contemporary and come with some really nice touches like stone slab for the fireplace, marble slab in bathroom, under cabinet lighting, recessed mechanized (cool!) shades, and aluminium framed bay windows to withstand strong winds.  There is also a well-equipped fitness room in the building.

How does 200 West Highland compare to its northern neighbor, 22 West Lee?

Queen Anne High School: Inventory Close Out Auction Review

            

Queen Anne High School Condo is following the foot steps of Press Condominiums and Seventeen07 and will be auctioning their 12 remaining homes on Sunday, March 22nd at the Grand Hyatt Hotel at 1:00pm.

Minimium bids for these homes start at $145,000 for the studio, $325,000 for the one bedroom plus den, $245,000 for the two bedrooms, and $650,000 for the penthouse.  Click here for more details and the auction video. 

I visited the project again today and took another look.  Of all the homes, #367 and #402 (penthouse) seem most interesting.  The penthouse was previously listed for $1.29 million and the price was dropped to $999,950.  It has a great view of the city, 14 foot ceilings and large vintage arched windows (though they are single pane).  As for #367, I like the fact that it is facing the fountain courtyard, well laid out, and the deck is accessible from both bedrooms.

In the last auction for Press Condominiums, 350 people attended the event and all the homes were sold within 45 minutes at ~ 92% of the asking prices.  Queen Anne auction will be conducted by the same company, Kennedy Wilson Auction Group, a real estate company based in Beverly Hill, California.  So far, they are not extending this type of service to individual owners yet but if this method continues to find success, I wouldn't be surprised.

Leona Update

Now that the election is over and we have a new President(!), there will be fewer political programs for me to watch and more time for blogging. Here are some thoughts on the recently completed Leona project. 

Last weekend, Leona had their open house and I popped by to check out their homes. 4 out of the 18 homes are sold. The historic apartment conversion has 2 penthouses added to the existing structure and 3 brand new multi-level condos constructed on the north side of the building on Ward St.

There are quite a few different floor plans in the building, definitely not your traditional cookie cutter condos. The interior finishes will probably meet most buyers' expectations. Hardwood floors, slab countertops and Viking appliances come standard. The majority of the bedrooms come with a sizable walk-in closet.

The large windows add light and height to the homes; however, they are using single pane windows. According to the sales center, the windows are hand blow glass. The developer wants to retain its original design and they claim it actually costs 3 times more to restore the windows than putting in new ones. As for the 3 multi-level condos, they are using double pane windows. They feel more like a house than a condo. I think in some ways, that will probably be a good fit for someone who is looking for more square footage but doesn't want to deal with maintenance or a yard but also wants something more unique than the typical row of town homes. 

Only one penthouse was available for viewing that day. It has a huge deck and an incredible view of the city.

Overall, a nice project with a lot of promise. The big selling points are that it's a pretty unique building, has a nice location midway between Queen Anne and Seattle Center, and has a variety of attractive floor plans. The biggest concerns that occurred to me specific to this building are the wood frame construction and perhaps price tag (though I'm sure there's room for negotiation in light of the current market conditions).

Related posts:

Leona
Leona hard hat tour

Condo Update

I have only been away for a week and yet there were quite a number of updates in Seattle Condos. Here is a quick summary:

2.) Following the foot steps of Expo 62 (Axis Apartment) and Domaine in Queen Anne, Moda is officially converted to an apartment. Moda homes were initially sold out two weeks after the sales center opened back in 2006. Two years later, several home buyers decided to back out from the purchase because the homes turned out to be smaller than they expected. That resulted with a handful of units becoming available on the market. However, with completion just around the corner, the developer has decided to turn it into an apartment citing that many home buyers are unable to secure financing as their 2nd home or investment property and others getting cold feet leaving them with no other alternative but to convert to an apartment. The slow market conditions did not help them as well. Read more.

Previous posts:

Moda Update
Moda: Small, smaller, smallest!

200 West Highland

200 West Highland is new high-end construction project on the south slope of Queen Anne and right across from Kerry Park. The project is developed by Lorig Management and designed by Mithun, who is also the architect for Mosler Lofts and Cosmopolitan. 200 West Highland is going to be a 5 story concrete and steel construction building.

The condo will showcase 25 homes catering to home buyers looking for a larger homes. Only two and three bedroom floor plans are available in this building with the smallest two bedroom starting at 1,499 square feet and three bedroom plus den at 2,852 square feet. Top floor homes come with almost 12 foot ceilings. All homes will be air-conditioned and include 2 parking spots, and most of them have outdoor terraces. Prices start from $1.2M to $3.9M (yes, that's right, they start at $1.2M). Completion date is scheduled for December this year.

Here are some of the highlights from the hard hat tour: