Need help with city neighborhoods! (Seattle, Bellevue: insurance, buying a home, landscaping)

[guylocke]

Hello everyone,
I just moved to Seattle (as some of you know) and in the next 18 months I plan on buying a home. I love Seattle and have been enjoying myself immensely, but I do have one comment and hope someone can help enlighten me.

I have surely not seen every nook and cranny in Seattle - not even close. However, I have yet to find neighborhoods that suit my taste.

For example, I have been taken around to several places that have been highly recommended (and the price of homes are well over 300k) but the neighborhoods are far from stellar.

I come from a city where homes are very inexpensive and where buying a home with siding is blasphemy. I see so few brick homes in Seattle with lovely properties. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to live on Wisteria lane in the suburbs, I'm a city boy and like urban neighborhoods. Let me try and give you an example.

In Pittsburgh, where I came from, there are two particularly beautiful urban and affluent neighborhoods called Shadyside and Squirrel Hill. They are a stone's throw away from downtown and often have beautiful brick homes (some Victorian) and elegance with great landscaping.

For example, here are some pictures of the Squirrel Hill neighborhood in Pittsburgh. This is a mix of older streets and also new development. I am looking for brick homes that are very well kept in or very near Seattle proper or maybe even Bellevue. They don't have to be huge or extravagant. Thank you in advance, maybe I just haven't seen the right areas!

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[allforcats]

Brick buildings have a tendency to crack up and fall apart in earthquakes.
Siding is extremely practical, sensible and cost-effective in areas with a lot of continuous moisture in the forms of rain, showers, drizzle, mist and fog.
Every city has a different history of style, of outward development, and of building codes.
Perhaps if you prefer different construction and the current expression of different histories, you might want to consider a different city.

[seattlerain]

Brick homes are relatively rare in the Seattle area.

On top of what allforcats has already mentioned the Pacific Northwest is prime timber country...

If you really have your heart set on brick homes, you may want to try parts of Ballard...Loyal Heights, Crown Hill, and Blue Ridge.

The Bellevue area, being much newer than Seattle will have even fewer brick homes.

[Ira500]

Beacon Hill has quite a few brick homes built in the 1950's. They're usually pretty nice.

[guylocke]

Brick buildings have a tendency to crack up and fall apart in earthquakes.
Siding is extremely practical, sensible and cost-effective in areas with a lot of continuous moisture in the forms of rain, showers, drizzle, mist and fog.
Every city has a different history of style, of outward development, and of building codes.
Perhaps if you prefer different construction and the current expression of different histories, you might want to consider a different city.

I wasn't exactly criticizing, just stating some observations, but I now feel a need to respond. Siding also fades, dirties, molds, and gets brittle needing replaced while brick homes have for all intents and purposes zero maintenance after being built and last forever. Siding homes are usually somewhat less energy efficient, are built to a lesser standard of quality and water damage is actually far more common with siding than brick as water penetrates behind the panels and rots out the framework.

I am not convinced about the earthquake thing, although I admit I have no true knowledge on the matter. I do know California has a great plethora of brick homes and don't seem to be constructing mounds of siding homes in fear of earthquakes. I also know vinyl sidings burn and melt, something brick will not do, obviously.

Siding is much less expensive, that much is true initially. But in the long run, brick actually saves money after the initial investment.

Like I said, I am HARDLY criticizing Seattle and if it appears that I am, I apologize. I just grew up in a place where siding was avoided like the plague and brick homes were very much the norm. You can't blame me for not knowing any better and coming here to learn why and if I was missing anything. I simply find brick homes much more beautiful and suitable to me, but this isn't a life or death situation.

If you really have our heart set on brick homes, you may want to try parts of Ballard...Loyal Heights, Crown Hill, and Blue Ridge.

Thank you! I will look into this. I don't have my heart set as such, obviously the Seattle housing market is much different than what I am used to, but I wanted to learn a bit more before making any decisions. Buying a home is a big deal. If it is truly simply a matter of safety regarding earthquakes, I can hardly blame the city for avoiding brick.

[seattlenextyear]

Brick comes from clay, which is a lot more abundant in the Mid-Atlantic and South soils than in the "new dirt" of the West Coast.

[guylocke]

Brick comes from clay, which is a lot more abundant in the Mid-Atlantic and South soils than in the "new dirt" of the West Coast.

I see. Very interesting. I know building a brick house is much more expensive than building with siding. There is also a shortage of masons. Owning all brick homes as oppose to siding or partial-siding homes was also a sign of prestige and wealth, but that I am less concerned about, lol.

[seattlerain]

Originally Posted by guylocke

Thank you! I will look into this. I don't have my heart set as such, obviously the Seattle housing market is much different than what I am used to, but I wanted to learn a bit more before making any decisions. Buying a home is a big deal. If it is truly simply a matter of safety regarding earthquakes, I can hardly blame the city for avoiding brick.

You're welcome...

Another thing to look into when considering a brick home in the Seattle area is your insurance.

In the West, your premiums will generally be lower if you buy a solid frame structure, since it's more resistant to earthquakes...some companies also specifically exclude earthquake damage to brick homes here.

[pwright1]

One thing I noticed in Seattle, especially as a former agent, people who buy older homes with vinyl or aluminum siding rip it off the minute they get the keys. Most if not all of Seattle's older homes were not originally built with vinyl or aluminum siding. I remember one home a couple of doors down from me. It was built in 1915 and had hideous siding but when the new owners moved in it was ripped off. What's really interesting is the last time I was in northern New Jersey I notice a lot of aluminum siding, especially in Newark.

[Pittgal]

Originally Posted by allforcats

Brick buildings have a tendency to crack up and fall apart in earthquakes.
Siding is extremely practical, sensible and cost-effective in areas with a lot of continuous moisture in the forms of rain, showers, drizzle, mist and fog.
Every city has a different history of style, of outward development, and of building codes.
Perhaps if you prefer different construction and the current expression of different histories, you might want to consider a different city.