Marin County Property Taxes

County of Marin Tax Reassessment

OK, this really irked me. I just received the following letter in the mail from an official looking Law Firm, I'll copy the letter at the bottom of this post. People are soliciting to help Marin Homeowners have their property tax value reassessed and will charge 40% of the amount saved!!!

This is horrible. I especially feel for elder homeowners who will fall for this horrible scheme.

Attention All Marin Homeowners: do you know that there is NO COST or FEE to have Marin County reassess your property value on which it bases your property taxes?

YES, property values have gone down and it is likely that you can have your property taxes reduced, especially if your purchased your Marin Real Estate near the height of the market (2005). You may have even received a letter from the County with a reassessment, BUT it may still be possible to have your homes value assessed even lower.

All it will take will be a few minutes to fill out the County of Marin Tax Assessors Request for review of Assessment Form

All you need is 3 home comps from homes that sold no later than March 31, 2009. I would be more than happy to pull comps for you (at no charge) so you can fill out your own form.

Here is the information you will need for the form:
1. Owners Name
2. Property address
3. Property type
4. Current assessed value
5. Homeowners opinion of current value
6. Comparables (comps) of 3 properties which support the lower valuation (email me for help with this, I'm happy to help you find 3 Marin Home Sale comps

According to the tax form, you must have this form post-marked by December 31, 2009.

Here is the link to the form on the Marin County Website so you can do this yourself for FREE:
County of Marin Tax Reassessment Request

COPY OF LETTER I RECEIVED
"Colligan & Associates
1592 Union Street, Ste 488,
SF, CA 94124

Dear Liz:

My preliminary research has uncovered a possible over-assessment by the County on the above-referenced property. I appeal tax assessments for property owners on a success-only fee. My fe is Forty (40%) percent of any savings for the coming year....

Many California property owners believe that their assessments are set by Prop 13 (true) and can't be appealed (untrue). I have successfully appealed thousands of assessments since 1987. Enclosed is my contract for you to sign if you want me to appeal your assessment. Sign it, return it in the enclosed envelope. Unless I win you a tax reduction, there is no fee of any kind.

Sincerely, Terrance M Colligan"

40%!!! My goodness. This could be hundreds or thousands of dollars that the Marin homeowners should keep, not some crafty attorney!!

Please everyone. Forward a link to this post to Marin Homeowners who might possibly get taken advantage of!

How is the Marin Real Estate Market Doing?

View the HTML Version of the October 2009 Marin Real Estate Report.

The Marin County, Single Family Home Real Estate Report this week looked at 1100 homes on the market. The median price was $1,264,493. These homes have been on the market for an average of 100 days. As far as the condos report this week, there were 287 condos on the market. The median price this week is $447,808. These condos have been on the market for an average of 140 days.

September 2009 Closed Sales Single Family Residences
	Days on Market	List Price	Selling Price
Average	107	$1,108,397	$1,067,263
Median	71	$825,000	$815,000

September 2009 Closed Sales Condos
	Days on Market	List Price	Selling Price
Average	107	$399,079	$385,051
Median	94	$385,000	$389,500

If you would like to see how many current homes are listed in each town/zip code in Marin, what the median price is, square foot is, how many have just been listed and the average days on the market, please click on the following 2 reports:

Single Family Homes Report for Marin week of 10/11/09

Condo Report for Marin, week of 10/11/09

Below you will find a break down by city and price range of how many homes are in contract compared to how many homes are listed.

Analysis by Price Range: For the first time in almost two years years, the overall Marin is in a “Balanced Market” category, but this is a bit misleading. Even stronger than last month’s “Strong Sellers” the very low end of the market (homes priced under $500,000) is actually in a “Extreme Sellers” market, and like last month homes priced from $500,000 - $749,000 are in a Sellers Market which tips the overall averages. Homes priced from $750,000 - $1,490,000 have heated up a bit to a “Buyers Market”. Homes priced from $1.5M - $4M are in a “Strong Buyers” market.

