Hi there,
I’m Brandon
About Brandon:
I’ve been enjoying the Northwest way of life, family, the outdoors, and a career in Bellingham since 2003. In that time, I’ve had the pleasure of helping hundreds of clients confidently navigate their home and investment purchases and sales.
I know very well that buying or selling property can be daunting. It often means walking through unfamiliar territory while making a series of big decisions in a short timeframe. To work with the right Realtor is to slow down time, to ask and answer the right questions in the right order, and to consult with the right people throughout the process. When you have a committed professional guiding and supporting you through each step, you can move forward with an informed confidence.
My work prior to becoming a Realtor includes residential construction, general contracting, and home inspection. That background continues to be a great asset for my clients. Well beyond the sale, I am called on to advise on repairs or remodels, recommend trusted sub-contractors or specialty services, analyze an investment portfolio, or navigate local ordinances and zoning laws.
Community support is also a passion of mine as a volunteer at the Bellingham Senior Activity Center, and as a Meals on Wheels delivery driver. Also, in recent years, it’s become an honor to be asked to donate a chainsaw carving or piece of live edge furniture to many of the area’s fundraisers and auctions. The strength of community in Bellingham and Whatcom County is a major part of the character here, and I’m proud to be a contributing member.
Together with my wife, Heather, and our kids Hayden and Jazzy, we live just outside Bellingham city limits on Squalicum Mountain, north of Lake Whatcom. Caring for our property, its trees and trails, maintaining our own house and various other buildings, keeps me very active and my construction skills tuned.
Please read some of my past clients' reviews on our work together, which you can find here. Then, schedule an appointment or call with me, and let’s start with a conversation about your specific goals and your up-front questions.
I look forward to working together.
I’m all about houses
Long before I ever helped a buyer or seller, I made my living as a home inspector right here in Whatcom County.
After graduating from Bellingham Technical College’s Home Inspector program in early 2004, I apprenticed under 3 experienced inspectors and then launched “KnowYourHouse.net Home Inspections.”
For the following 3 years I professionally inspected over 700 houses. The experience was invaluable, filling my brain with all the ins and outs of residential construction, common problems and themes with our Pacific NW climate and its effects on materials and spaces, and learning to communicate with clients about a home’s pros and cons.
I absolutely treasure my years as an inspector, and I bring the collected knowledge from that part of my career to work with me still, every day, with every client.
I’ve often said, “If becoming a Realtor required a 4-year college program, it would have to include a year spent training and apprenticing as a home inspector.
It is the ultimate way to know houses, how to look deeply into a house and really understand it, and how to communicate about it.”
I’m a Community Volunteer
I made a commitment to do more volunteering in January 2023.
My first choice was to become a Meals on Wheels delivery driver. I signed up at the Bellingham Senior Activity Center, did their 1-hour orientation and then a ride-along with some regular drivers on their route in Bellingham. I loved it from the start.
I've been a substitute on that same route 6 or 8 times, and have tried a couple new routes out in the County. Delivering food to mostly elderly people who don't get around too well anymore is incredibly rewarding.
It's a short check-in and drop-off at each house or apartment, but the gratitude expressed by the recipients, and the sense of contribution that fills me, keeps me coming back again and again.
I also started helping to serve lunch in the Senior Center on Fridays, maybe once every other month. It's the same fulfillment, sharing smiles and a meal with my new elderly friends, hearing stories and finding things to laugh about... I've come to love it.
I highly recommend checking out the Senior Activity Center and their programs!
I’m a father of two
My family is my wife Heather, my son Hayden, and my daughter Jazzy.
We take full advantage of the NW Way of Life in and around Bellingham, its waters, its trails, and its awesome community. Our basecamp is on Squalicum Mountain, where we take care of two dogs, two cats, and 20 acres of evergreen and alder forest.
Heather and I have raced surf-skis or outrigger canoes since we moved here in 2003. Hayden, class of 2026, is a proud member of the Squalicum High School swim team, track and field team, and cross country running team. Jazzy, class of 2029, is a student at Whatcom Hills Waldorf and competes in swimming as a member of the Bellingham Bay Swim Team, and also Life Force Ninja (obstacle racing).
If you want a local’s perspective on anything outdoor recreation, racing, or sports, just email us!
I’m a chainsaw carver
In early 2019 a windstorm knocked down a 30-inch diameter tree across our driveway.
It left behind a 5-foot tall stump, and as soon as I saw it, I became obsessed with the idea of carving it into an eagle. I still laugh when I look at that crazy bird, but it lit a passion in me that I have turned into a meditative practice that I try to make time for a couple weekends a month.
I've carved sea turtles, owls, tons of salmon and whales, a fox, mostly animals. Carving is my release from the busyness of work and raising two kids.
I have a long list of different carvings I want to make over time. I usually post them on my Instagram feed. I'm often asked by people, "How did you learn how to do it?" I just say, "Grab a chunk of wood and a chainsaw, draw a simple shape, and start cutting!"
I’m an ocean kayak racer
Ocean kayak racing, or "surfskiing" as it's also called, is about as much fun as you can have in a muscle-powered boat!
Imagine sitting in a carbon fiber racing kayak as long as a ski boat but less than 18 inches wide. Your double-bladed paddle weighs mere ounces and with a few hard strokes, you accelerate onto the face of a wind wave in Bellingham Bay.
Suddenly you're moving at twice the speed you can paddle, carried by the wave for 40, 50, 80 feet as you search for another wave forming up in front of you. A few more strokes and you traverse from one wave to the next, linking them with a boost of acceleration each time.
This type of "downwind" paddling is pure magic, and there are races all over the planet where you can challenge yourself, and line up next to Olympians and world champions.
Bellingham has a strong surfski and outrigger paddling community, with races every week from March to October, and practically every weekend within a 2 hour drive of here. I definitely recommend trying it!