March 1st, 2008 By Ginger Wilcox

Many cities and towns in Marin County require mandatory re-sale inspections before a seller transfers home ownership to a buyer.

Marin Cities that require resale inspections

• Belvedere
• Corte Madera
• Fairfax
• Larkspur
• Mill Valley
• Novato
• San Anselmo
• San Rafael
• Tiburon

Fees range widely from about $100 to close to $300 in Novato.  Ouch!  In addition, what is inspected during these inspections vary widely.  Most check to make sure permits for any property improvements have been pulled.   The cities also note issues that may not be compliant with current building codes, check on zoning, property usage, etc. Re-sale inspections in Marin county do not cover property condition, quality of construction, general defects with the property, termites, etc.  Look for a general home inspection and a termite inspection to cover these items.

Marin sellers are strongly encouraged to perform the city/town re-sale inspections prior to going on their market.  Your Marin real estate agent should help you arrange this.  Some Marin cities and towns take an extended period of time to schedule inspections and also to return the inspection report.  If you do not get the report in time, you could end up delaying close of escrow.

If you have not pulled permits, you may be fined, asked to pull those permits retroactively and in some instances, sellers have been asked to remove unpermitted improvements. 

I have seen many deals fall apart after the reports are returned on a city/town resale inspection.  Buyers don’t like surprises at the last minute.  It is much better to know any issues relating to the city inspection before you find a buyer!

Marin home buyers:  Never sign off on your resale inspection unless you have seen the report in your hands.  Even if you attend the inspection, the city inspector may add mandatory items that you aren’t expecting.  View the actual report.  Some Marin cities and towns (such as Tiburon)do a re-inspection of required items (with an additional fee).  If you fail to make corrections within your allotted time period, you may get fined per day.  At last check, Tiburon fines racked up fines at a cool $103 a day.    Now that can add up quickly!

February 11th, 2008 By Ginger Wilcox

The median home sale price in Novato was $637,000 in January 2008.  The number of Novato homes on the market increased just over 21% from one year ago.   The number of homes going in to contract increased 8%, a positive sign for Novato.  The number of homes sold decreased by 6 units or 33.33%. 

The average days on the market in Novato was 92, up slightly from 88 days in January 2007.

*Single family homes only

January 18th, 2008 By Ginger Wilcox

The city of Novato was named the the “Best Affordable Suburb in California” by Sperling’s BestPlaces. Novato is definitely the most affordable spot in Marin. In addition, Sperling ranks it high because of factors like low crime and good schools. If you are thinking about moving to Novato, this 3.5 minute video is worth a look.

December 30th, 2007 By Ginger Wilcox

Many Marin County home sellers took their homes off the market over the holidays. This helped overall stats. Despite the holidays, we still saw quite a few homes go into contract. Many areas of Marin are considered seller’s markets including Corte Madera, San Anselmo, Sausalito and Mill Valley. The situation in Novato still looks dismal. Below are the stats by city. These numbers are likely to fluctuate widely after the New Year when sellers put their homes on the market.

Marin Market Update By City

• Over 35% in contract is usually indicative of a sellers’ market.
• Under 25% in contract is usually indicative of a buyers’ market.
• 25%-35% in contract indicates a balanced market.

*Marin County Real Estate statistics pulled from BAREIS MLS on 12/29/2007.

November 4th, 2007 By Ginger Wilcox

Five Mill Valley homes sold (closed escrow) last week. 3 of the 5 sold over the list price, 1 sold at the list price, and 1 sold under. Does that sound like a real estate market in the tank?

Are we still seeing multiple offers? Absolutely! The best cities in Marin to negotiate below the listing prices are San Rafael and Novato.

• Belvedere- 1 below asking
• Fairfax- 1 below asking, 1 above
• Greenbrae- 1 above asking
• Kentfield- 1 at asking, 1 above
• Larkpsur-1 above asking
• Mill Valley- 1 below asking, 1 at list price, 3 above
• Novato-6 below asking, 2 at list price
• San Anselmo- 1 below asking, 1 above
• San Rafael-8 below asking, 1 above
• Sausalito -2 below asking, 1 above
• Tiburon- 3 below asking, 1 above asking

*Closed sales for week of October 27-November 3 . Information pulled from BAREIS MLS.

October 1st, 2007 By Ginger Wilcox

October 3, 2007 is International Walk & Roll to School Day! Children and adults around the globe will be walking & biking to school.

Why?

• Reduce traffic
• Get some physical activity
• Create less pollution

Teams of parents & students will have staging areas where students who live far from school can meet to join neighborhood children as they form “walking school buses” and “bike trains” to school. Check with your school to find out the location of the staging area closest to your house. According to Safe Routes to schools, the following schools have events planned for Walk & Roll:

• Fairfax: Manor and St. Rita’s
• Mill Valley: Edna Maguire, Tam Valley, Old Mill, MV Middle, Mt. Tam and Marin Horizon
• San Rafael: Vallecito, Dixie, Mary Silveira, Miller Creek, Gallinas, Glenwood, and Bahia Vista
• San Anselmo: Brookside Schools and Wade Thomas
• Tiburon: Bel Aire and Reed
• Ross: Ross School
• Corte Madera: Neil Cummins School
• Larkspur St. Patrick’s
• Kentfield: Bacich, and Kent Middle School
• West Marin: Bolinas/Stinson and Lagunitas
• Novato: Pleasant Valley, Rancho and Hill Middle School

Related Posts
Get Out and Walk to School

September 1st, 2007 By Ginger Wilcox

Initial numbers are in for August Marin real estate sales!

According to initial numbers, the median price is $1,045,000 for single family residential homes. The median price for all residential (including condos) is $947,000. This represents a 6.4% change over last year, and a 12.81% change over August 2005.

Initial sales numbers by Marin County City

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