Urban Living Meetup Wrap “We Want More…”

Well, largest of the Monique Lofts, we came, we saw, and we were impressed. And you know what? We failed to memorialize the night with pictures (what kind of bloggers do we think we are?!). So if anyone in attendance was sharper than Matt and I, feel free to send photos to me ([email protected]) and I can put up a few shots.

In our defense, it was because we were having too much fun chatting with the 30 or so loft-admirers that attended, noshing on some of Julia Child’s best appetizer recipes (thanks to our hosts Ede and Fred – Ede is a stager and Urban Living sponsor), and sipping wine (thanks to Matrix and North Seattle Sarah) or home brew (thanks to long time reader and meetup cohort, Patrick).

Most of all, thanks to everyone who stopped by to share a drink and their thoughts. We had quite a few new faces present – several couples and individuals who are in a home search currently and also a couple who is looking to sell. Redfin was well represented with Capitol Hill agent Corey, engineer Kevin, and real estate manager, Chelsea. In addition, the crowd included a couple of agents from more traditional firms and was rounded out by real estate enthusiasts such as Matt, Chris Pardo and Laura Olson, and me.

The takeaways?

1. More meetups! It was suggested we do monthly but I think you are more likely to see a Holiday Meetup come December (which means we are on the hunt for a venue if you can hook us up…)
2. More posts on houses! Uh, we are. Haven’t you noticed? Okay, fine we’ll see if we can turn up the frequency. We share ’em when we come across ’em — feel free to tip us off if you see something that needs a shout out at [email protected].
3. Start a conversation on what we’d like to be living in come 2020. Obviously here at Urban Living there can never be enough lofts – especially the restored, industrial kind – but we also found that several of our attendees want the loft or modern condo in the city but with more than 1 bedroom. Also, down-sizing couples moving into the city want more bedrooms and loft ladders they can scale.
4. Follow-up was requested on a couple of key stories that broke this year. We try to keep our ears peeled for information but it never hurts to ping us. We’ll do what we can to track down the intel.

Other curiosities:

• We were reminded that Matt put down earnest money on several different units at Trace Lofts back in the presale days (one earnest payment that he moved around A LOT). But he never got a chance at the one he really wanted that is currently for sale (and recently dropped its price…).
• An astounding 3 of the 8 parties that submitted offers on the gutted Monique Loft #201 were in attendance. Not the winning party though so it was all hindsight and commiseration — we still learned something from it though: sometimes the bank takes the first, not highest offer on a short sale.
• We learned that buyers might go so far as to research where their agent lives to make sure the agent knows the neighborhood they are buying in. Smart but definitely disconcerting for the agent.
• Debates on traditional vs. modern style condos and townhouses ensued. So did an exploration about the pros and cons of a private elevator.

As for what attendees are shopping for:

• One couple is looking to get back into a loft situation having once enjoyed ownership at Pike Lofts. However, they’re willing to wait for the right one to come along and in the meantime are digging into our loft posts to learn more about which buildings they really want to live in.
• Another couple is enchanted by modern condos but had to admit that they were actually currently in search of a house.
• And yet another couple is on the hunt for a three bedroom condo. Redfin shows only 9 of those selling in the last 12 months.

Our shoppers aren’t new to the game, they’ve been looking for a while and just wish there was more inventory.

So there you have it. More meetups, more houses, and more inventory, please! (Fortunately, thanks to our sponsors there weren’t demands for “more eats!” or “more drinks!” — thanks again all around.)

P.S. If you are missing a notebook, get in touch because we know where it is.