Whether you’ve dreamed of having your besties next door, downstairs in a duplex, or right across the backyard, we’ve got you covered. Live Near Friends specializes in all the financial, legal, and zoning considerations that go into purchasing homes next door – so you can turn those dreams into real, concrete plans.

We help you:

• Identify the best properties
• Loop in your friends and stay organized
• Simplify the buying process for shared ownership

Sound good? Sign up for Live Near Friends to find unique properties that work for your group. Curious to learn more? Read on!

Is this possible in Seattle?

You bet it is! There are six common housing types (yup, six!) that are good for living next door to friends. 

We’ll only ever show you the properties that are either already ideal for living next door to friends or the perfect blank canvas for developing more units. Think along the lines of single-family homes with ADUs and/or DADUs in almost every neighborhood, the growing townhome clusters in Capitol Hill, Ballard, and Columbia City, and duplex and triplex properties in Magnolia and West Seattle. 

Let’s take a closer look. 

The 6 ways to live near friends in Seattle

#1 - The most common: Single-family home + basement ADU

This is the most readily available inventory type and works best for an unequal ownership split, an owner/renter situation, or multigenerational living. You’ll typically see 2-4 bedrooms in the main unit and 1-2 bedrooms and a galley kitchen below. 

Many properties will already have two dwellings established (like this cute W. Seattle example!). But there are also plenty of opportunities to add value to a single-family property by converting an existing basement into an ADU and moving in a friend or family member. Just bring your own needs and design ideas!

#2 - The most future potential: Single-family home + DADU

A Detached Additional Dwelling Unit (DADU) is essentially a small house built on the same lot as an existing home. DADUs have become popular in the past 5 years, and you’ll find them sprinkled throughout Seattle. Tour a property with a DADU, and you’ll probably see two separate homes with a shared yard, just like in the cozy example below. 

While they’re sometimes known as “garden cottages,” a DADU contains everything you’d expect to see in a detached single-family home, like bedrooms, one or more bathrooms, and a full kitchen. They’re usually smaller than the main house, often between 500 and 1,000 square feet.

Building your own DADU can be significantly cheaper than buying a separate property. All you need is a home with a lot larger than the city’s required minimum of 3,200 square feet (4,000 square feet and above is ideal!). Bonus: You can live together in the main house together while you make it happen. The City of Seattle is all in on this type of development and offers information and resources through its ADU Universe website. 

If ease and affordability aren’t enough, it’s worth noting that many DADUs can be sold separately from the main home. That means it can be simpler to own and finance each structure independently. 

Check out our ADU Guide for more on the practicalities and how to evaluate a property’s potential for a second home. (Note: We wrote this with CA laws and our San Francisco customers in mind, but 80% holds good. More Seattle-specific content coming soon!)  

#3 - The ultimate setup: 3-unit compounds! 

Does your group need more than two homes? Take a single-family home and combine a basement/garden-level ADU with a DADU for three dwellings on one property. You’ll benefit from all the advantages we outlined for the first two inventory types and have all your friends/family together in one place. 

You could begin by finding a situation like this example from Magnolia, which already has a DADU in place, and then build out an ADU (or vice versa). Or you could start from scratch by purchasing an already good-sized house on a promising lot and using your vision and design savvy to build both an ADU and DADU. 

Live Near Friends loves to scope out these properties and identify where – and how – you can add living space and value to bring your friend compound to life. With two ADUs allowed on most residential properties in Seattle (zoning and lot size dependent), we anticipate seeing more and more three-unit properties on the market!

#4 - The most straightforward: The duplex 

Availability for the trusty duplex in Seattle is limited, but they do exist, and if you find the right one, they can be the perfect way to live near friends or family. 

With a duplex, you can make a friend a neighbor, share a yard, and everyone still gets their own private living space. Even better, they don’t require renovations, and they’re often more affordable than the equivalent single-family home. The units are usually evenly split in size and in similar condition and tend to have great flow and roomier floorplans, just like this unique property we found in West Seattle. 

Popular search sites like Zillow don't have the ability to filter by duplex. And when you do find listings for duplexes, it can sometimes be challenging to determine their suitability for splitting with friends. That’s where we come in. If one piques your interest, Live Near Friends can connect you with one of our specialist agent partners.

Note: In the eyes of the city, insurers, and lenders, a duplex is seen as one property (unless it’s converted into condos, in which case each unit can be individually sold, financed, and insured). You’ll need to think through the ownership structure and plan carefully. Find out more about the ins and outs of Duplexes: the live near friends mega guide.

#5 - The best for big groups: 3-plex and 4-plex

Triplexes and quadplexes bring similar benefits to duplexes on a larger scale. They’re a ready-made way to live together. That’s ideal for bigger groups of friends or for owner/renter setups if there are a few friends in your group who want in but who aren’t ready to buy yet. (If you’re going to be the owner in this situation, we recommend checking out our advice on how to charge your friends rent.)

These kinds of properties usually have a much lower price per square foot. They also tend to sit on the market longer, which means your group can get some amazing deals.

There are some challenges, however. The main issue can be the size of the units. While there are exceptions out there, most will be limited to 1–2 bedrooms, which can size out growing families, or, like the below example, they may be unevenly sized and won’t be right for every group mix. 

The other thing to consider: Current occupancy is very common, which means you may need to take on a landlord-to-strangers role or stagger your group’s move-in based on current leases. 

#6 - The splurge: Townhomes and new construction 

You’ve seen it happen in neighborhoods all across Seattle: tear-downs turning into clusters of shiny new townhomes. Some love the vibe change it brings, some loathe it. Either way, this trend is a great opportunity for friends and family to buy homes side by side without the stress of existing tenancies, permit delays, lot coverage, and so on. 

There are plenty of smaller development projects with four to six townhomes under construction. Live Near Friends can help you negotiate a bulk discount if you plan to buy more than one. Builders usually offer pre-sale options and may allow you to make certain design selections, too. 

Just as enticing: a lot of developers also offer financing options, sometimes below market rate. Friends can buy in at different times and secure their financing independently, which makes the admin side of things streamlined. 

The biggest drawback is the price point. New construction doesn’t come cheap in Seattle, and purchasing multiple townhomes is spendy. You may also need to factor in the HOA fees or other community levies. 

Another elephant in the room is aesthetics. Your townhomes will never have the soul and aura of a classic craftsman or a mid-century flow, and the designs may feel sterile. But they will often come with warranties, actually meet code, and very probably have the most coveted item in modern Seattle – a heat pump.

We’ve got you 

While any realtor can help you view properties, coordinating these types of purchases requires a guide who understands the unique intersection of multi-party dynamics, creative financing, development potential, and unconventional property arrangements. In a given city, there are likely only a few people who have the right mix of experience.

Our local Live Near Friends realtor partners are experts at searching for and evaluating these different housing types. They have a background in looking at properties and understanding their potential, and many have done different forms of development themselves, including ADU conversions.

If you see any properties you are interested in learning more about, the best place to start is to set up a call with a Live Near Friends advisor, who will get you pointed in the right direction.

Enjoy your journey!