Head of People

Co-Founder & Head of Product

Marketing Manager

Discover our 6 favorite things about renting or owning a home in the city of Bellevue, Washington - one of the latest additions to Belong's residential network.

Belong Visits: Bellevue

As we expand up and down the west coast from our Bay Area base, we’re always working to make ourselves — and our community — feel at home wherever they are. As part of that, we are launching a coastal tour, and the first stop is  the bucolic city of Bellevue, Washington.

Across Lake Washington from Seattle is one of the hottest zip codes in the country: home to the garage that gave birth to Amazon and a perennial contender for the best city to live in America.

With the six amazing neighborhood pluses described below, is it any wonder that so many people want to live in Bellevue?  Not to us — nor will it be to you, once you see why the housing market is booming in this beautiful little city. It’s a boom that makes Belong’s ability to connect people who own much-loved homes, to those looking to become infatuated by a domicile, all the more important.

Jeff Bezos might have up and moved his empire across the lake to Seattle, but many big-name tech companies still call Bellevue home.  T-Mobile’s North American corporate headquarters is located in Bellevue, as is Expedia’s and Drugstore.com’s. Other major tech companies like Facebook and Nintendo also have big offices in the city. Bungie and Valve both have their HQs there, too, making it one of the gaming capitals of the world!

Bellevue is home to one of the best school districts in the U.S., with several of its high schools ranking in US News and World Report’s top 250; niche.com ranks the system as third-best in the country. The crown jewel of the district, the International School, ranks #27 among all traditional high schools in America, and #60 if you add in all the magnet and charter schools. We’d say “Not too shabby,” but then a recent Bellevue grad might snicker at us for using such an inelegant cliche.  

They don’t call it “The City in a Park” for nothing.  In addition to the acres of green space and sprawling parks contained within the city, the city’s also borders on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, giving residents easy access to the Snoqualmie Pass.  And of course, Mount Rainier, the most topographically prominent peak in the United States, is only 60-ish miles to the south. (The North Cascades National Park isn’t very far, either.)  If water is more your thing, then there’s plenty of fun to be had on Lake Washington, too. From skiing to waterskiing, Bellevue has it all.

True to its name, Bellevue is one of the most scenic cities in America. Not only because of the lush park system we mentioned above, but because of the breath-taking view of Seattle and Lake Washington to the west, and the snow-tipped Cascades ranging to the east. 

Of course, America is a lovely and wonderful place to live, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t observe that Bellevue isn’t very far from Vancouver,  which is another of the most exciting cities in North America. And one of the most ethnically diverse, too, with a famed Chinatown offering some of the best Chinese cuisine you can find this side of the Pacific. A quick two-and-a-half-hour drive through some of the most stunning scenery in the world, it’s the perfect daytrip. Pack your passport and come hungry.  

Bellevue is home to a number of upscale stores and shopping malls, but it is the smaller, mom-and-pop institutions that intrigue us most.  From Frans Chocolates, to the Larsen Lake Blueberry Farm and Mac and Mabels, there are tons of local shopping options to choose from!

If you think you're ready to go it alone as a landlord and property manager, take this 4-question quiz.

Can I Manage My Own Rental Property? Take The Quiz

Why can't I just manage my own rental property? If you think you're ready to take this plunge, take the 4-question personality quiz that will answer the question: am I cut out to be a landlord and a property manager or should I outsource this work?

Often when talking to a homeowner who isn’t a thousand percent sold on Belong, we get asked, “Why can’t I manage my own property, by myself?”

It's a great question, because the truth is that there are people out there who can take on the responsibility of self-managing a rental property. But when you peel back the onion and really look at what’s required, it turns out those people are few and far between.

Managing a property takes a truly rare combination of personality traits. If you possess them all — and you also have ample time to dedicate to the task — then we encourage you to step up and manage the property yourself.

But if you don’t, our recommendation is to seriously consider working with a property manager (or rather, to go one better and use a modern alternative). Our simple quiz will save you and the residents of your home countless hours of stress and anxiety.

