https://kingcountyhometeam.com/blog/ Longer answers for King County home buyers and owners, from Austin Hellickson, Managing Broker, LPT Realty. en-us Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:00:00 +0000 https://kingcountyhometeam.com/blog/steep-slope-view-home-king-county https://kingcountyhometeam.com/blog/steep-slope-view-home-king-county Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:00:00 +0000 Austin.Hellickson@homexa.com (Austin Hellickson) Find out if the lot is mapped as a steep slope or landslide-prone critical area, walk the drainage and every retaining wall yourself, and have a geotechnical engineer look at anything that worries you while your inspection period is still open. Those steps tell you what the ground is doing now and what the city will let you build later. https://kingcountyhometeam.com/blog/townhome-unit-lot-vs-condo-seattle https://kingcountyhometeam.com/blog/townhome-unit-lot-vs-condo-seattle Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:00:00 +0000 Austin.Hellickson@homexa.com (Austin Hellickson) It depends on how the project was legally created. In a unit lot townhome you own the house and the small lot beneath it, and shared driveways and walkways are governed by recorded easements and agreements. In a condominium townhome you own your unit while the land is held in common through an association, and the legal description in your title report tells you which one you’re buying. https://kingcountyhometeam.com/blog/adu-rules-seattle-eastside https://kingcountyhometeam.com/blog/adu-rules-seattle-eastside Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:00:00 +0000 Austin.Hellickson@homexa.com (Austin Hellickson) In most cases, yes. Washington’s House Bill 1337 requires Seattle and the Eastside cities to allow two accessory dwelling units on most lots zoned for houses, with no rule that the owner live on site, and a detached backyard cottage is one of the allowed forms. Whether a particular lot can actually take one comes down to its alley access, slope, trees, utilities and shape, so confirm with that city’s permit desk before you pay for the potential in the price. https://kingcountyhometeam.com/blog/earthquake-retrofit-seattle-house https://kingcountyhometeam.com/blog/earthquake-retrofit-seattle-house Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:00:00 +0000 Austin.Hellickson@homexa.com (Austin Hellickson) Often, yes. Many older wood-frame Seattle houses were built before bolting the frame to the foundation and bracing the short crawlspace walls was routine, and those are the connections that tend to fail first in a strong earthquake. Anchor bolts through the sill plate and plywood on the cripple walls usually tell you, and if they’re missing, a standard retrofit is a contained, permitted job to price during your inspection period. https://kingcountyhometeam.com/blog/knob-and-tube-wiring-buying-house https://kingcountyhometeam.com/blog/knob-and-tube-wiring-buying-house Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:00:00 +0000 Austin.Hellickson@homexa.com (Austin Hellickson) Yes. Knob-and-tube wiring on its own doesn’t make a house unbuyable, and plenty of older Seattle houses still have some of it. What matters is getting insurance on terms you accept and a licensed electrician’s view of what it will take to make the wiring safe, and both answers need to be in hand before your inspection contingency runs out. https://kingcountyhometeam.com/blog/king-county-assessment-appeal https://kingcountyhometeam.com/blog/king-county-assessment-appeal Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:00:00 +0000 Austin.Hellickson@homexa.com (Austin Hellickson) Check your property record on the King County Assessor’s site for errors, then gather sales of homes like yours that sold close to January 1 of the assessment year. If those sales show your value is too high, file a petition with the King County Board of Equalization by the deadline printed on your value notice. It’s worth doing when your value is out of line with similar homes, but a lower value won’t cut your bill in proportion, because Washington property taxes are set by budget.