Saturday, November 18, 2017
Mayor-Elect Announces Her Transition Team
RD House has proudly been a member of the Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA) for 11 years (18 years with our previous business affiliation), and we're proud to see GSBA CEO Louise Chernin will join Mayor Durkan's transition team as part of the Business coalition. We know Louise will serve well representing Seattle's small business interests!
https://www.seattlemet.com/articles/2017/11/13/mayor-elect-announces-her-transition-team
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Onslaught of new units coming on market beginning to dampen rents, increase vacancies
We've watched all the cranes around Seattle, now we're starting to see the effects. A new report by Dupre + Scott Apartment Advisors of Seattle
shows the apartment vacancy rate in the city of Seattle has hit a seven-year
high and is growing faster than anywhere in the Puget Sound region.
The report analyzed information for 252,552 units in 2,428
properties (with at least 20 units) in a survey that ended Sept. 21, and shows
a 4% vacancy rate for the Seattle market, up from 3.3 percent in March. (Vacancy
rate excludes new properties that are still in lease-up). The gross rate (which includes new units) is
6.8 percent, up from 5.1 percent.

Given this new data, investors should expect the rental
market to soften over the next couple of years, as developers plan to open
62,000 rental units between 2018 and 2020. That is in addition to the more than
12,000 new units expected to open this year and 14,500 units in the tri-county
area next year in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.
Unit demand in the tri-county area has averaged 9,000 units
a year over the past three years, and in the past 12 months has totaled just
under 7,500 units. A year ago demand peaked at 10,500 units, so given this kind
of supply hitting the market, investors should plan for higher vacancies and
fewer rent increases.
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
City Council approves legislation to prevent landlords from considering applicants’ criminal records
5/1/18: As an update to this info, as we'd suspected, The Rental Housing Association of Washington says it filed a lawsuit in King County Superior Court Tuesday. The complaint alleges the city has violated property owners' due process and free speech rights. It says landowners have a right to select their tenants and the ordinance is burdensome and unreasonable.
Landlords will be limited in screening tenants based on criminal records, under an ordinance the Seattle City Council approved in August. When taking applications, they will be barred from asking about records. And in choosing tenants, they will be barred from rejecting people due to their records.
The only people who may be denied rental housing will be
those listed on sex-offender registries because of adult convictions, and
landlords denying housing to such people will still need to demonstrate a
legitimate business reason for doing so.
Landlords renting part of their own homes and sharing a
kitchen or bathroom with a tenant will be exempt, as will primary leaseholders
given the authority by landlords to choose roommates.
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/seattle-set-to-prevent-landlords-from-considering-applicants-criminal-records/
Sunday, July 16, 2017
5 Tangible Money-In-Your-Pocket Benefits of Using a Technology Oriented Professional Property Management Company
Being a landlord is much
more than handling tenant turnovers or overseeing rented units and tenants. Thorough
property management (and the underlying investment/asset management) also covers consultancy, market
insight and knowledge, tax reporting, accounting, effective marketing, leasing
paperwork, legal and legislative compliance, document management, property
inspection and prospective tenant assessments. All this can be overwhelming for
any individual, especially landlords who still have to chase their monthly
checks from tenants.
That’s why many property
owners turn to professional property management services (or should, if they
don’t), who are licensed real estate brokers, and skilled in managing all these
needs. But more than just that, property managers who are adept with technology
can get more done, and more effectively, and as the saying goes- time is
money. Specifically, smart use of
technology can mean fewer days vacant, more competitive rents, faster rent
collection cycles, more timely vendor payments and most importantly (to
property owners), faster funds disbursement each month.
Here are 5 tangible advantages
of hiring a professional property manager well versed in technology to
manage your needs effectively.
![]() |
Rental syndication enables broad advertising reach while professional photos and virtual tours drives interest |
1. Online advertising reach
A major benefit of tech savvy management professionals are the listing
features we leverage, allowing us to broadly and effectively market rental
units, by syndicating listings to highly trafficked listing platforms (such as Trulia, Zumper, Zillow, HotPads and many others)- and in doing so, providing professional listing
information, photos, videos and virtual tours.
2. Valuable landlord and tenant tools/services
Effective professional
property managers also develop platforms that cater to specific needs and
portfolio profiles. For example, here at
RD House, our management platform allows us to do things like assign utility
bills to tenants in single family properties, and to apportion utilities across
multiple units in multiplex properties.
At the same time, all of our clients and tenants have access to online
payments/deposits and personalized web portals with lease documents, bills,
financial reporting, account transactions, communications and more. We also provide real-time 150-point photo
documented move in and move-out inspections.
