Conscious Real Estate®

Conscious Real Estate - A solutions based Realtor / Client collaboration, conscious of optimizing your lifestyle and needs through removing unhealthy and draining energy in your environment.

Goal

Our goal is to help you as our client, create your ideal environment. By understanding what your needs and goals are, we can identify the best locations that provide access to the areas you desire, while keeping in mind the key components that cause stress. Below we will cover those areas that have a large impact on our daily lives and contribute to stress. Being conscious of these items will help to create an ideal stress free environment as we help you find your new home.

Food Desert

One of the top contributors to stress, cortisol, sugar spikes and being unhealthy is the lack of healthy, organic food in close proximity. Do you currently have access to healthy eats such as Whole Foods, Sprouts, People's Pharmacy, JuiceLand, etc…? If you are surrounded by HEB, Chili’s and Taco Bell, you will be more inclined to resort to these options when in a hurry. Being conscious of the distance to your staple food items is crucial for your new environment and food should be at the forefront of your list because we all eat about 3 times per day. Instacart and other food delivery services are a great option if you can’t be close to healthy food but ideally the access to healthy food should be a top consideration.

Noise

As we get used to our environments and unintentionally develop subconscious methods to block out certain sounds throughout the day, it’s common to only think about an ambulance from time to time and maybe notice a neighbors dog barking. Conscious Real Estate® brings detail awareness to noise and by using this model, will go over many items to help enlighten you to a new way of thinking about ambient noises & sounds, so that you can eliminate potential noises in your new environment without having to find ways to block them or forcing yourself to adapt. This is often a popular topic for many of our clients that work from home, needing our help to create a peaceful environment.

Interstate Highways and Freeways

They are not all the same when it comes to traffic sounds. Being near a larger interstate Highway (where “18 Wheelers” and large delivery vehicles) commonly travel, you will likely hear much more “tire roar” produced. This ambient “roar” resonance can be heard for miles and is produced from the extremely large tires & tread on 18 wheelers. Large trucks and 18 wheelers also often use their “Jake Brake” to slow down the heavy loads and reduce wear on the wheel brakes. A Jake Brake is a really loud exhaust noise sent directly out the vertical exhaust pipes and is produced when the truck driver uses the engine brake as a method of slowing down. This engine popping noise can be heard in reasonable proximity to highways. These highway sounds may not be as obvious during peak traffic hours when the large trucks are crawling along in traffic at a slow pace, so be sure to consider paying attention to this road noise at night vs afternoon when the highway vehicles are at full speed. Highways like this will also have more traffic accidents so be aware that you will hear more sirens when near large highways as well.

Local Highways

Similar to Interstate Highways with large trucks, are local loops or highways for local transportation. These will be noisy as well from residential traffic, but the larger transportation trucks and freight 18 wheelers are restricted so the big tire noise / resonance will be less. Jake Brakes are also outlawed on the more local highways. Although you will get some road noise from general traffic, the extreme “tire roar” and associated noises from large trucks may not be as much of an issue. There will likely be less sirens as well compared to a major highway. One thing to note… in colder seasons / temperatures, sound travels further, so highway noises are sure to increase during the winter time evenings & nights.

Stop Signs, Speed Bumps & Traffic Lights in your back yard

You may not be moving close to a highway but be aware if you have a stop sign, speed bump or traffic light next to your house. Most average cars will not be heard, accelerating from a stopped position. However, the local guy on the Harley and the kid in the hot rod might become an absolute nuisance and here’s why. Being a hot rodder / race car driver myself from my past life racing Dodge Vipers, it’s easier to keep noise down to a minimal when at a constant speed on a road. However, after coming to a complete stop or slowing down for a speed bump, there will need to be an acceleration to get going again. This is where it can become annoying if your house is near a stop sign. I can assure you, there are those on a Harley or in a loud hot rod that will absolutely take advantage of a quick little acceleration “blip” of the throttle to feel their thunderous exhaust which unfortunately invades your environment.

Train Tracks

Trains can be heard from miles away. Their rumble can be somewhat soothing and comforting at times, but not when the train horn blows at the intersection down the street. We will help you identify if the community you’re considering has a track near by with a “Blow Zone”. Some communities but not all of them, have a “No Blow Zone” for trains.
High School Band, Sports Stadiums, Live Music High School bands and percussion can he heard for about a mile away during their practice. Live Music and Sports events with amplified audio can tend to travel so just another genre of sounds to be aware of. And of course the additional “obvious” noises from Airport, Fire/EMS Station near by should also be considered for your home location. One more loud noise to note is your proximity to businesses with dumpsters. If your house backs up to a business and there is a dumpster near by, not only can the smell be a concern in the summer time but those dumpsters are commonly picked up, SLAMMED and dumped into trash trucks at about 2am interrupting much needed sleep at night.

