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Blog by the bay

Home loveMarin County, people, places, culture and real-estate

Sol Food Expanding with San Rafael Bodega

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Stephen Pringle

Sol Food, San Rafael’s hip, ultra popular Puerto Rican restaurant is opening a bodega next door to its “Big Place” location at 901 Lincoln Ave. The bodega will carry Puerto Rican goods like coffee, salad dressing and homemade hot sauce, and it’ll be the spot where they manage all of their take-out and deliveries. It’s nice to see such a great Restaurant doing so well. If you haven’t eaten there yet it’s really yummy! I love the Camarones Criollos, large prawns sauteed with fresh garlic and onions in a tomatoey sauce, served over rice, with organic salad, avocado and fried plantain. If you like chicken try the Pollo al Horno combo. Excellente!

Finding Your Dream Home Is Just The Beginning

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Ginger Wilcox

Guess what? If you’re looking for your dream home, you might end up finding it yourself. Odd for a REALTOR® to say, right? When I meet with home buyers, I always tell them that I may not find them their dream house. It is quite possible they may find it online or because their friend knows someone who is selling a house before I even know they are ready to buy. I have talked to a number of home buyers recently who felt the agent didn’t do their job because the buyer found the house, not the agent.

Buying a home is very different than it was ten years ago. Consumers are armed with a tremendous amount of data easily found online. Your real estate agent’s job isn’t just to help you find your home, their job is to help you buy your home. Finding the perfect dream home is really only a small part of a very complicated transaction. Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com or even our very own blogbythebay.com– there are literally thousands of places for home buyers to find homes. A consumer can literally be inundated with data. A good agent can help you sort through all of that data.

For some home buyers, finding that perfect dream home is much more complicated than others. I had one client who wanted space for a tennis court in an area without a lot of land. Finding their perfect property took a tremendous amount of effort and time, and required extensive research and diligence on my part. There are many homes that aren’t on the multiple listing service or on one of the 1001 home listing websites that a good agent will know about. We sell a lot of off market homes to buyers that they could never have found online, but other times clients call us and say, “Hey, we found the perfect home. We would like to buy it.”  This is often when the difficult part of our job begins.

So how do you find an agent who can not only help you find your house, but also help you buy it– aka close escrow?  There are a number of things you should look for:

  • A skilled negotiator:  The entire contract process involves a series of negotiations, even after the contract is ratified and you are in escrow. Your neighbor’s cousin who is an agent may be sweet, but can they save you money, time and aggravation by negotiating successfully for you?  This doesn’t mean you hire someone who negotiates just to hear themselves negotiate which can lead to a failed purchase- a contract falling out of escrow.  Negotiating successfully involves a series of give and take to reach the desired end result- a home purchase within the budget and time requirements.
  • An educated real estate professional:  Have they taken classes beyond the pitifully small amount required to get a real estate license?  I took all of my licensing courses online.  Quite honestly, the process was a joke.  When I finished my licensing, my real education began.  I mentored with an experienced agent and took extensive course work to make sure I had the skills needed to do my job.  Make sure your agent gets ongoing education- this business isn’t standing still.  Ask them how they stay up to date on current rules and trends.
  • A business professional: She should treat you, service providers, and other agents with professionalism and respect.  A good agent will not bad mouth her competition, nor her other clients, even if it is deserved.
  • An organizer: Your agent is essentially your project manager to get your transaction closed.  Nobody wants a sloppy project manager.  A missed deadline in a contract could mean the loss of not only the transaction, but possibly an earnest money deposit for you.  An average earnest money deposit in Marin County is about $30,000.  I wouldn’t call that chump change.
  • Trustworthy: Are they looking out for your best interests?  We talk our clients out of buying homes we think are a bad investment all the time.  Make sure your agent will do the same.
  • Mobile: If your agent can’t assist you while out in the field, they can’t work for you the majority of the time.  Successful agents are not in their offices.  Find someone who is mobile and can assist you on the go.
  • Tech Savvy: If your agent is mobile, they are probably not a technological neanderthal.  This is a good test.  Your agent doesn’t have to be a tech guru but they need to be up to date on the latest tech tools to not only help you find your house, but manage the transaction process along the way.
  • Local: We see many failed transactions with out of area agents.  The majority of out of area agents don’t know the intricacies of the individual county, city and even subdivision rules that can impact a home purchase and later on, a home’s resale value.  Hire a local agent who knows not only the rules and regs, but also has a pulse on the local real estate market and knows the local agents who will be influencing the transaction process.
  • Good with the numbers: Buying a home can very emotional, but it is also a major financial purchase.  Your agent should be providing you comparable sales and comprehensive real estate market stats, charts & reports to help guide your decision making process, and should be giving you informed advice about the value of the home.