Because we leverage the platform across all our properties, we’re able
to provide them much more inexpensively than an individual landlord could.
3. Marketing muscle
This is the real strength
of professional property managers. In
addition to advertising rentals on high traffic platforms, social media savvy professional
managers syndicate listings to social media, and RD House has working
relationships with corporate relocation and employer housing professionals.
We also know what property/unit
amenities and features are most desirable and how best to market properties/units
based on their specific attributes.
This
alone has a very tangible payback for our clients: our average vacancy (days vacant on market
including turnover) is just 22 days.
That means your property is generating rents more days in a year.
4. Legal and legislative compliance

5. Customer Service
The importance of customer
service for any business can’t be over emphasized. When people receive great
customer service from a business, a ripple effect happens through word
of mouth and recommendations. In the property rental arena, satisfied tenants
stay longer and renew more often, saving a significant amount of turnover and vacancy
costs. RD House has one of the highest
tenant retention rates in the market, and has been awarded excellence in
property management services since 2014, driven by our client and tenant service, flexible and
mobile-enabled tenant and owner portals, ePay and direct deposit services and
online maintenance request tools.
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RD House is a Seattle property management company
that specializes in property management for residential homes and small
apartment buildings in the Seattle metro area. We
work smarter to be a team you can trust to manage all the aspects of your real
estate property management the right way, and our mission is simply to provide
better results with residential, multifamily, commercial and association
property management. We call it Simply Better
Property Management.
Tuesday, May 30, 2017
Seattle named #5 top U.S. city for corporate innovation, R&D
Innovation Leader, a magazine and website focused on innovation in large companies, today released its 2017 list of the top North American cities for corporate innovation and R&D activity, with Seattle appearing at No. 5.
Topping the list is San Francisco/San Jose, Calif., with Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and Seattle rounding out the top five.
The Innovation Leader list is unique among "city rankers" because it focuses not on startups, entrepreneurship, or venture capital, but the amount of research-and-development and innovation activity that big companies do in each city — whether that’s Disney and other studios developing the future of entertainment in L.A., or Ford, Uber, and Toyota working on self-driving cars in Detroit.
Specifically, the list takes into account five factors:
1) Global 1000 companies with R&D labs or innovation centers, and their R&D investment levels
2) Major tech companies with large R&D or development partner ecosystems
3) Startup density, including accelerator programs, incubators, and co-working spaces
4) The presence of top-tier research universities
5) Conferences, trade shows, and networking events that foster interactions among corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and academic researchers
See the full story here
Breaking story: RHA leads landlord court challenge to move-in cost installment requirement
Seattle landlords on Tuesday sued the city over a law
requiring them to allow tenants to pay move-in costs in installments. The move
represented the latest pushback from property owners against a series of new
city policies protecting renters. “Our members provide safe and affordable housing," Sean
Flynn, board president at the Rental Housing Association of Washington, said.
The 5,400 landlords represented by RHA "set the
standard for ethics and best practices in our industry," Flynn said.
"Yet, this city council has never missed the chance to lambaste, demonize,
and hold landlords responsible for problems they did not create.”
RD House is an Affiliate member of the RHA.
The RHA took the city to court today, seeking to block a law
the Seattle City Council approved in December, which requires landlords to
allow tenants to pay their security deposits, fees, and last month's rent over
the course of a payment plan. The law, which passed unanimously under the
sponsorship of city council members Kshama Sawant and Lisa Herbold, also caps
the total amount of security deposits and nonrefundable fees landlords can
charge at no more than one month's rent. Nonrefundable fees can't exceed 10
percent of one month's rent unless the cost of the tenant's screening report
exceeds that amount.
Josh Whited, the lawyer representing the RHA, called the
requirements "onerous." He argued the law violates the state ban on
rent control, constitutes an illegal "taking" of private property,
and violates landlords' due process rights.
Court precedent in Washington, Whited said, has found that
“local governments are not entitled to shift the burden for solving societal
problems to individual property owners.”
We will follow this story with updates as they develop.
Friday, May 26, 2017
2017 GSBA Scholarships
RD House is proud to be a member of the Greater Seattle
Business Association (GSBA), which understands that today's students are
tomorrow's leaders and is committed to supporting our community's future
leaders by providing financial resources, role-models and hope to outstanding
LGBTQ and allied students. This year, GSBA is proud to have awarded its 3
millionth dollar through its scholarship programs!
