BLOG - Marin Real Estate

Just received the Rotarian's Magazine for 01/2009.  As usual, a lot of great articles, but a few caught my attention, 

One of those is 'How to Get Things Done' with just a few clear pointers. as this is time to set business goals, I thought they can be borrowed to help us succeed in 2009 at our Real Estate career.  They are all based on common sense, but oh, so much sense!

1).  Prepare before you begin a project - Make an effort to organize your physical environment.  Take a few moments to write a list a the start of each day.  Set realistic goals.

2). Tacklee the biggest challenge of your day as soon as possible.  Avoid getting bogged down in less important chores.  There can eat up your time without giving you any sense of accomplishment

3). Think, don't worry; focus, don't hurry.  Try to remain calm and stay positive.  Allowing yourself to get stressed out will only make you less productive.  If you feel your concentration slipping, close your eyes and take a brief rest.

4).  Live in the moment; concentrate on the task at hand.  Check your list daily.  Allow yourself to feel good about what you have done, and see what awaits you tomorrow.

I also love the closing statement from a fictitious philosopher named Alfred E. Neuman -

Live Every Day like it is  your last, because one of these days you are going to be right!

With all the challenges we are going to face and all the things we try to accomplish in 2009 - prepare and plan ahead, stay focused, face difficulties head on, no delaying, no weaving, work purposely and smartly, concentrate and work hard:

Live for the moment as there is no tomorrow - There is only one way to go - Success!!!  

Sylvia Barry, Realtor, ePRO
Marin Realtor for Marin Luxury Real Estate 
Marin, San Francisco North Bay
Frankk Howard Allen Realtors 
website: www.SylviaSellsMarin.com
Blog: www.AllAboutMarinHomes.com

MARIN, SONOMA, S.F. BAY AREA REAL ESTATE - Beveldere, Corte Madera, Greenbrae, Kentfield, Larkspur, Marinwood, Mill Valley, Novato, San Anselmo, San Rafael, Sausalito, Tiburon; Cotati, Penngrove, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa.   Starter Home to Luxury Property.  REO (Bank Owned), Short Sale, View Homes, Architecural Distictive Homes. Investment, 1031 Exchange

This is one of the very rare times in history where there are bank owned homes in Marin county, coupled with low interest rate, this is a great time for buyers to take advantage of the current buyers market.

I have many clients who asked me about Bank Owned (REO - Real Estate Ownedd) properties in Marin county, although Rare in comparison to other counties in California, we are seeing more bank owned properites in Marin county with the majority in Novato, then San Rafael, and trickle down to Southern Marin county.

Several of my clients have taken the opportunity and bought bank owned homes, a couple are listed on multiple listing, and one bought before the house went on multiple listing from an investor associate of whom I have built a nice working relationship with. 

A sample of currently bank owned properties are listed below - 

One unit in Belvedere, Tiburon Area  Belvedere, Tiburon, Marin County Bank Owned - Extremely desirable area, and will normally have no foreclosured properties, but there is a very special reason for this  low price/bank owned in such desirable area - ask me for details. 

One unit in Corte Madera, Larkspur area - Corte Madera, Larkspur, Marin County Bank Owned

None in Greenbrae, Kentfield - Not too surprisingly that there are no bank owned home in Kentfield, Greenbrae area considering we just had 12 offers on a basically tear down house (Trustee Sale) all because of the highly desirable location for Greenbrae, Kentfield 

None in Ross - Same reason as Greenbrae, Kentfield on why there is NO Bankowned in Ross

None in Mill Valley - Same thing about Mill Valley Bank Owned - None in such desirable area.

3 Bank Owned properties in San Anselmo - A little west, but still short commute to the city, full of charm and character, a town you don't want to miss!

21 bank owned proeprties in San Rafael - fabulous time to buy in San Rafael - these bank owned properites in San Rafael are from Canal area, Terra Linda, Spinnaker Point, Santa Vanetia area, Civic Center area, all the way to Gerstle Park.  Homes are condos, contemporary homes, Eichler homes, newer constructions, you name it!  

26 in Novato - Novato is the north most city in Marin County.  These bank owned properties in Novato, Marin make Novato a 'relatively' affordable place to live now.  Several condos have restricted usage, a couple are in flood zone, some have higher HOA fees, but most of the others are excellent buys - many are gobbled up with multiple offers - make sure you don't wait for competition if you are interested in any of these properties.

And there is even ONE in West Marin - Muir Beach Bank Owned Homes... just waiting for you to finish it up.....

My hope for 2009 is that the homeowners who own distressed homes will be able to take advantage of the government's bail out plans and avoid foreclosures.......

