North Sound Property News

Spring is here, and for the last several weeks, my husband and I have been working on re-landscaping our backyard.  In fact, we have been working on this since we moved into our house.  One of the very first things we did after closing was have a landscaper come over and tear out all of the trees in the backyard.  It’s not that we have anything against trees, it’s simply that trees grow, and ours were planted with no regard to how large they would eventually get.   This is pretty common in newer construction.

After tearing out everything in our yard, we decided to go with a Japanese style garden. This will achieve our goal of having our backyard be an enjoyable outdoor living space, and mitigates our yard’s main shortcomings, which are that the lot is small and that the drainage is terrible.  A typical yard with a lawn does not work well due to the drainage problem, but with a Japanese garden we can plant trees and shrubs that can tolerate “wet feet” better than grass.  It’s also low-maintenance and looks good year round. 

Drainage is a problem because the area where we live (Harbour Pointe in Mukilteo) was built on what once was a wetland area.  In the last 30 years, Harbour Pointe has been developed with a golf course and a lot of very nice homes, but as the Realtor code of ethics says, “beneath all is the land,” and in this case, the land is wet.  Very wet.

One of the reasons it is so wet is that the soil is composed primarily of clay.  It’s also pretty flat, which means, the water can’t run off and go someplace else. 

But we can take comfort knowing that we are not alone.  Drainage issues are very common among homes in the Seattle area due to the high clay content of our soils and the fact that our climate is so wet.  I wrote more on this topic at the Seattle PI Real Estate blog today, looking at this topic through a more regional lens. 

Anyway, as we’ve worked on turning our muddy bog into something we could feel good about, we’ve discovered that our drainage issues are not just a gardening problem–we also have some problems developing on the south side of our foundation.

 The crawlspace vents on the south side of our home are below grade, and it appears that they were not dug deep enough. Water is getting into the vent boxes, and draining out too slowly.  It doesn’t look as if the water is getting into our crawlspace, but I just don’t like the look of it.  So, some time this summer we will have to redig them, and make them larger and deeper, to keep water from intruding into our crawlspace.  While we are at it, we will also install a French Drain to keep future problems from occuring. 

The upshot, from a real estate perspective, is to know what you are getting before you buy your home. 

And if you are buying a home in the Seattle area, make sure you know if water issues are common in the area where you are buying.  This might not be a reason to rule a home out, but it’s important to know before you buy if this is an issue you could end up facing later.  Fortunately, this is the kind of thing a good home inspector can tell you (as ours did), and is also a good reason to work with a buyer’s agent who knows the area where you are looking to buy a home.

  I knew before I bought my home that the soil had a high clay content, and I was aware that many homeowners in the area have had similar issues.  However, I think most buyers aren’t aware of the type of soil they are getting when they buy a home, and this can lead to expensive surprises later.  

About the Author: Sandy Kaduce is Associate Broker of Gallery Homes Real Estate. She serves buyers and sellers in North King and South Snohomish counties. She is 2009 Board President of the Mukilteo Chamber of Commerce, as well as Vice President of Site Selection for Habitat for Humanity of Snohomish County. For more information, visit Sandy on the web at www.sandykaduce.com! Read more from this author