Enjoy The Great Outdoors of the Pacific Northwest And Build/Buy a House

The Great Outdoors

One of the big draws to the Pacific Northwest is all the outdoors has to offer. Of course, that comes with a lot of weather and rain to go along with it. When you are looking for a home, you need a real estate agent like Brian Spear on your side. He will make sure you are not subject to some of the pitfalls of such weather. You don’t want to find yourself in a home with mold or bug issues. You want something that has been well maintained and is ready for move in right away.

Understanding the Situation

The rain is what makes the Pacific Northwest so green, lush and gorgeous. It also wreaks havoc on standard homes. Wood is not always the best option. You will find many homes are made of brick and other materials in order to stave off some of the damage that comes from the constant moisture. But even these materials can have problems. You need to know what you are looking for and what to watch out or. Brian Spear can help make sure whatever home you choose is in the perfect condition.

Long Term Roof Concerns

Rain comes with leaks. Water has a funny way of finding its way in through the smallest of holes. What you might not see on a roof or in a ceiling is the infiltrations of water that you don’t expect. This stuff can lead to mold and other issues that can cause major health concerns. Brian Spear works with a reliable team of inspectors that make sure you know exactly what you are getting. You will know when the roof is going to need patching, work or replacement. A roof is not forever so it is something you have to consider when you are looking at the price of upkeep of your home. You might even want to consider replacement right away.

The Bottom Line

The price on your home is not the end all be all. You have to pay for upkeep. You want someone who has been in the business and who knows the construction side so you can plan for your financial future. This includes what the costs are going to be now as well as laying it out down the road. Brian Spear who owns Brian Spear Construction knows the area and can help you make your long term plan so that you are fiscally ready to handle whatever comes.

Brian Spear branched out beyond real estate because he saw a need. A need for homeowners to understand what the financial responsibilities were now and for the future! By understanding the real life costs of home ownership in the wild west, you are a better informed home owner. One who will not be surprised by how much a house really costs. You can develop a long term relationship with your real estate agent, one that benefits both of you and keeps your house in the best repair possible.

Why You Should Build Your Own House

There are so many reasons to find property and build your own home. Often people think this is going to cost more or take a lot more time than just buying an existing home. What you need to realize is that fixing up an already existing house to fit your terms and conditions can be much more costly and you still won’t necessarily get what you want. If you work with a real estate agent like Brian Spear you will see both sides of the puzzle. He can help you find your dream home or through the construction company help you build your dream home, whatever makes more sense.

Knowing What You Want

There are many houses on the market that might have all the features you want, but the cost of building in the Pacific Northwest right now is at a good place. If you sit down with a planner you can get exactly what you want often for the same price as taking on an existing home. This means everything is new and you don’t have to worry about things falling apart. Instead of spending on repairs or remodeling you get the home you want for a similar price. That means you and Brian Spear just have to find the right land.

Location

Another problem with buying an existing home is finding one that is in the right place. Not only do you have to find a house that fits the bill but you also need to find it in the right neighborhood. It is much easier to find property that you like and then build the home that you want. While the great houses out there are often priced to sell, it doesn’t mean they will give you all that you need in order to please your family and your long term goals.

Future Planning

Another concern is your long-term needs. Right now you might be young, have children at home and think that you can do anything. Down the road you might need to be able to move in your parents or have a wheelchair ramp as you age. By building your own home you can plan for easy transitions into such things. Planning ahead makes it much less costly when the time comes. It might not be fun to think about but it is better to financially plan now rather than when you are living on a fixed income down the road.

Brian Spear has been working in the region for years. He knows all the ins and outs of finding the right property and he runs a construction business that can help you build the home of your dreams. This means you can get everything you want at a price you can afford. His goal is not to rush you through the buying process to make a commission but rather to find you the absolute perfect house, even if that means building it. You would be amazed at how many options there are waiting for you.

Understanding Your Risk Factors

Understanding Your Risk Factors

When it comes to pharmacies and drugs, people seem to have a variety of different opinions. Brian Spear who is a research director at Northwestern knows the importance of people understanding what their own personal history is and what that means for their own healthy future. You cannot take all the risk out of life, but you can set yourself up for a healthier future, one where you can live longer and better than if you disregard your own risk factors.

Drugs Can’t Solve Everything

While there are a number of medications that can fix blood pressure and other problems like cholesterol, the goal should be to self-fix whenever possible. Getting your blood pressure under control with medication until you can lose weight or change your diet can help you but it shouldn’t be your long-term solution. You are hurting other organs when you do this. These crutches, developed to prolong life are often helping people be more lazy when it comes to long term health goals. Researchers at Northwestern, like Brian Spear, have shown that when patients take charge of their own health the effects are much longer lasting.