This means there will not be as many foreclosure properties as forecasted, and that's a good thing in my book.... So, take advantage of today's foreclosure inventories to set your foot in Marin County! 

Sylvia Barry, Realtor, ePRO
Marin Realtor for Marin Luxury Real Estate 
Marin, San Francisco North Bay
Frankk Howard Allen Realtors 
website: www.SylviaSellsMarin.com
Blog: www.AllAboutMarinHomes.com

SERVING MARIN, SONOMA, S.F. BAY AREA - FOR ALL YOUR REAL ESTATE NEEDS Beveldere, Corte Madera, Greenbrae, Kentfield, Larkspur, Marinwood, Mill Valley, Novato, San Anselmo, San Rafael, Sausalito, Tiburon; Cotati, Penngrove, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa.

The following are required along with the application:

• Completed ‘Zoning/Development Application'
• The 2nd unit was in existence prior to June 2003
• Owner needs to complete a Uniform Housing Code Inspection
• Five sets of plans, including
  • Site plan showing property lines, location of main residence and 2^nd unit and location of parking space
  • Accurately scaled floor plan for main and 2^nd unit.  
  • Second unit size must be between 220 and 750 sf - limited exceptions can be made for units that are between 750 and 1,000 sf.
• Proof that owner resides in either the main unit or the 2^nd unit

Following are required before permits can be issued.

• Complete property inspection by fire department to identify minimum fire safe requirements and fees
• Confirm water and sewer service requirements, including septic sewer disposal system requirements if applicable

Check on the link for details for the program.

Please Visit the Marin County Community Development Agency's public information counter at the Civic Center - Room 308, San Rafael, California, Monday through Friday (closed holidays), 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., or call (415) 499-6269. 

For additional information contact the following staff and state that you are interested in the Second Unit Amnesty Program Division Liaisons:

• Planning - Kristina Tierney 473-4333
• Building - Larry Grace 499-6550
• Environmental Health - Janet Mullin 499-6273
• Department of Public - Works Berenice Davidson 499-3770
• General Amnesty information - Stacey Laumann 507-2698
• Fire - Scott Alber 499-6566

Sylvia Barry, Realtor, ePRO
Marin Realtor for Marin Luxury Real Estate 
Marin, San Francisco North Bay
Frankk Howard Allen Realtors 
website: www.SylviaSellsMarin.com
Blog: www.AllAboutMarinHomes.com

SERVING MARIN, SONOMA, S.F. BAY AREA - FOR ALL YOUR REAL ESTATE NEEDS Beveldere, Corte Madera, Greenbrae, Kentfield, Larkspur, Marinwood, Mill Valley, Novato, San Anselmo, San Rafael, Sausalito, Tiburon; Cotati, Penngrove, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa.

As part of Barry family, we always look forward to, and yet, at the same time, dreaded Christmas season.  

We love to see our families and we treasure the get-togethers, but the thought of Christmas presents for our kids and the extended Barry family can be intimidating and always put a damper on our cheerful spirit.

We dread the thought of piles of presents every Christmas - we used to fly to see grandparents every Christmas and you should see  the luggage we had to haul on the Christmas trips (a lot more after Christmas) - luckily, airlines were not charging arms and legs to ship them at the time.  

The house will be littered with toys afterward.  We are not even talking about the  huge budget for presents and we really hate to just receive and not give!

To be fair, not that we are not grateful that our in-laws just LOVE to give Christmas presents to everybody and would have been totally lost if we don't 'let' him.  However, we cringe on the thoughts of the kids becoming too materialistic and expect presents rather appreciate the spirit of giving. 

As it must be for a lot of families. this Christmas Giving has become a big problem with the family; and I believe we are not the only ones who feel that way.

After many years of agony, I finally announced to my Barry side of family (yes, the American side) that we will adopt the Chinese (my side) way of giving presents. 

Our parents, relatives and/or friends will give us RED ENVELOPS for New Year's present.  They will put brand new, crisp cash in the Red Envelop with some Lucky words (good luck, Long Life, Happiness, Wealth) on the envelop and that will be our present.  We loved those. 

Since we adopted this new concept, the kids still receive a couple small presents while we give them the red envelop with cash/check for the year. 

Luckily, our kids are not big on shopping nor are they big on brand name items; they save their money for important things which they actually use a lot, such as music instruments, iPOD, upgrade of cell phones; and save the rest in their account for future.

With the way the economy is, I have a feeling that most of us will be a lot more cautions while shopping for Christmas presents.  The best thing to teach our kids now is how to be mindful while spending money, and at the same time, only buy essentials and save the rest.    

And the RED ENVELOP is a great, festive way to do just so - Celebrating true Christmas spirit of sharing, love, apprecication, learning how to be grateful for what we have while at the same time, save for the future!