Quiz: Am I cut out to self-manage my rental property? 

Question #1: Do you have incredible patience?

When self-managing a rental property, you have to keep in mind that the home effectively belongs to the residents as well. In fact, they sometimes lose sight of the fact that the home actually belongs to you, and that you love it as much as they do.  

That’s why oftentimes the relationship between resident and homeowner can turn sour and adversarial; people forget that the interests on both sides of the equation may seem not to be aligned. But fundamentally, are.

Hence, the need for patience. You need to keep in mind that, when something goes wrong in the house — when there’s a leak, or the toilet isn’t running, or the boiler’s on the fritz — it’s your residents who are on the frontlines. It's their lives being disrupted. That’s why they’re so freaked out and upset and texting you every other second, wondering when the plumber or the boiler guy’s going to show up. 

Question #2: Do you mind being persistent to the point of annoying?

Being a property manager often means being a bother to someone else. It means calling an unresponsive contractor or craftsperson over and over until they finally pick up the phone – or respond to an email – and schedule an appointment. 

Then, after you’ve managed to schedule the appointment, it means following up with your tenants to make sure they’ll be home when the locksmith’s supposed to show up to fix that faulty door-latch in the bathroom. 

It also means being tenacious and persistent when it comes to late rent and fees. If your tenant doesn’t pay you your rent, it’s your responsibility — and yours alone — to collect. And if worse comes to worse and you need to take legal action and start the process of evicting them, that’s on you, too. 

Last point here. You need to be persistent with managing your tax situation. So being your own property manager can mean reaching out to your accountant to see if they’re taking advantage of every benefit afforded you in the changing tax laws.

All this takes the ability to be thick-skinned. To call one more times than you’re comfortable with. To use a sterner tone of voice then you’re maybe used to using. In other words, to be an effective property manager, you have to be relentless.

Question #3: Are you prepared for the workload?

The number of things you need to keep track of when you’re managing your own property is just incredible. Not only all the paperwork, which is hard enough to deal with, but all the follow-up calls you have to make, and make again, to all the people on the other side of that paperwork. That’s why even the most organized person would find self-managing to be an incredibly difficult task. 

In short, don’t be misled by the phrase “passive income.” It is often bandied about in the property management industry. But as you can see from this blog post, if you do choose to take on the responsibility yourself, the income will be anything but passive. It requires tireless dedication and endless obligation, and a very specific kind of personality that can deal with it all.

Question #4: Can you turn on the charm at will?

Though toughness is obviously key, as the old cliche goes, you win more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. And in the world of self-management, there really are a ton of flies you have to deal with — a constant stream of seemingly minor obstacles and annoyances that need to be taken care of.

Lawyers. Accountants. Home inspectors. Carpenters. Plumbers. Electricians. Roofers.  Exterminators. The list goes on.

The thing is, the better these people are at their jobs, the more in demand they are. And the more in demand they are, the harder they are to get on the phone — and the less they need your business. So if you try to use some of that toughness we were talking about earlier, chances are they’ll just blow you off and deal with the hundreds of other clients they have. This is where you need to balance being stern and persistent, with knowing when to be kind and helpful so that others are more inclined to do you a favor. That’s why we say a little bit of charm goes a very long way in the self-management game.

If you've read questions 1-4 and think you've got what it takes, great! But if you're unsure about one or more and truly want your income to be passive consider Belong as an alternative to hiring a traditional property manager. Belong brings together the latest technology and high-touch concierge-level service to make property management as seamless and easy for everyone involved. Not only that, but they’ve built in protections for homeowners, like guaranteed rent, which takes the risk and anxiety out of the process altogether. 

So if you’re not the kind of person who checks boxes #1-4, make a conversation with Belong a #1 priority.

Why can't I just manage my own rental property? Take the quiz and find out if you're a cut out to be both a property manager and landlord for your rental home.

SB-9 and ADUs will change the Californian landscape (and that's ok!)