Understanding What They Can Do

The human genome project and other genetic studies can show you your risk factors. This means you take in this information and learn what you can do to reduce these risk factors the most. While you cannot necessarily avoid bad genetics for Alzheimers or Cancer, you can reduce the other risk factors in your life. You can give up smoking or living in high pollution areas. You can do brain games and work on your memory every day. While there is no surefire way to avoid such developments, you can reduce your chance.

Developing a Smarter Drug

The goal of people like Brian Spear is to develop smarter, healthier drugs while patients develop smarter, healthier lifestyles. While the medical field can fix many, many problems, the main way to live longer and healthier comes from you. It comes from you eating right, exercising right and living right. There are genetic disorders that must be treated by meds. There are others that are the result of laziness or being uneducated. The goal is to get people to live better so they can live longer. Even small lifestyle changes can make the difference, you just have to know your risk factors and make the changes.

Altering your diet or your lifestyle might seem overwhelming. Work with a doctor to make small changes that will lead to big changes. You want to find something that works. It needs to be something that you can stick with for the long-term, not just something that works right now. You have to understand this is a commitment for your life, not just for a week. Once you change your behavior, you will be surprised at how easy it is to stick with the program. Often your change in energy is enough to keep you motivated.

Brian Spear on the Current Healthcare System

The Healthcare System

The healthcare system has been in the forefront of the news as of late. There are so many medications and options out there and no one seems to know what is really best. Meanwhile you have researchers like Brian Spear at Northwestern trying to find the solutions to all sorts of problems. While this type of medicine is necessary, these researchers also know how important it is to have a more informed public so that everyone can lead a healthier life.

Knowing What is Bad for You

The problem is, when you are a child, your body can make up for a lot of abuse. You can eat junk food and you burn it off by running around outside. Your cells reproduce more effectively and you are set up to correct the problems. As you age this system becomes increasingly more ineffective. That is why you need to work with your doctor to know your specific problem areas before they are a problem. You can learn what is better for your body type and you can make sure you are treating your body with care. This can keep you from having to rely on drugs down the road to stay healthy.

Understanding Long Term Effects

Brian Spear has been key in trying to find out what the long term implications are for a number of behaviors. This includes using drugs to solve problems for the long term. The goals of the human genome project and other mapping ideas is to find a way beyond drugs to get people living longer and avoiding certain risk factors. Some people are going to have to take on blood pressure medications, while others can avoid it by changing their diet and their behavior. It is all about how you work and you need to be willing to put in the work to keep yourself healthy.

Understanding Food

Much of the problems in diet come from a need to be fast. People used to grow their own food or at least know where it came from. Now that is not always possible so that means you have to be willing to put more effort into what you eat. The long term solutions, as proven by Brian Spear and Northwestern, have much more to do with individuals than with companies. It is all about education and teaching people how to be healthy rather than trying to fix them after the fact.

The more health is put into the hands of the patient, the more effective the healthcare system can become. Instead of insurance companies making the decisions, the responsibility will be on you and what you do with your body. The more you know the more informed your choices can be. You will likely still have a cake and a cookie here and there, but you will also have the tools to combat the bad things that happen if you do that too often. It is not about perfection but rather about knowledge.

 

Brian Spear On Personalizing Medicine

A goal of modern medicine is the personalization of care. This means working with a primary care doctor to understand what your future holds. Certain things can be predicted and preventing problems before they occur can mean a healthier and longer life for you. That also still requires the development of healthy paths by researchers like Brian Spear at Northwestern. There is not always a clear cut path, but many people are trying to design the best path for all sorts of people to proper healthcare.

Getting Involved

Northwestern has long been studying the effects of many changes to the healthcare system as well as how people live. It is important for the people to be brought in the loop when it comes to their own health. Too many people expect doctors to fix problems rather than do the things they should to prevent problems. While this is okay, it is not safe nor good for the future of medicine. Brian Spear wants to see people understand the long term effects of their choices. The goal is to help people get healthier without the use of too much pharmacology and rather use the pharmacy to help “unfixable” problems.

Sticking to the Program

This means as the patient you have to stick to the program. A doctor needs to be able to tell you what you need to do for your health and you have to do it. If that means avoiding fried foods and eating more vegetables that is your responsibility. It might not always be enough to totally fix your blood pressure or reverse heart disease but you would be amazed at the difference it could make. Many times you don’t need drugs at all if you are willing to stick to a healthy lifestyle.

Exercise

Finally, the research of Brian Spear and others consistently shows it is about doing the hard work. That means exercise. Even when you don’t want to, you have to get with the program and find something that makes sense for you. It will not only help you internally but you will be amazed at the change to your energy level. Things that used to make you exhausted will suddenly be easy. You will find that you think more clearly and work more thoroughly than ever before. Whether you like it or not, your body is a perfect machine.