Outdoor Grounding & Exercise Sunshine, Parks, Trails, Greenbelt, Water, Gym, Etc

Getting out of the house and into the outdoors is crucial to de-stressing. Having access to “safe” parks and outdoor activities are a must. The sound of water is healing and should be considered for outdoor options and relaxation. When the weather is not as cooperative, having a gym in proximity should be a top consideration.
High Frequency & Electromagnetic Towers Power Lines, Cell Towers, Etc... Radio waves are everywhere in today's technological, high speed environment. Microwave dish towers produce electromagnetic directional radio waves that are more focused to direct a beam of information to a receiving antenna. However, Bluetooth, WIFI, mobile phones, radios are not necessarily "directional focused" and broadcast a wider radio band that interrupt our personal environments. In closer proximity environments, like apartments, you will have much more exposure from your neighbors compared to having a house on a little piece of land in the country. We are all going to have exposure in today's day and age, no matter where we are on the earth. Being conscious of your immediate surroundings and near by antennas will contribute to creating a better personal environment.

Your Commute Traffic

The ever dreaded, highest form of stress we all deal with… Traffic. We all know and understand traffic in Austin and other major cities. Even working from home, it’s something we come bumper to bumper with on a frequent basis. Traffic will always be there but being conscious of the traffic in the immediate areas of your new home is important. Is there a massive bottle neck at 5:30pm on your street or can you find an alternative route to bypass the traffic? Is there only one way in and out of your 4,000+ home community? Traffic will not be as heavy on a sunny Sunday afternoon attending an Open House at 2pm. Because of this, we highly encourage our clients to make a weekday "rush hour" drive from work to their dream home in person, and not only rely on what GPS or GOOGLE dictates the traffic condition to be. Drive the route yourself to find out if the stress level is something to consider.

Night Time, Burglar Bars

Most of the time home buyers will tour neighborhoods during the day to see the houses as best as possible. Being conscious of safety and well being, we always recommend our clients take a trip to the neighborhoods they are considering at night. This will allow them to see if there is enough lighting to make them feel safe taking an evening stroll or walking down to the mail box by themselves. One of the best immediate indicators of neighborhood crime are burglar bars on the windows and doors of houses. They are there for a reason so it’s just something to take into consideration for the environment you are choosing to create. The amount of graffiti and “tagging” are also potential concerns, as they are indicators of potential vagrants in the area. Of course downtown environments are typical of these items, but being conscious of them will help you prepare your awareness. There are also neighborhood crime reports you can find online to further your research.

Next Door Green Spaces

As real estate professionals, we never want to guarantee that green spaces next door will “always” remain green spaces. Often times in rural area neighborhoods, you can purchase a home that backs up to a “greenbelt”. Commonly, in these neighborhoods, where a MUD or PUD is established, these greenbelts are pretty secure by permitting requirements or they are there for water retention / runoff purposes. However, in more urban areas where development is always changing, we need to be conscious of the fact that the green space in the lot right across from the condo with an amazing view of Zilker Park, may not always be there. And because of this, we need to be aware that our view may change and our return on investment may change as well. For example, many beautiful high rise condominium homes lost their amazing high dollar view of Auditorium Shores once the 35 story GOOGLE building began taking shape directly in front of them.

A Fresh Start

De-Clutter Creating your new environment is an opportunity for you to take advantage of a fresh start. When you hang all of your clothes in your new closet, turn the clothes hangers around backwards so that they are hanging on the pole the opposite of how they normally hang. Live life normally and re-visit the idea 1 year later. The hangers that are STILL hanging in reverse position should be questioned. There is a reason you haven’t worn them so you might want to consider taking them to the local Goodwill to make a little more room in your closet and cut down on the clutter. You can also take advantage of the unpacking and moving in to sell items that need to go. You can make quite a bit of money on Craigslist by cleaning up an old item and taking a few good pictures along with a detailed description of what you are selling. If you didn’t do this before moving, now is the time to complete the task before getting fully settled in to your new environment.

Conscious Real Estate®

Whether moving to a new environment or re-creating your current space, Conscious Real Estate® is how we will consider these potentials to open discussion for helping you as our client make the best decision for your new environment.

Conscious Real Estate® - Clarity & Wisdom, to help you create a Lifestyle by Design.

Our passion is to provide you with the best experience possible and to ultimately help you build your ideal environment.

Our awareness of the key stressors associated with the selling & buying process, allow us to take on those stressors for you, which will allow you to remain focused on your goals and quickly get to your target.

Our systematic approach to streamline your process, will provide you with the best resources for a pleasant listing/buying experience. Before, during and after the transaction, we will remain your resource for high level professional solutions.

Our focus is Conscious Real Estate®. The Latin prefix is Con-(with) & the verb is Scio-(knowledge). We will provide you with the best holistic real estate experience, combining our knowledge and focused expertise, supporting you as our valued client.

Your confidentiality and pace is of our highest importance. We will always be mindful of your privacy and always respect your time frame.

We look forward to hearing from you, and are excited for the great opportunities ahead. Call us today to begin a wonderful journey together!

-Paul & Lindsey