The Benefits of California's Accessory Dwelling Unit Laws

When California introduced SB-9 to encourage more residents to build Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), some people expressed concern about the effect it will have on the character of neighborhoods in the state. Here's why we think it's an opportunity to better express the diversity that makes California so special. 

California. The name evokes images of Hollywood, gold rushes and Golden Gates, bright lights and Chinese Grumman’s theaters, vineyards, and orange groves. The land of milk and honey overflowing with opportunity. It’s long been romanticized in the collective conscious and remains, in our minds, a symbol of growth without limits. 

The truth is that, though California remains ripe with potential, it’s getting more and more crowded every day. Once the land of seemingly limitless expanses, Californians are now coming face to face with limits on expansion, on growth, and, of course, on the availability of housing. As of 2018, the state ranked 49th in terms of housing units per resident, which adds up to a shortfall of 3 to 4 million homes.   

With supply relatively stable and demand skyrocketing, simple economics dictate that prices should rise. To protect Californian residents, and in an effort to keep housing affordable, the state is loosening zoning restrictions and encouraging the development of ADUs, as a way to make up for the housing shortfall. 

The bill changing zoning restrictions as of 2020 is known as 'SB-9' and gives homeowners the ability to subdivide lots zoned for single-family houses. Many Californian homeowners are now eligible to build additional duplexes on their property, and ADUs are smaller structures (think cottages and discreet extensions to pre-existing houses) that homeowners can convert into rentable spaces.

Some in the community are concerned about the effects these laws might have on the classic Californian landscape. But look at photos of places like Brentwood in the early 1900s; the neighborhoods are unrecognizable. Change is inevitable.

In fact, part of what’s made California so special for so many years is the diversity of its landscape — from the fertile forests of the north to the arid deserts of the south — and, maybe even more essentially, the diversity of its population. Long the destination of immigrant populations from South America and Asia, the state also welcomes dreamers of all kinds from across the continent. To quote the great American author Cormac McCarthy, “The best way to live in California is to be from somewhere else.”

That’s the thing about California — it has an inexhaustible ability to reinvent itself, to contain such multitudes. Which is why we think the recent changes to the housing laws will ultimately prove beneficial to the character of the state. Unless we address the escalation in housing prices, we will see an exodus of young people – our future!  Surveys show that more than half of the population wants to leave the state.

So while we completely understand the objections to recent zoning shifts, on balance we think this kind of change — and this kind of expansively diverse uniqueness is helpful. After all, what would San Francisco be without its Chinatown? Or Los Angeles, without its Korean population? What would the state be like if it didn’t embrace the influx of Latinx cultures in the early part of the twentieth century? The more change the state welcomes, the more Californian it will ultimately be. 

Should you add an ADU to your Californian Home?

There's no straightforward right-or-wrong answer to this question, but if you can obtain the permits to add an ADU, there are plenty of incentives. In California, you may even be eligible for a grant to contribute to the cost of creating a new dwelling on your main residence. There's also the financial benefit of becoming a landlord and generating passive income from your main property. Of course, with tenants in such close proximity to your home, you don't want to leave finding the right people to chance. Find out more about to find long-term, trustworthy tenants and if your ADU would be eligible for Belong here. 

With SB-9, California's zoning laws are changing to accommodate more Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) to usher in more supply and affordable rental options

Learn how to show prospective renters through your property with a virtual open home or video walkthrough, increasing your reach to potential new tenants.

Virtual Open Homes: 5 Tips For Offering Video Inspections For Rentals

The virtual open home is here, with many prospective renters now opting for a video walkthrough over in-person inspections. How can landlords who are self-managing their rental properties adjust to this new reality and offer a professional-level digital experience to attract new tenants? 

Among the many challenges involved with self-managing your own home is presenting the property in an elegant and professional manner when listing it online. Today's smartphone cameras have made taking high-quality photographs easier than ever, but these days potential residents are looking for more than simple pictures: they want video tours and 3D walkthroughs, which provide a far more immersive experience. 