Analysis by City: In the low-end market in Novato and some parts of San Rafael multiple offers have been the norm. (as can be seen by the fact that Novato is now considered to be in a “Strong Sellers” category). Keep in mind that these multiple offers and the sellers market is in the low end, where there have been numerous foreclosures and short sales. It’s very interesting to note that this month Corte Madera has really heated up to a Strong Sellers Market, as 50% of all available homes are currently under contract. ,Tiburon seems to be in the worst shape of all the cities, as only 8% of all available homes for sale are in contract, making it an “Extreme Buyers Market.” The Middle to high end of the Marin market is s still challenged, as there is a lot of inventory and it’s harder to get Jumbo loans.

If you are looking to sell your home, know that it MUST be well-priced and show in pristine condition! That’s where a good Sellers agent comes in, you need advice to help you get the house ready as well as stage/prepare it for showing. Let me know if I can help you devise a strategy to sell your home. My last 3 listing have all gone into contract the first week after I listed them! Yes, in this market! It is possible to sell your home!

It is interesting to note that number of expired listings have increased. Home sellers who are not seeing offers or who are seeing offers below expectations are taking their homes off the market.

MARIN HOME (CONDO + SFR) SALES STATISTICS - BY CITY AS OF 10/14/09
City	Total	Active	Number in Contract***	Percent in Contract*	Type of Market* (See Key)
Belvedere	42	37	5	12%	Strong Buyers
Corte Madera	42	21	21	50%	Strong Sellers
Fairfax	51	32	19	37%	Sellers
Greenbrae	49	38	11	22%	Buyers
Kentfield	42	31	11	26%	Buyers
Larkspur	39	32	7	18%	Strong Buyers
Mill Valley	182	141	41	23%	Buyers
Novato	330	152	178	54%	Strong Sellers
Ross	31	26	5	16%	Strong Buyers
San Anselmo	102	70	32	31%	Balanced
San Rafael	336	219	117	35%	Balanced
Sausalito	80	61	19	24%	Buyers
Tiburon	68	90	8	8%	Extreme Buyers
Others	105	88	17	16%	Strong Buyers
Total Marin 10/14/09	1529	1038	491	32.11%	Balanced
Total Marin 8/19/09	1533	1070	463	30.2%	Buyers
Total Marin 7/23/09	1533	1097	436	28.44%	Buyers

MARIN HOME SALES STATISTICS - BY PRICE RANGE AS OF 10/14/09
Price	Total	Active	Number in Contract***	Percent in Contract*	Type of Market* (See Key)
$100,000-$499,999	303	130	173	57%	Extreme Sellers
$500,000-$749,999	360	199	161	45%	Sellers
$750,000-$999,999	281	215	66	23%	Buyers
$1,000,000-$1,499,999	234	185	49	21%	Buyers
$1,500,000-$1,999,999	118	104	14	12%	Strong Buyers
$2,000,000-$2,499,999	71	61	10	14%	Strong Buyers
$2,500,000-$2,999,999	52	44	8	15%	Strong Buyers
$3,000,000-$3,999,999	43	38	5	12%	Strong Buyers
Over $4,000,000	66	62	4	6%	Extreme Buyers
Total	1528	1038	490	32%	Balanced

*Key to market type:
0% - 10% of Homes in Escrow: Extreme Buyers	36% - 45% of Homes in Escrow: Sellers
11% - 20% of Homes in Escrow: Strong Buyers	46% - 55% of Homes in Escrow: Strong Sellers
21% - 30% of Homes in Escrow: Buyers	56% - 100% of Homes in Escrow: Extreme Sellers
31% - 35% of Homes in Escrow: Balanced Market

**Based on information from Bay Area Real Estate Information Services, Inc. (BAREIS). Information has not been verified, is not guaranteed, and is subject to change and is based on one period of time.”

