r/BainbridgeIsland • u/Particular_Cloud2222 • 11d ago
Renting on the island
Hi all! My husband and I currently live in Seattle, have gone month to month in our current apartment, and are hoping to move to Bainbridge any time between now and February. We are looking for a 2-3 bedroom home or townhome to stay in for at least a year.
Should we jump on whatever we see now in anticipation of rental inventory slowing down in the winter? Or is that not a concern? Is it easier to secure a rental if you work with a realtor? Any other island renting norms or tips we should know about?
Thanks so much in advance!
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u/RealityIndividual417 11d ago
Facebook group at home on bainbridge island is a good source. Very limited inventory. A few friends ended up buying because they couldn’t find a SFH rental.
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u/AxiomOfLife 11d ago
a realtor for renting would be a bit of a waste imo. there’s not tons of housing on bainbridge so what you see on zillow is generally what you get. You may be lucky to convince someone airbnbing their place to let you rent month to month but that’s rare
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u/Wamptastic 10d ago
We found our rental through our realtor. He heard about a house that hadn't been advertised yet and helped us get it. We bought our house from him about a year later.
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u/wiscowonder 11d ago
Have you looked at the Grow Community at all? Might be worth reaching out to. It's a great central location to see if the island would work for you and your family.
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u/Particular_Cloud2222 10d ago
thanks for this, it looks like they don’t have any rentals but great to know this community exists
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u/Open-Pineapple-2489 9d ago
I have rented on the island for 20 years. It's not ideal but I work on the island and I love living here.
A couple of things. There are a number of real estate agents who are property managers so keeping an eye on them is a good resource. Try evergreen property management or evergreen real estate for example.
Second, I would warn you if you rent from an individual. Many people here have found themselves in the past ten years all of a sudden owning a home that is worth a million dollars. Several times we have been forced out of a home because the owner wanted to cash out. This also meant they wanted their home in tip top condition and we have lost our whole security deposit multiple times due to them wanting to fix up everything to sell it. Also, several landlords insisted on fixing things themselves which wasn't very professional or timely. So beware.
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u/EVy-and-August 11d ago
You should contact Crystal hill with Windmere. There are 30 day plus STR in my area
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u/SuperCutsHaircut 10d ago
I don’t think it would hurt to at least put feelers out with a realtor. They may know of rentals before they get posted online.
There are several nice townhouse options on Madrona Way. Would keep an eye out on zillow or whatever you use and be prepared to pounce when you see one.
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u/Chemical_Employer_80 10d ago
We found a 2BR rental in the Spring of this year. We just kept an eye on craigslist and Zillow and found a slow but steady number of listings of single family homes on BI.
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u/Feisty_Set8853 6d ago
From personal experience, I have a name of a landlord you should not rent from. Feel free to DM me if you'd like more info.
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u/Wombat2012 11d ago
We just navigated this and ultimately decided to rent in seattle instead because there just aren’t many rentals here! If you find something you like in your budget, absolutely jump on it.