The Rams Group at eXp Realty
The Rams Group at eXp Realty
The numbers, the school districts, the commute, the taxes and the financing — thirty-five pages to read before your first house-hunting trip, from someone who handles both halves of the move.
Most relocating buyers get a weekend, maybe two, to choose where their family lives for the next decade. The city, the commute, the district, the price band — each one changes the others, and you find that out fastest by getting one of them wrong.
We've sat on your side of that table. None of it is a mystery — it's just never been put in one place. Until now.
Written to be read in order before your first trip, and kept on your phone for everything after.
What it actually costs to live here, where the work is, and what homes cost right now, straight from the MLS.
City by city, compared honestly — plus Seattle's neighbourhoods and what your budget gets you in each.
The districts one by one, the SR-520 toll, the conforming loan limit, and what makes relocation financing different.
Buying from two thousand miles away, the 90-day timeline, the questions to ask, and nine mistakes worth avoiding.
Life outdoors, healthcare, moving with children, moving with pets, and your first ninety days.
Every figure in the guide is sourced and dated, so you can check any of it yourself.
I spent seventeen years at Microsoft in Redmond before I sold a house for a living. So when an engineer tells me they're relocating to the Eastside — interviewing at a campus they've never walked, trying to buy in a market they've never lived in — I've been that client.
I'm a Managing Broker with The Rams Group at eXp Realty and a licensed mortgage loan originator with Texana Bank Mortgage. My wife Sijy and I run The Rams Group together. We work with people relocating into Seattle and the Eastside, with sellers who can't be here, with investors, and with first-time buyers who want the process taught from the beginning without being rushed.
Our job is to sit on your side of the table. What are we doing, why are we doing it, what's the risk, and what happens next. That's the whole method.
I hold a Managing Broker's licence in Washington and a mortgage loan originator's licence through Texana Bank Mortgage. The person telling you what to offer is the same person who knows whether the financing supports it. There's no handoff, no "let me check with your lender", and no gap between two people where a deadline usually goes to die.
Before I sold a house for a living, I relocated a family here, bought in a market I didn't know, and made decisions from a campus I'd never walked. Relocation income, equity compensation, a start date that hasn't happened yet — I've documented all of it, because I've lived all of it.
My real estate licence covers Washington. My mortgage licence covers all fifty states — so you can be pre-approved from wherever you live now, before your first trip. And if you move on again later, to Phoenix or Boise or back to the Bay Area, I can still originate the loan.
Clients describe us as a pair because that's what we are. Two people reading every contract, two phones that get answered. "Many agents promise. [Sijy] and Ravi deliver" — that's a client's line, not ours, and we try to earn it every time.
These are official Multiple Listing Service figures — not a portal's model. They're the numbers we'd want if we were moving here.
| City | Median sale price | Year over year | Typical financing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bellevue | $1,549,224 | −5.8% | Above the limit — jumbo |
| Sammamish | $1,500,000 | −16.5% | Above the limit — jumbo |
| Redmond | $1,324,337 | −0.69% | Above the limit — jumbo |
| Kirkland | $1,295,000 | −14.9% | Above the limit — jumbo |
| Issaquah | $1,087,500 | +27.5% | Above the limit — jumbo |
| Bothell | $975,000 | −17.3% | At or under — conforming reachable |
| Seattle | $850,000 | −5.8% | Under the limit — conforming |
| Lynnwood | $746,998 | +2.4% | Under the limit — conforming |
| Renton | $720,000 | −1.6% | Under the limit — conforming |
King County figures: Northwest Multiple Listing Service, Local Market Update — August 2026, current as of September 1, 2026. City medians: Beyond Real Estate market reports, August 2026, except Redmond and Bellevue (Redfin, July 2026) and Lynnwood (Beyond Real Estate, July 2026). The 2026 conforming loan limit for King, Snohomish and Pierce counties is $1,063,750 (FHFA). Figures reported as published; never averaged.
Every one of these was written and published by the client, under their own name. Quoted as published.
“Our experience was absolutely stress-free! We were confident from day 1 as they started the selling process and proceeded to manage all the details during the time it took to sell the house. In our case, we moved out-of-state and let them manage the whole sale process for us: all we had to do was handover an extra set of keys, and they managed it.”
“Their home selling-system is matchless! Many Agents promise, [Sijy] and Ravi deliver, going above and beyond. Of course, we were abroad; so they had to make quick decisions and manage the transaction besides asking us for our timely approvals.”
“Instead of simply presenting options, they took the time to educate us on every aspect of the process, the providing additional research, ensuring we were equipped to make the best informed decisions. … Ravi and Sijy's expertise shone through, they proved to be adept negotiators, helping us secure our preferred parking spot and a seller credit for a washer/dryer – details we probably would have overlooked on our own.”
“Ravi always explained protective clauses he included in the contracts and always made it clear that his number one priority was protecting my best interests and minimizing risk. … He built a relationship of trust and respect. I never felt like just another buyer.”
“The actual home-search was just 5–10% of the whole equation… where the true strength of a Realtor lay was with their thorough knowledge of the process.”
“Ravi was intentional in asking me not to share my SSN, investments, salary and other investments with him, but with the lender instead, helping preserve confidentiality.”
“They gave us the breathing room we needed.”
“Ravi acted with warp speed, and quickly got his team to work and found an agent (Paul in Illinois) who could work with us… Fast-forward six weeks, we now are proud home-owners in Illinois.”
“When we put offers, they crafted the right contracts, protected our earnest money & mitigated our risks. We had to pull out of a couple of contracts due to unexpected surprises, and they had us totally covered. They negotiate as if it's their purchase!”
“We appreciate their ‘No Detail spared’ approach while helping sell or buy real estate as missing details can be very costly and time consuming. This husband and wife team go the extra distance. Well beyond what is normally expected.”
Outcomes described by clients in their own published words. Individual results vary; no particular outcome is promised.
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Open your guide →Read sections 1 to 11 before your first trip. When you're ready to talk it through, we're at 425-753-4670 — or start with the videos.