CO-BUYING RESOURCES
CURATED LIST OF TOOLS FOR THE NON-TRADITIONAL HOUSEHOLD
C0-OWNING WORKSHEETS & HANDOUTS
The Co-Owning Starter Worksheet & Checklist is a fillable PDF of basic discussion points to get your group started, even if you're still years away from buying. You can never start the conversation too early.
Our glossary of Common Real Estate Terms includes some terms particularly relevant to the co-buyer or co-owner.
GETTING STARTED
Collection of 1-3 minute videos from Salmon Bay Community Lending chock full of helpful information about all things mortgage-related in bite size pieces. If you’re looking for an answer to a specific question, search the Mortgage Minutes playlist. Click HERE
| Local Seattle company CoBuy offers a comprehensive online course about the co-buying process leading into co-ownership.
(Amy McKenna Homes has no relationship with CoBuy.io)
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Home search app linked directly to the NW Multiple Listing Service. Facilitates messaging between you, your co-buyers, and your realtor. Click HERE to download the app.
PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES
Wilson Law Group
Terrance Wilson
Attorney & Owner
(206) 805-6238
Addresses a wide array of Real Estate, Land Use, and Development issues, working with Land Surveyors, Civil Engineers, Architects, and other related Land Use professionals on boundary issues, easements, CC&Rs, subdivisions, Condominiums, Boundary Line Adjustments, as well as other regulatory processes and legal issues surrounding them.
Michael Safren, Senior Partner
The Law Offices of Jenny Ling, PLLC
14900 Interurban Ave. S., Ste. 280,
Seattle, WA 98168
(206) 859-5098
msafren@jennylinglaw.com
www.jennylinglaw.com
As part of his real estate specialty, Michael drafts tenancy in common (co-ownership) agreements; deeds; boundary line adjustments; and helps landlords in residential real estate disputes, as well as other RE legal services. Michael also specializes in estate planning and probate.
Attorney | Partner
(206) 784-3049
nathan@seattledivorceservices.com
Nathan is an Attorney and Partner of Seattle Divorce Services in Ballard. He has practiced family law since 2009, and Collaborative Law since 2016 and has been helping address the unique legal concerns of alternative families and households since the early days of his career.
Pacific Evergreen Law Group provides estate planning services, including wills, trusts, Durable Powers of Attorney, and Probate.
Ballard Backyard Cottages
Michael Murray | Owner
(206) 612-6657
Mighty House Construction
Laura Elfline, Co-Founder
3108 SW Webster St,
Seattle, WA 98126
(206) 880-1550
laura@mightyhouseconstruction.com
CIC Consulting Group, LLC
Rebekah Baze | Owner & Founder
(425) 681-3381
Rebekah@cicconsultinggroup.com
Condos come with a dizzying array of legal and financial documents (alternately called the "Resale Certificate", "Resale Package", "condo docs" or "HOA docs") which can be difficult to decipher for even experienced buyers. Rebekah analyzed those documents and goes over them with a prospective buyer in a video call, along with data comparing the property to similar condos in the area. A short interview with Rebekah can be found here.
Shared Capital Cooperative is Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) loan fund that provides financing to cooperative businesses and housing throughout the U.S. By borrowing from and investing in the fund, members directly engage in their work, connecting cooperatives and capital and supporting shared economic prosperity and ownership. Shared Capital Cooperative also raises investments from social investors who support the cooperative economy.
Seattle-based contact:
Mike Seo (Portfolio Manager) | 612-767-2103 | mike@sharedcapital.coop
ADU/DADU RESOURCES AND INFORMATION
Central resource to learning about and planning an accessory dwelling unit in Seattle. Click HERE
Seattle Permits Tip 116A (PDF) Click HERE
Seattle Permits Tip 116B (PDF) Click HERE
Four free publications (and more) about how ADUs expand housing options for people of all ages. Click HERE
(PDF) Click HERE
The definitive guide to ADU Development. Click HERE
Assorted Information -- Zoning, Alternative Housing, News, Resources, etc
One Seattle is the roadmap for where and how Seattle will grow and invest in communities over the next 20 years and beyond. Includes a new Growth Strategy that guides the proposed zoning update.
Downloadable PDF of Seattle's generalized zoning boundaries (last updated June 15, 2022).
Can cross reference against the OneSeattle draft Zoning Map to see what is being proposed for the future.
CoHousing.org – Supports co-housing communities and educating the public about the benefits of co-housing. Click HERE
Resource hub for the local Intentional Communities movement. Click HERE
The remedy for Washington’s dire housing shortage is more homes of all shapes and sizes. Co-living homes—small apartments with shared kitchens—are a low-cost housing option that most communities lack because local zoning laws make them illegal or otherwise impractical to build. A new Washington bill, HB 1998, aims to fix that by setting standards to legalize co-living homes statewide. Click HERE
re|Space
Rick Romanowski | Co-Founder
Rick@reSpace.co
In its infancy, re|Space is rolling out homes featuring "fractional ownership." Fractional ownership differs from a group co-buying a property themselves in that re|Space would configure the home's ownership structure and individuals can buy in on their own. Watch a King5 news story about it here.
Crow Woods is a nine-unit cohousing community in North Seattle on Meridian Ave N between N 117th & 120th Streets. Units are advertised as being move-in ready Fall of 2025.
(We have no connection to or further knowledge about the community so please contact them directly for information.)