It's much more challenging – and more expensive – to take a good video than it is a good picture. Or so it would seem. The truth is though that you don’t need to invest thousands of dollars in a DSLR camera. With a smartphone and a few inexpensive attachments, you can create a high-quality virtual open home without breaking the bank.

Follow these five tips to creating a professional virtual tour to rent your home:

Virtual Open House Tip #1: Invest in the right equipment

The right tools are essential, of course, but you don’t need to go overboard when preparing for virtual walkthroughs. In fact, you probably have the necessary equipment in your back pocket. The three most recently released iPhones come with suitable wide-angle lenses, as do many Android devices. And if you have a more recent model, a clip-on lens can work wonders. Not only will wide-angle shots make a room look extra spacious, they better replicate the experience of actually seeing the space. 

Newer smartphone cameras also take great close-ups, thanks to portrait mode. Use this feature to highlight the details that make your property special – like elegant trim and granite countertops. 

To give your virtual home tour an extra layer of professionalism, consider a video stabilizer. They’re both cheaper and easier to transport than traditional tripods, and they give the video a smooth and polished quality. Additionally, a lapel microphone allows for crisp narration, which will add a personal element.

Virtual Open House Tip #2: Prepare the space

The better the video, the more important it is to pay attention to the small details. Dirt and grime that might not show on a low-resolution video can be quite apparent in HD, so be as fastidious about cleanliness as you would be for an in-person tour. 

It’s also worth staging the home as you would for an open house, showcasing your home's unique details. If the living room has a beautiful parquet floor, make sure to show it off; if you recently installed a beautiful farmhouse sink in the master bathroom, let the camera linger on it for a few extra seconds. Future residents want to see a comfortable home, but one they can still make their own; touches like these help strike the right balance, letting the home feel lived-in, but not so filled that there’s no room for their unique personalities.  

Finally, it’s critical to highlight outdoor spaces (if your home has them). This is, after all, where most of us do our entertaining these days!

Virtual Open House Tip #3: Time your shoot with the best light

Everything from the time of day to the time of year can affect the mood of your walkthrough. A slightly overcast day with lots of indirect sunlight will highlight your space best. As for timing, late morning is ideal – this ensures you don’t run out of daylight. The key is practicing in the days leading up to your final shoot.

If needed, a clip-on ring light will help counter bad weather. Avoid the yellow settings, though, which may give the space a dated look.

After you’ve cleaned and staged the home, make a list of the shots you need to show the place in the best light. It helps to sketch a floor plan, and then imagine which rooms you would show first during an in-person tour. 

It’s wise to take a practice video, to help figure out the best way to transition between wide-angle establishing shots that show each room in its full glory, and close-ups that capture the unique details. Don’t worry about it being perfect, though – you can clean up transitions at the editing stage. 

Virtual Open House Tip #5: Edit, edit, edit

There is a plethora of editing software available for reasonable rates. To amp up your iPhone’s powerful camera, use FiLMiC Pro – priced at just $15 a month. 

There are lots of editing tips out there, but the best way to keep your video professional is to use smooth transitions when putting together raw footage. Make sure the shots before and after transitions are a mix of wide shots and close-ups to keep the video eye-catching. Don’t use splashy effects, which can detract from the home itself. Instead, opt for sleek and seamless. Remember that potential residents will want to see your rental as you see it: a place to call home.

Get videos and a 3D virtual tour at no extra cost with Belong

When working with Belong, you'll get professional-level pictures, videos, and even a 3D virtual tour of your property – without an upcharge for the service. Plus, Belong takes care of listing the home, conducting in-person tours, and running background checks for each and every potential tenant, to ensure you find a resident who loves your home as much as you do. Without the stress of doing it all yourself. Learn more about Belong and find out if your property is eligible here.

Belong

Flora Fiorillo

Melanie Kershaw

Tyler Infelise

Eric Vandekerkhove

Jane Allison Gunn

Flora Fiorillo

Melanie Kershaw

Tyler Infelise

Eric Vandekerkhove

Jane Allison Gunn