All the developments in the world have made healthy living easier and harder all at the same time. Access to bad food and sedentary lifestyles have hurt health and actually reduced the lifespan of many adults in developed nations. It is the responsibility of the people to take the power back and make sure they know what is required to live the life they want. With a little bit of effort you can learn the difference between a regular life and a stellar life just because you change your health level.

Buying a New Home

Building a home in the Pacific Northwest comes with a number of challenges. Not only do you need the right piece of property, you need to plan accordingly for the weather conditions. There are so many different areas and the rainfall plays a huge part in what type of home you need to plan. The great thing is, the property tends to be affordable so you can spend a bit more on the structure itself. This helps you get all the space you want for a price that you can afford.

Building Costs

The Pacific Northwest offers you access to a number of great raw material options when it comes to building your own home. When you find the right piece of land you can actually build your dream house rather than taking on a home that “kind of” fits. You will find contractors and building companies have a variety of options in order to make the home building process more affordable. The goal is to give you what you want, in the area that you want for a price you can afford.

Consider the Future

Despite the fact you are planning on living in this home forever, you have to think of the potential future concerns. This includes building a home that will have a good resale value should you have to move. Working with a real estate agent like Brian Spear can help you make sure you are building a home that will look appealing in the marketplace. This includes lots of closets, room to grow and plenty of bedrooms. The specific requirements of the area where you are building might be different than elsewhere, so seeking professional advice makes valid sense.

Still Tour

Despite your decision to build the home of your dreams, go look at the existing homes in the area. You want to be sure your plans make sense with what else is available. You also want to take cues from what other people have built and what other people are buying. This allows you to design a home that not only fits your vision but will have value to others should you ever have to sell. Brian Spear works with families who are buying homes as well as those who are looking to build their own in order to make the best sense of the current market climate.

There are tons of real estate agents out there who just want you to choose so they can move on to the next commission. Brian Spear understands what a large decision this is and his goal is to make sure you are happy with your purchase. He wants to work with you until it is exactly right rather than rush you through the process. This type of patience makes all the difference when it comes to getting what you really want now and in the future. This is a lifelong relationship you are building, so treat it with the respect it deserves because Brian Spear will.

 

Brian Spear Can Help You Decide Where to Buy a House

Planning a family includes choosing where to purchase a home so that you have access to the best schools. There are many excellent school districts in the Pacific Northwest. One of the key ingredients is finding the real estate agent who understands your desire and your requirements. Brian Spear not only can help you find an existing house, he can also help you find property where you could build the perfect house just for your family.

Understanding Districting

When it comes to school districts things can change over time. You cannot fully predict what your children will need or want in the future but you can set yourself up for access to the best schools. By knowing the area and what is available you can better choose your path. If you can get into a better school district, you may be able to spend more on your home because you won’t have to consider private school. In addition, know what your options are should you choose to live outside the city. Some districts allow you to pick where your children go.

Growing Family

Many people only choose a home that has the number of bedrooms they think they will need. While this is practical, you might find as you expand your brood that additional space is a requirement. By choosing a home with a basement that can be finished or an area for building an extra unit, you might lock yourself into a home that lasts longer. It is impossible to guess exactly what you will need, but working with a professional like Brian Spear, can help you anticipate the potential changes to your thinking down the road. An experienced person who has gone through this with many families is better at providing you all the data you need to make the right decision.

Think Beyond the House

Another consideration is that you might want to or have to move down the road. While that is hard to think of when you are signing a thirty year mortgage, it has become a growing reality in the housing market. That means finding a house that has great resale value. Or being willing to put in the work to make sure it has great resale value. You might be able to help yourself by thinking of your home as an investment rather than a permanent housing situation. The right real estate agent can provide you with these options.

Brian Spear not only knows the housing market but also the rental market. This means giving you all the information you need to make an informed decision that will pay off in the end. While no one can make promises when it comes to your income potential from your home, there are real considerations and facts that tend to pan out better than others. You want a person on your side who can help you see the big picture, the idea beyond the here and now and the future planning for your family.

 

Buying a Home in the Pacific Northwest

Finding a new home in the Pacific Northwest can be challenging. You want to find the right piece of property with the proximity to everything you know and love. Land is an important part of the property search given the amount of rainfall in the area. You want to have a place that is going to have the proper drainage and will be easy to keep properly landscaped. You can choose something in a neighborhood or more outside the town in order to give you greater access to the outdoors.

Think Beyond the City

One of the things you have to consider when looking at homes in the Pacific Northwest are the “outside the city” options. Often you can get much more land and even a much larger home for a fraction of the price. While you need to consider you commuting concerns, the truth is, you are often getting something that will fit better for the long run. Unless you are a true city dweller, someone who needs constant access, the country should be something you think about.