***Includes all: Sale Pending & Contingent properties

The Marin real estate market is very hard to generalize. It is a market made up of many micro markets. For complete information on a particular neighborhood or for an evaluation of your home's worth, call me. If I can help you devise a strategy, call or click the buying or selling link in the menu to the top.

If you know of anyone who would like to receive this monthly newsletter or is thinking of either buying or selling a home please let me know. I’d love your referrals!

Mill Valley Average Home Prices

The median single family home price in MILL VALLEY this week is $1,285,000. The 145 homes have been on the market for an average of 130 days.

This week saw relatively little price change from last week. However, prices continue demonstrate a nice up trend in general over the last several weeks.

Metallica to perform in benefit for 'Marin History Museum'

Metallica to perform in benefit for 'Marin History Museum'

Posted using ShareThis

Marin Towns struggle to meet housing madates

"Towns across Marin are having trouble meeting housing requirements that have been mandated by the state government and determined by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG). In Marin, only Belvedere met the June 30 deadline for submitting housing element plans.....

"The reason that it's difficult in Marin is there's a shortage of land available for development," said Peter Ramsey, a member of the Fairfax Planning Commission who also works for the Marin Housing Authority.

Much of Marin County has been set aside as permanent open space where no houses can be built, and in areas where development is encouraged there is often little space left for more housing units."

Read the full article from MarinScope:

Marin low Foreclosure rate compared to state

"San Francisco logged 70 foreclosure sales in the month of June, the fewest number of sales per population of any county in California, but still a 19 percent jump over May, according to a report released today by ForeclosureRadar.

Overall San Francisco saw one foreclosure per 11,779 residents. Two other Bay Area counties posted numbers that landed them in the top five of least foreclosure sales per population: Marin County had 50 foreclosure sales, or one per 6,037 residents; and San Mateo saw 151 foreclosures, one per 4,897 residents. In the bay Area, Contra Costa suffered the highest foreclosure numbers...."

Full article From San Francisco Business Times

Smith and Hawkins goes out of business

So long Smith & Hawken, it was nice while it lasted: The Smith & Hawken website says it all- "Thank you for 30 wonderful years in the garden."

For those of us who knew S&H back when it was that neat little store in Mill Valley with the wonderful gardening tools, Wednesday was a sad day.

Read more:

Tiburon Spy on it's residents?

Just came across this article:

The posh and picturesque town that juts into San Francisco Bay is poised to do something unprecedented: use cameras to record the license plate number of every vehicle that crosses city limits....

Situated on a peninsula, Tiburon's hillside homes and waterfront shops are accessible by only two roads, allowing police to point the special cameras known as license plate readers at every lane that leads into and out of the town of 8,800.

Here is the link to the article: Tiburon spy on license plates

What do you think?

Horrible news!!

My client's Floating Home burnt down last night!!!

After I heard the news I called Jim (my client) and he said he was going to call me to tell me "that he wanted to drop the listing price." But I had already heard the news.

My heart goes out to him. His home was crafted entirely by him, it was some of the most beautiful wood work you could imagine.

From the Marin IJ:
"Firefighters with the help of two fire boats were able to contain an explosive two-alarm blaze Thursday afternoon that gutted one houseboat and nearly destroyed another on the Sausalito waterfront.

Fire crews who arrived near the end of Liberty Dock at Waldo Point Harbor at about noon found a big column of smoke rising from a two-story houseboat at 49 Liberty Dock that was fully engulfed in flames. Fire then shot over to the neighboring houseboat at 48 Liberty Dock....

News story Link w/pictures of fire

Watch video of fire






There are more pictures of his home on my listing website:

www.48LibertyDock.com

There is going to be a benefit for Jim, my client. As soon as I know more, I'll post it here!

