315 12th Ave E. is for sale yet again
Do not fool yourself – the current owner bought the building just two years ago in 2024 for CHEAP at $1.5million now he figures his best way to make a profit is to flip the building. WHAT DOES TELL YOU as to your ability to make a profit if you are buying it for more than that?
The listing price in April 2026 was $1,995,000 then with no interest dropped to $1,895,000 on May 27, 2026 and then in August drops again to $1,795,000. This was a pattern – back in 2024 we saw the same pattern – eventually selling for $1,500,000. The tax assessment on the building is $2,398,000 based PRIMARILY on its highly valuable MR-M1 (Mid-Rise) zoning. SO if you are buying the building to take it down – pair with the side lots (both of which have also been for sale repeatedly) and building an 8 story large apartment – you will shell out a huge investment but yes probably you will make money. If you can weather the interest rates.
The building and the units have seen NO REAL PROPER MAINTAINENCE in the 21st Century. Only one unit has been painted in the 21st century. Plumbing works but needs a plumber 4 times a year or so. Electric is ancient – only the bathroom and kitchen has grounded plugs – the living room only two outlets, one each in the bedroom and dining room. There's a 40+ year old furnace – which needs constant maintainence.
The building had a settling around the time of the 2002 Nisqually earthquake – you can see this in the south side bedrooms – where the sw corner of each bedroom is 2 inches LOWER than the ne corner. One has to be careful where one places a tall dresser to keep it from tipping over. The rents are currently maxed out – rents were just announced to be raised two months ago and we've had the first tenant leave. The rents are maxed out because nothing really has been done to improve five of the units in the 21st Century. Rents used to be on the cheaper side – that is no longer the case.
Rents are currently FLAT in Seattle – with vacancy on the hill now at 7.5% – making it a renter's market more or less. The units go for about $1,800 now plus parking. RIGHT NOW SEARCH ONLINE AND SEE WHAT $1800 gets a renter and then compare that with this building. You would struggle to get more without spending a great deal of money to improve the units.
To get a sale on the building in 2024 to happen – and since the building had one unit free for 6 months and could not rent it – the owner was forced to properly prep the walls and minimally paint the unit. For 6 weeks the rest of the building listened to racket. The unit then went on the rental market and they tried to rent it for $1995, then $1895 and then $1795 and finally got a tenant for a little less (offering specials).
So DO THE MATH – you pay $1,795,000 for it – if instead of buying the building you put your money in a financial service (BECU Financial for example) and chose a CONSERVATIVE investment schema – you would make $233,000 in a year.
If you bought this building for the same $1,795,000 – your max rentals will gross about $130,000 – you would then have $25,000 annual in property taxes, $5.5k fuel (rent includes heat), insurance costs $3,600, and operating expenses minimally of $35,000. Add that up – you would do CONSIDERABLY better to put your $1,795,000 in a bank/investment service and make more money.
The listing for this property – as described – is fantasy. That "12-car parking lot" – BULLSHIT. Take a look at the size of the lot via the King County Parcel Viewer. The building lot is 5,994 sq ft and the building is 4,587 sq ft – leaving 1,407 sq ft for parking. To fit 12 cars into that tiny rear footprint, cars would literally have to be stacked on top of one another or spilled onto the public right-of-way.
That "charming brick exterior" – shows the lack of proper maintainence on the building – note the extensive and deep spalling brick. Spalling is the flaking, peeling, or crumbling of a brick's outer surface caused by trapped moisture that freezes and expands – note the lack of cement fill in between the bricks. No surprise the building has an infestation of ants (and as well clothing moths).
Finally, the building is NOT earthquake proof – so no, you will not be able to build out another unit in the basement without a great deal of expensive work. The lot itself has many issues. The back of the lot drops over 12 ft to the property to the west. That means in an earthquake there is a chance the back of the property liquefies and flows west, potentially bringing the building down and surely a massive liability with respect to the property to the west.
Again, the current owner – who bought the building much cheaper than you will buy it for – believes his best way to make money is to flip the building. What looks like a bargain is not. If you are buying the building to bring it down to build a large 8 story apartment building – you will need a lot of capital but you stand to make real profit at the completion of the process. Do not be stupid. Read the facts again.