Your agent may not be the person who finds you the dream home, but a great agent will help make the complicated home buying process successful, no matter who found the property.

Organic Food and Music Festival in Fairfax

Posted on August 3, 2010 by George Crowe

Peace, sustainability, reggae, and fire dancing will all be in the mix at the Good Festival, happening this Saturday in downtown Fairfax. Sounds like a great opportunity to channel your inner hippie and see a side of Marin that sometimes gets lost amid the Range Rovers these days. It’s on from 11-6 on Saturday, August 7th at Bolinas Park.

Neighborhood to Watch: San Francisco Blvd/Memorial Park

Posted on July 23, 2010 by Stephen Pringle

One of the great things about Marin is the diverse array of cool neighborhoods to choose from when you’re deciding where to buy a home. We love so many of them for a variety of reasons and we’re constantly working to document them all in the Marin Neighborhoods section of the website, but we’ll also highlight areas that we think buyers should be sure to consider in our Neighborhoods to Watch series here on the blog.

One area we think can be a great choice for many buyers is the one surrounding San Francisco Blvd. and Memorial Park in San Anselmo. It’s got a lot of features we think make for a great Marin neighborhood:

  • Being able to walk to get coffee, the grocery store or a good breakfast spot.
  • Being close to the one of the best parks for kids in Marin where you can play baseball or play on the coolest play structures around.
  • Having your own community garden where the kids can pick their own vegetables or collect eggs from the chickens.
  • Close to open space where you can hike or run the dog.
  • Having a cool, funky neighborhood bar where you can grab an inexpensive cocktail without having to get in the car.

The area has all of these benefits while also being close enough so that you can ride your bike to downtown San Anselmo or Fairfax, and having a good selection of relatively affordable starter homes by Marin standards to boot. It’s definitely worth a look if you’re a home buyer considering San Anselmo.

Utilities Going Underground in Tiburon’s Del Mar Neighborhood

Posted on by Ginger Wilcox

Tiburon’s Del Mar neighborhood may no longer see utility lines.  The neighborhood has been fighting a court battle for nearly seven years to get utility lines buried in the neighborhood.  According to the Marin IJ, the project will impact 164 Tiburon homes.

Some homeowners in the neighborhood have been fighting the project because of issues with the homeowner assessment needed to fund the project.

This is positive news for homeowners with bay views that have been restricted by the power lines. I can’t tell you how many times I have shown property to home buyers who say “I love the house, I love the view, but the powerlines…”


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Tiburon Homes for Sale

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A Rough Marin Commute

Posted on July 20, 2010 by Ginger Wilcox

Imagine living in a place where the bike parking lot gets full…

I love this photo I snapped at the Sausalito ferry.  The fantastic climate in Marin makes environmentally friendly commuting easy and clearly people are taking those options!

San Anselmo Art & Wine Festival

Posted on July 17, 2010 by Julie Segura

27th Annual San Anselmo Art and Wine Festival this weekend!

Saturday July 17th and Sunday July 18th 10am-6pm

With the weather in San Anselmo in the 80’s what a great weekend to come out and enjoy the festivities at the Art and Wine Festival in downtown San Anselmo.  There are over 200 booths of Artists, a variety of music entertainment for both children and adults.  The activities for kids are in abundance including a puppet show, slot car racing, a train ride, a shark slide, a rock wall and magic show.

Haven’t eaten lunch yet?  Well there are also a variety of food booths from local restaurants.  Here is the entertainment guide for Saturday and Sunday:

Saturday, July 17

‘70s Bolinas Blast Stage
10 to 11 a.m.              Magic Circus  Magic act
Noon to 2 p.m.           Petty Theft (Tom Petty tribute)
3 to 6 p.m.                  The Who Show (Who tribute)

Trippin’ Tunstead Stage
10 a.m. to noon         Savannah Blue (Bluegrass)
1 to 3 p.m.                  Boys of Summer (Eagles tribute)
4 to 6 p.m.                  Zebop! (Santana tribute)

Sunday, July 18

‘70s Bolinas Blast Stage
10 a.m. to noon         Drew Harrison (the spirit of John Lennon)
12:30 to 2:30 p.m.      The Indestructables (‘70s rock)
3 to 5 p.m.                  The Sun Kings (Beatles tribute)