June Marin Real Estate News

To see the entire newsletter for June on my website:

Below you will find a break down by city and price range of how many homes are in contract compared to how many homes are listed. Overall Marin is in a “Buyers Market” category, but this is a bit misleading. The very low end of the market (homes priced under $500,000) is actually in a “Strong Sellers” market, which tips the overall averages. The high end of the market (over $2,000,000) is in an Extreme Buyers market. I think if you took out the low end of the market (condo sales) the market would be in an overall “Strong Buyers” market.
In Novato multiple offers have been the norm. (as can be seen by the fact that Novato is now considered to be in a “Strong Sellers” category).

Keep in mind that these multiple offers and the sellers market is in the low end, where there have been numerous foreclosures and short sales. The Middle to high end of the Marin market is s still challenged, as there is a lot of inventory and it’s harder to get Jumbo loans. This is especially the case for homes priced over $2,000,000.

I’ve heard of some distressed sellers taking offers for as much as $500,000 off the asking price. Every sellers’ situation is different, so It’s important that your buyers agent investigate the reasons as to why the seller is selling. If I can help you devise a strategy, feel free to contact me: Liz@BayAreaREalEstateSales.com

For readers of my newsletter, I recently listed a property downtown Mill Valley. http://www.208cortemadera.com/ This home has never before been on the market. Within the first week of listing it, I received 3 offers on the house. I was very surprised to find that all 3 of the offers came in UNDER list price. We ended up countering the buyers and closed on the house just this week (a very quick escrow) for list price: $899,000. During the entire time I was in escrow I continued to receive multiple calls a week for showings and to find out how the escrow was going. This shows to me that for the right property (this was a great fixer within 2 blocks of downtown) that there is strong interest out there for homes priced under $1M.

Foreclosure activity, in the article/chart below: you’ll see that the number of Pre-foreclosures, Auction and Bank-owned property was about the same as in May overall. The number in pre-foreclosure did decrease. If you’d like to see the bank owned homes on a map, you can do a search here: Search the Map Based REO (Bank Owned) Homes in Marin Click Here

To see the chart click here:

LIZ HAS BIG NEWS!!!

I’ve always felt that working for a locally owned Boutique brokerage was a benefit to my clients. In order to serve my clients even better, I have exciting news to announce! Vision Real Estate has merged with McGuire Real Estate.

This is from the recent press release: "This merger provides new opportunities for McGuire and its clients. With the addition of the Vision team, we are able to extend our presence in Southern Marin County. We waited for the right opportunity to partner with a technologically-savvy marketplace leader such as Vision," said Charles Moore, CEO of McGuire Real Estate.

McGuire Press Release

LIZ McCARTHY LISTINGS

208 Corte Madera Ave, Mill Valley:

Mid-Century Classic just a few blocks from downtown Mill Valley. This 1950's home has never before been on the market. Update it to current mid-century modern standards or build your dream home nestled in the redwoods just around the corner from town with it's many parks, schools and quaint shops. This home has been well-loved for many years by its owners. The gardens all around the house feature many varieties of plants and flowers and are all on drip-irrigation.
This won’t last long!
Price: $899,000
SOLD $899,000 in 41 days with 3 offers!

View the Property Website

27 Rutherford San Anselmo

This is what you have been waiting for - Fall in love with this sunny and bright 2 Bedroom, 2 Bathroom charming San Anselmo home. You'll find 1930's period details, an updated kitchen with marble counters and high-end stainless-steel appliances, hardwood floors and decorator colors. It is just up the street from one of San Anselmo's award wining elementary schools. It has a sunny deck for entertaining, a flat, grassy yard and a private drive with a locking gate. Ample storage and parking for more info and pictures. This won’t last long!!! This property is currently contingent, but we are awaiting bank approval for the short sale.