At the 2017
dinner on May 19 Hearts were bursting with pride as over 500 guests including
scholars, donors, community leaders and elected officials gathered to witness
history as GSBA gave out its $3 millionth dollar in scholarships awarded since
1991.
This Fund, and
the hope it provides, has changed the lives of over 500 LGBT and allied
students but, perhaps the biggest game changer is the launch of the GSBA
Guarantee. The Guarantee promises up to four years of support to GSBA Scholars
as long as they continue their part by doing their best in school. This
extraordinary commitment is possible because of you, and your understanding of
the power of education to change lives.The exciting news continued as long-term
GSBA member and Antioch Board member,Steve Crandall, came on stage to announce
the GSBA Leadership Academy, an innovative leadership experience created
through a partnership between Antioch and GSBA with support from Microsoft and
input from several GSBA donors. This Leadership Academy will hold its first
immersion weekend this August at Islandwood Retreat Center on Bainbridge Island
during which all 45 scholars will be brought together to go through a three-day
leadership curriculum.
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Pair of recent Tech employment reports tracks Silicon Valley to Seattle migrations
For decades, Silicon Valley has
been the epicenter of the tech industry, and
it’s easy to understand why: Silicon Valley hosts many
of the world’s most successful tech firms including Apple, eBay, Facebook,
Google, Netflix and PayPal. These firms offer employees prestige, high salaries
and opportunities to work on cutting-edge projects. In addition, there are
thousands of startups in Silicon Valley to attract those who want to build
something from the ground up.

And in their Digital Exodus article, Indeed .com
uncovers a bit about why experienced tech workers are searching for, and moving
to, jobs outside Silicon Valley. Their recent analysis of Indeed job search data reveals growing
numbers of Silicon Valley tech workers between the ages of 31 and 40 are
searching for work elsewhere.
This report also calls out the cost of living as
likely a major contributing factor. To take just one measure: according to a real
estate brokerage, the median sale price of a home in Silicon Valley is
$1,050,000. Sky-high housing costs are driving what is described as a “digital
exodus.”
Whether or not the situation is quite that dramatic,
Indeed data confirms not only that tech workers are searching for work in other
hubs but shows us precisely where they are looking.
Seattle is one of the key engineering hubs to which
they are migrating (the Puget Sound Business Journal said of the Hired report
that Seattle is the top landing spot for tech transplants from Bay Area, which
is hard to see directly from the data in their report, and the Indeed posting
puts Seattle at #5 in terms of search location (not actual work migration).
For Seattle Property Managers and rental property owners, the implications are clear: a steady stream of tech workers who will be looking for housing here. The key, however, will be in offering units and amenities that will meet their needs. We'll be looking that those factors in upcoming posts here, so stay tuned.
Friday, February 10, 2017
Seattle caps move-in fees in attempt to abate affordable housing crisis
Effective January 15, the Seattle City Council approved
legislation capping move-in fees at the first months rent plus no more than
that for any move-in related deposits. Renters
will be able to opt for payment of move-in costs above this (such as last
months rent deposit) over a 6 month payment plan.
Historically, landlords could
charge security deposit, last months rent and pet deposit fees up front before a tenant could move in.
Now, combined move-in fees cannot exceed the equivalent of the first month’s
rent. The ordinance also forces landlords to accept additional payments in
installments, allowing tenants to pay gradually over a period of six months if
they cannot afford the fees when they first sign the lease. Landlords are now
also limited in how much they can charge for pet deposits: No more than 25% of
one month’s rent (and payable over a 3-month payment plan).
RD House is fully prepared to
work with these new requirements and are able to collect Last months rent and
pet deposits in installments. There is
an administrative cost to billing, tracking and collecting installment
payments, and we will have to charge a $9.95 per month fee to owners when
tenants request this option (but only during the period of installments). We generally would pass tenant-related costs
like this to tenants, however the council legislation specifically prohibits
doing so.
Seattle
Landlords Push Back
Seattle landlords disagree,
arguing that the new ordinance is an overreach of local authority. RD House agrees with this pushback and
lobbied against these new provisions with our local councilmembers and with the
Mayor.
“I am offended by the city [telling] me that I cannot protect my
own investment,” said Chuck Cady, a local landlord. Lizbeth Lyles, another landlord, echoed that
sentiment. “I’m feeling a little under attack by the city council. Putting all
these restrictions on the landlords is not the solution. It’s just going to
make us sell the properties.” This could lead to units being purchased,
renovated, and re-listed for rent at even higher prices.
