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!