Don’t forget about Liz’s 3 other listings:

22755 S Central Ave, Sonoma

Wonderful horse/vineyard property located in convenient East Sonoma with so many amenities you have to see it in person: 5 private acres includes: Breath-taking vineyard views, an organic Chardonnay vineyard (located in prestigious Carneros Vineyard Region), gated property, custom spacious main house with 2 master bedroom suites + additional room/office (no closet), 2.5 bathrooms, granite kitchen and stainless appliances, pool, sauna and landscaped back-yard, detached guest house (1BR/1BA) with private driveway/garage, separate artist/studio/retreat, beautiful barn with 5 horse stalls, tack room, electricity and water, paddocks and turn outs, hay barn with trailer parking the property even has numerous redwood trees for peace and tranquility.

Price reduced again – Make any offer, very motivated Seller!!

Price: $1,199,000 (was originally $1,790,000!)

www.SonomaHorseProperty.com

48 Liberty Dock

Enjoy the Waterfront lifestyle in this almost new Floating Home in Sausalito. Stunning Remodeled home with Amazing attention to detail. Custom wood-work makes this home shine. It features an open floor plan and a full-size kitchen with plenty of beautiful maple cabinets, granite counters, stainless appliances and even a hidden drawer dish-washer. Down the wood stairs are 2 bedrooms and a full-size bathroom. The granite and limestone bathroom features a gigantic soaking tub, and full size shower. The attention to detail and quality throughout this home is hard to match. Peaceful mountain and water views. Come enjoy the lifestyle of living on a Floating home! On a highly coveted dock in a premier deep water location. Only 10 minutes from SF.

www.48LibertyDock.com

WHAT DO LIZ'S CLIENT'S SAY?

"We contacted Liz McCarthy after doing much research on the agencies in the area. We were attracted by the small, boutique nature of her agency as well as the fact that she is e-Pro certified. We were gifted a home through the estate of an alumnus and needed someone who could work efficiently through electronic means. She did a superb job coordinating clean-up, advertising and negotiating in very unusual circumstances.

Liz provided timely advice, support, and communication that kept the selling process going forward. Every phone call was returned and feedback given after every showing. We were in contract within weeks of the listing and her negotiations got us top dollar. We appreciate all she has done for us and would not hesitate to refer her to anyone looking to sell their home in the Mill Valley area."

- The Ohio State University Foundation, Columbus, Ohio (June 2009)

To see the entire newsletter for June on my website:

April Marin Real Estate News

Home sales in Marin bounced off the low set in February, rising 44.3%. Year-over-year, home sales were off 14.6%. Year-to-date, home sales are down 21.3%.
The median price for single-family, re-sale homes reversed course again in March, rising 9.9% from February. Year-over-year, the median price is down 21.2%.

The following chart tracks each property sale from March and shows the percentage of the listing price the seller received compared to how many days the property was on the market.





The chart shows that properly priced homes sell quickly and for close to, if not more than, their asking pricing.

Condo sales were up 6.3% year-over-year. Year-to-date, condo sales are up 24%. The median price for condos in Marin County fell 7.8% from February, a drop of 48.2% compared to March 2008.
If you have any questions please call me at 415-250-4929 or drop me an email.


The real estate market is very hard to generalize. It is a market made up of many micro markets. For complete information on a particular neighborhood or for an evaluation of your home's worth, call me.
If I can help you devise a strategy, call or click the buyers or sellers link to the top.
The sales price to list price ratio fell 0.6 of a point to 93.3%. The number of days it took to put a home into escrow rose sixteen to 102 days in March

To read this entire stats article visit the link on my website here:

FORECLOSURES/BANK OWNED AND AUCTION PROPERTIES AS OF 4/24/09

I get asked all the time to look for deals, as buyers want to purchase a "Foreclosed Property" or are looking for homes that are 50% of their value (as many parts of the country have had dramatic price reductions). As I've mentioned, in my many newsletters, Marin is made of of many Micro areas where home values have clearly not dropped like they have in other parts of the state/country. Yes, our prices oure down. But if you are looking for a "Foreclosure deal" be prepared that so is everyone else!

