Home values have continued to rise in Bellingham this year…and with the lack of new construction, and lack of supply, more and more buyers are looking for an opportunity to build. The problem with building is there is a lack of available raw land…particularly in desirable locations. And the costs to develop raw dirt can be massive. If your building near Lake Whatcom, there is watershed restrictions & additional costs. If your building anywhere else, you still have the task of bringing in utilities, sometimes dealing with access or wetland issues, and city permits costing $35,000 or more.
There is however, other ways to build your dream home. Or develop an investment property in Bellingham & surrounding areas.
#1 Buy a fixer home to tear down and re-build. Or gut renovate the home.
This is happening all over Seattle, yet I’ve only seen a few of these projects around Bellingham. But the trend will be on the rise here. If you can find a home that has a footprint (foundation width/height) that you can work with, you can save on building permits by taking the home down to the foundation and part of the studs, and custom re-build a new home in it’s place.
The upfront costs may be higher (Say $250,000 for a fixer home, rather then $150,000 for a lot), but you save on permits, utilities, driveway, landscape, and possibly foundation, etc. You also save a tremendous amount of time, as you can start the project much quicker then you can building on raw land.
(above is an in-fill lot that was developed & sold on Humboldt st earlier this year).
The other benefit by searching for a fixer home is–you can build in that prime location your looking for. Especially if you want walk-ability to parks, downtown, amenities, etc. There is very few empty lots available in the most desirable neighborhoods in Bellingham.
This is also something that can be done on the outskirts and rural areas surrounding Bellingham. I have found many older manufactured homes on acreage, that were prime candidates for building. You could simply live in the mobile while you plan, then remove the mobile home and build a home in it’s place (or in some cases, keep the mobile home in it’s place as a secondary home or rental).
Home built on in-fill lot on Humboldt st in Bellingham
#2 Buy an existing home on a double lot, or lot zoned for 2+ units
If you find a home on a lot that is a 1/3 acre or larger, in many sections of the city, there is the potential to subdivide the lot-then split and build a 2nd home. Many developers have taken advantage of this strategy in recent years. Buying a re-sell home, splitting the lot, flipping the home, then building and selling a spec home.
Additionally, many neighborhoods have areas zoned for mixed use, or multi-family. In these cases, you can renovate the home into a duplex, or build a secondary dwelling on the lot. Maybe you want to rent the existing home, then build yourself an accessory dwelling to live in? Or renovate the existing home, but build a small rental in back?
So it’s important to be creative and think outside the box if you want to build in Bellingham. Because many of the best building opportunities are not obvious until you know what your looking for, and where to look.