Transport and Staying in the City

Just like New York, you will find there are also more lofty options in the city if you are willing to spend the money. You will be paying for the convenience, but if it is the lifestyle you prefer, choosing city living might be the way to go. You can often cut down your fuel costs and even get rid of your vehicle altogether. These options do come in the family variety as well. It might take a bit more looking, but a good real estate agent can help you find a city option that can house all the children you plan to have and get you in a good school district.

Second Homes

Another consideration is a second home outside of the metropolitan area. You can often find a great cabin option where you can take your children to enjoy the great outdoors. By letting your real estate agent know what you are looking for both for living and vacationing. Often a real estate agent can help you find a solution that works for both. Brian Spear is great at understanding what you need and finding a way for you to afford all that you want rather than settling for something that only fits part of the bill.

It might seem like finding a house should be easy, but you have to consider your potential lifestyle in the future as well as what you are doing now. Brian Spear Construction can help keep you on track and help you make a plan that makes sense. You don’t want to overextend, but you also don’t want to limit your future options. Make sure you really know all your choices before you commit to something. The more informed you are the better prepared you will be to make a choice. You will find that you can be happy forever in your first house or make a plan to keep growing your home as you advance your career.

Beyond the Urban: The Best Real Estate in the Seattle Area

Washington State is much more than just the Seattle area. While people outside the region only tend to think of the major metropolitan area, there are so many other parts of the state. You can live in relative obscurity, out in the woods or just in an area that has access to the outdoors. Much of your decision making process has to be about what you are looking for from your lifestyle. Your extra curricular activities, long term plans and even your work will play a big part in your choice of where to live.

The Right Real Estate

Finding the right real estate in Washington might require going beyond the conventional. It is not just a search for the right house or the right piece of property, but it is a matter of combining all the pieces together. It is finding the right area that suits your job and your lifestyle. Then matching that with the right school district or proximity to the city! Brian Spear takes the time to get to know you and all the factors you and your family have on the line. It is not about getting you through the process of house buying quickly but rather correctly.

Settling

You are settling in for the long haul when you buy a house. Many real estate agents just want to get you to the final paperwork quickly rather than thinking about your whole plan. If you want to buy a house for now but plan to sell it later, that is one thing, but if you really want something that can be yours for the next 50 years, that is another. There are different considerations. One requires you think merely about resale value, while the other requires you think of all the life needs you are going to have.

Nothing is Perfect

Most real estate agents will tell you that nothing is perfect. You are never going to find that piece of property or that house that fits the total bill, but that isn’t what Brian Spear thinks. Instead he finds the way to make it perfect. There are so many options for helping a piece of property meld into the ideal home for you, but that takes patience and concern for your true needs. This is why you want an agent willing to go the extra mile. To take the time to really understand you and your family!

When you want to live outside the city there are more things to consider. You are looking at a big picture of problems that Brian Spear can help you solve. Having worked a long time in the business he knows how to anticipate your needs and your future problems. He can help you address your concerns and find the right way to go about getting you not only what you need but what you want. The Washington area is ripe with prospects, you just have to have the agent willing to find the right plot for you.

Patterns in the Housing Market Over the Last Few Years

An Interesting Market

The housing market has been challenging the past few years. There are so many different concerns between what it is doing and where it is going to how to plan for your future. Houses are not always a profitable investment but with a real estate agent like Brian Spears you can help ensure you get in a suitable house that is more likely to retain its value. It is an investment but not only financially, but also for your security. Knowing you have a safe place to live in a great neighborhood is a large part of buying a home.

Considering the Future Value

Most people currently in the housing market will probably warn you that you can never guarantee a profit. While that is true to a certain extent, you can plan so that you are likely not to take a massive loss. By working with a trusted real estate agent like Brian Spear you can make sure you are setting yourself up to be prepared for anything. That means finding a price point you can afford as well as a neighborhood that will be valuable in the future. You never know when or if you might have to sell and that means choosing wisely.

Don’t Overextend

Another concern in this marketplace is limiting your liability. While people used to want huge homes, the goal now is to make sure you can afford payments no matter what the future might bring when it comes to employment. You should spend much less than you think you can in order to set yourself up for the future. You can also help yourself in this if you have a good down payment. A real estate agent can help you estimate your overall cost of the home as well as the taxes and all your other fees so you stick with what you can afford.

Ask About Fluctuations

Brian Spear can help you go over how the housing market has fluctuated over the past decade. This means showing you how the prices have changed as well as the projections for what the future might bring. This helps you understand what you are really getting into. You need to make sure you are putting yourself in the best possible position so that you can afford your home and you can ride out any changes to the market. There are no “sure” things but you can hedge your bets.

Brian Spear will present you with all your options. It is not about rushing you through the process for a commission but rather finding you the right home. The right home might not always be the biggest home or the most luxurious but rather the home that fits your budget and your family. There are so many things to consider and you cannot possibly know everything by yourself. That is why you hire someone who has worked in the business for so long that it is easy to trust them to bring you the best solutions and the best options.