Other landlords warned City Councilors to prepare for the
unanticipated consequences of the new ordinances. Landlords will simply shift
to risk mitigation by increasing rents or increasing the tenant screening criteria
to favor more financially stable residents.
RD House will advise our owners on a case by case basis if the
restrictions pose risks that require consideration.
Tenant
Protections in Other Markets
Seattle isn’t the first city to adopt new legal protections for
tenants in the wake of growing concerns over housing affordability.
Just last year, we highlighted an ordinance passed by the San Francisco City
Council that
made it harder for landlords to initiate no-fault evictions against educators
employed by local schools and childcare centers. In September, a San Francisco
Superior Court judge ruled that the ordinance was in conflict with state law,
and the city had to revoke the policy.
Other cities have implemented new inclusionary zoning
policies that
require developers to reserve 20% of all new units for affordable housing.
Whether these policies will actually make a dent in the affordable
housing crisis
remains to be seen. If so, we suspect that other cities will follow suit by
implementing new landlord-tenant policies of their own. It is important for
landlords and property managers to monitor these proposals closely, weighing in
at local hearings as appropriate.
Saturday, January 28, 2017
The importance of good move-in inspection documentation
By far the largest source of resident/landlord disputes is the
disposition of the resident’s security deposit.
Using proper move-in and move-out documentation procedures is the best
tool to protect you and your residents from these kinds of disputes.

Even more, with mobile and cloud tools readily available today, landlords can perform detailed inspections with room-by-room condition, photos and notations that can be signed onsite with the tenant in just minutes, with a documented report file that’s saved with the lease information. These save time and add much detail to the inspection report.
Thursday, January 19, 2017
If you're thinking of selling, check out these stats
The average sale price for Condos in West Seattle -December 2016
If you're thinking of selling this year, stay up with the stats, with RD House Real Estate.
Sunday, January 8, 2017
A first look at property management news in 2017
The new year is still taking shape, but there are already a few notable items rental property owners should be aware of.
1099 deadline changes

For the 2016 filing year, RD-House will be using e-filing for both recipient (property owner) and IRS forms, and will, as we have in the past, report, audit and deliver these by January 31.
New or pending City of Seattle rental regulations
The City Council remains busy proposing and implementing various rental regulations.
- The RRIO (Rental Regulation and Inspection Ordinance) was fully implemented as of 12/31 2016, meaning that all rental properties regardless of location or the number of units are now required to be registered with RRIO. RD-House completed registrations for managed units in 2016, and now have RRIO as a checklist item for onboarding new managements.
- First in Time Tenant screening and acceptance requirements went into effect on Jan 1, 2017. This requires acceptance of the first submitted and qualified application for a unit or property. RD-House has clear acceptance and denial criteria for applicant screenings, and had always operated under this general rule, do we don't forsee any specific impacts with this for our managed properties.
- Caps on move-in fees (pending vote) at no more than one months rent, in addition to the first months rent. We are monitoring this item as it is debated by the City Council.
- Limits on the use of credit, evictions and foreclosure information as screening criteria. This is only proposed at this point, and final legislation and process have not yet been determined. We are closely monitoring this item as it is debated by the City Council.
Review your annual maintenance checklist
The beginning of the year is a good time to review and plan your property maintenance needs. For example, individual units should be freshened during a turnover: consider what your painting, re-carpeting, countertops, or appliances might need to be upgraded. Doing this on a regular basis offers a huge perk: You probably won’t be scrambling to replace a conked out furnace in the dead of winter if you’ve been having it cleaned and serviced each fall.
Remember that some maintenance steps are required, according to city or state guidelines. In Seattle, the RRIO inspection criteria are a good guide. In addition:
- Paint common areas every five to seven years. When they start to look worn and paint starts to chip or wear off, or has an uneven sheen, it’s probably time.
- Re-carpet hallways and other shared spaces every five years. This is about the time carpet will start to unravel and become a tripping hazard.
- Change light fixtures (not just bulbs) every 10 years or so. Quality fixtures can last for years, but many older ones aren’t compatible with new LED bulbs. Most buildings don’t tend to change the fixtures, however, until it’s time to repaint.
- Clean the exterior annually, and look for paint or siding wear that may indicate additional maintenance.
- Clean and inspect downspouts, gutters, and other water-related features annually. Either in the fall when leaves are falling or in the spring after trees flower to avoid debris getting clogged and causing backups.
- Service and repair furnaces, water heaters and other major systems annually. Check or replace filters, etc.
- Touchup landscaping seasonally. Curb appeal is everything: invest in your outdoor plants every season to keep your property looking its best.
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