Trippin’ Tunstead Stage
10 a.m. to noon         Savannah Blue (Bluegrass)
12:30 to 2:30 p.m.      Wonderbread 5 (Crazy rock)
3 to 6 p.m.                  The Who Show (Who tribute)


More information

Image Courtesy of Rogersmj on Flickr

An Easy Summer Getaway: Heart’s Desire Beach on Tomales Bay

Posted on July 13, 2010 by Stephen Pringle

To beat the heat this summer try heading out to Heart’s Desire Beach at Tomales Bay State Park, just North of Inverness. It’s about 40 minutes from San Anselmo and well worth the drive, which in itself is quite relaxing and beautiful. Since it’s located on Tomales Bay and sheltered from the ocean the water is usually calm, making it one of the best beaches in Marin for families with small children. We also found that the shallow water in the summer is fairly warm, so swimming is much more pleasant than most beaches in the Bay Area. Bring your buckets and build a sand castle or bring your favorite book and just relax.

We went on a weekend and found a great place to set up our blanket and umbrella and stayed for more than three hours. It’s a good idea to bring a picnic and just make a day of it, with BBQ areas and a nice bathroom facility with showers, perfect to wash off the sand before you leave. The lower parking lot is really close to the beach so you don’t have to trek too far, but if it gets full there’s another overflow lot which is a bit more of a trek.

To get there just head out Sir Francis Drake past the town of Inverness and hang a right on Pierce Point Road until you see the sign for Tomales Bay State Park. Turn right into the park, pay the $6 fee and head down the hill to the parking lot. This is a great place to bring friends or have a playdate for the kids. We brought an extra layer of clothes just in case the fogged rolled in, which turned out to be a good idea.



Is It Wrong To Walk Away From an Underwater Mortgage?

Posted on July 10, 2010 by George Crowe

There was an interesting article in the New York Times this week based on a study showing that a higher percentage of mortgages over $1 million is delinquent than that of smaller loans. Some of the conclusions reached may be debatable, but it got me thinking about strategic default, which our friend Wikipedia defines as “the decision by a borrower to stop making payments on a debt despite having the financial ability to make the payments”. The NYT article asserts those in higher income brackets are more likely to see strategic default as a wise business decision, while Joe Sixpack continues to make the payments on his underwater mortgage. Is that really the case? And if so, who is right?

Google “strategic default” and you’ll get almost 11,000 results, including a recent 60 Minutes segment on the topic. It’s definitely a controversial subject–some say choosing to walk away from a home when you can afford to make the payments is unethical, while others think it’s strictly business and the banks have it coming since they got us in this mess to begin with. I see both sides of the argument, though after reading a lot about the subject this week I’m leaning towards thinking maybe there’s nothing wrong with a homeowner making the same kind of business decision a bank or corporation wouldn’t hesitate to make faced with a similar situation. Back in January Roger Lowenstein argued the case for strategic default in The New York Times Magazine, and he made some pretty good points:

“Mortgage holders do sign a promissory note, which is a promise to pay. But the contract explicitly details the penalty for nonpayment — surrender of the property. The borrower isn’t escaping the consequences; he is suffering them.”

If you buy into the argument that it was the irresponsible and greedy behavior of the banks that brought about the housing bubble and corresponding bust, then maybe it’s fair that they’re left holding the bag. It’s a tough question with no easy answer. What do you think?

Samuel P. Taylor – Camping in Marin

Posted on July 1, 2010 by Stephen Pringle

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Did you know that 15 miles west of San Rafael is an awesome place to camp deep in the redwoods and next to a river?  Samuel P. Taylor State park is the perfect thing to do on a weekday during the summer. The weekends are usually booked by now but there are campsites available for weekdays.

We parked the car, opened the door and the kids vanished into the wilderness. The many trails throughout the park are absolutely magical. Giant redwood trees standing next to a 3 year old girl is quite a site. We had friends come out and visit for both days and the kids went wild. They made forts in the carved out tree stumps, collected caterpillars, watched for Racoons with flashlights, went swimming in the river, built a small house out of sticks, roasted marshmallows by the fire and just felt free.

I can’t believe Samuel P. Taylor is only 20 minutes from San Anselmo. Our favorite sites are sites 42 and 43 but you have to book those in advanced. They have a 3 mile long paved road perfect for riding bikes or just strolling around. It’s also a great place to go out for the day and have a picnic or BBQ by the river. There are a lot of picnic sites so feel confident you will find a place if you go out at the last minute.

We are so lucky to live in Marin near so much nature and great places for the family to unwind and truly spend quality time together.

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