Now, let’s get into the detail on these homes and others that are on the MLS. The majority of the bank owned properties are listed on the MLS as the banks hire local real estate agents to sell the properties. In addition to these 266 bank owned there are also approximately 500 additional homes on the MLS being marketed along with these bank owned. These distressed properties will pull down the sales price for any home in the neighborhood.

To see the List of Marin Foreclosures chart click here:

Amazing Horse Property in Sonoma

This property just had a HUGE price reduction as it's entered into a short sale. What a deal now, 5 acres of land in Sonoma with 2 houses, a pool, almost an acre of Organic Chardonnay vineyards, horse barn with 5 stalls, hay barn, and an additional building for an art studio or other activities.

Original price: $1,795,000

Now: $1,295,000!

Wonderful horse/vineyard property located in convenient East Sonoma with so many amenities you have to see it in person: 5 private acres includes: Breath-taking vineyard views, an organic Chardonnay vineyard (located in prestigious Carneros Vineyard Region), gated property, custom spacious main house with 2 master bedroom suites + additional room/office (no closet), 2.5 bathrooms, granite kitchen and stainless appliances, pool, sauna and landscaped back-yard, detached guest house (1BR/1BA) with private driveway/garage, separate artist/studio/retreat, beautiful barn with 5 horse stalls, tack room, electricity and water, paddocks and turn outs, hay barn with trailer parking the property even has numerous redwood trees for peace and tranquility.

For more info go to:

http://www.sonomahorseproperty.com/

If you would like to see this Property in person contact:

Liz McCarthy

Marin and Sonoma Real Estate

www.BayAreaRealEstateSales.com

415-250-4929

2 New Floating Homes

I have 2 fabulous Sausalito Floating Homes that have both just been listed. Are you looking for a once in a life time opportunity to live directly on the San Francisco Bay?

No similarly priced condo could ever match the opportunity of living on the water.

Here are more details:

48 Liberty Dock

Price: $679,000

2 bedrooms

1.5 bathrooms

This Floating home is practically new. It's been remodeled from top to bottom with impeccable attention to detail.

Enjoy the Waterfront lifestyle in this almost new Floating Home in Sausalito. Stunning Remodeled home with Amazing attention to detail. Custom wood-work makes this home shine. It features an open floor plan and a full-size kitchen with plenty of beautiful maple cabinets, granite counters, stainless appliances and even a hidden drawer dish-washer. Down the wood stairs are 2 bedrooms and a full-size bathroom. The granite and limestone bathroom features a gigantic soaking tub, and full size shower. The attention to detail and quality throughout this home is hard to match. Peaceful mountain and water views. Come enjoy the lifestyle of living on a Floating home! On a highly coveted dock in a premier deep water location. Only 10 minutes from SF.

More details and pictures: http://www.48libertydock.com/

47 Liberty Dock

Price $549,000

2 bedrooms

1 bathroom

More info, video and pictures:

http://www.47libertydock.com/

Tranquility, Sunshine, Great Neighbors, Stunning Views & only 10 minutes from San Francisco. One of Sausalito's finest internationally renowned Floating Home communities, this contemporary jewel is bright and sunny with an open floor plan and amazing views of Mt Tam and the Lagoon. On a highly coveted dock in a premier deep water corner berth. Kitchen newly updated with granite counters & new cabinets. Bathroom newly updated with custom vanity, concrete counters, bidet toilet and glass tiles. Brand new Brazilian Cherry wide plank hardwood floors throughout. A special old-fashioned neighborhood where people are happy and say hello. No similarly priced condo can match this enchanted waterfront home. Live the seaside dream.

If this isn't the Floating Home you are looking for, you can view all the listed floating homes for sale here:

Or, if you are looking for a traditional Sausalito Home or Condo for sale, click on the links.

Sausalito Homes for sale

Sausalito Condos for sale

View all the Marin Homes for sale

For more information on either of these properties, feel free to call or email

Liz McCarthy, Real Estate Broker:

415-250-4929

Liz@BayAreaRealEstateSales.com

http://www.bayarearealestatesales.com/