mark cooper

Mark Cooper of Keller Williams works closely with great residential real estate agents in Marin, San Francisco, and the East Bay. For over a year the residential market has been driven by short sales and bank owned properties. Mark Cooper found a great company that works with the real estate agent, and negotiates short sales with banks when an offer comes in, "short sale solutions" these guys are fantastic!

Historically, Short sales have taken over a year to close, agents new to the game will take any listing. short sale solutions" works closely with agents helping them be more selective before they take listings, and teaching buyers agents what to look for before making an offer to make sure the deal will close quickly without the headaches.

If you are considering a short sale in the SF bay area, call or email Mark Cooper 415-608-1036. Mark works closely with Real Estate Attorneys, Enrolled Agents, and the best short sale agents in town!

A few folks have asked about up front fees from the sellers, other services will ask for up front fees, these guys take 1% of the commission when it closes.

Still not convinced? click here to see more actual approval letters from banks on short sales!

Mark Cooper and his team at kw commercial handles Commercial Sales, Leasing, and Real Estate Investments in the San Francisco Bay area.

A recent client requested "distressed" NNN investments, fully leased, with actual 7+ caps, in the 1m price range, in a good locations. Here lies the problem, "Distressed" implies a high vacancy rate, a loan maturing with little or no equity, or deferred maintenance requiring capital improvements.

In this case I would swap the word "distressed" for "home run deal".

We see gas stations all the time for sale cheap, claiming to be 12+ caps. Yes, the rent is high, but the cost of required updates to the station may very well exceed the purchase price.

Sure there are deals out there, some sellers, including banks have begun to sell off performing assets to meet federal reserve deposit requirements, but even those properties are sold at market. Instead of expecting a "home run", be open for a "double" or "triple".

Determine your comfort level between price, cash flow, and appreciation. Historically, properties with high cash flow have less appreciation, and vice versa.

When clients ask for a "good location" for an investment purchase, how many miles from their home should be considered for property search? 20,50,100,200 miles? Do they plan to manage and maintain the property themselves? If so, how many hours a week are they willing to spend, and is this the best use of the buyers time?

Be sure to factor in vacancy rates, professional management, repairs, and new property tax rates at the purchase price. Always work with actual rents, not projected.

Each buyer and property are different, one person's "home run deal" can easily be a "fowl ball" for someone else.

Contact Mark Cooper with Kw Commercial to discuss your criteria for Real Estate Investments in the San Francisco Bay area. 415-608-1036 or email markcooper@kw.com

Yep the title above, "Winner, Winner, chicken dinner!" is from the Movie "21" starring Kevin Spacey. Wouldn't it great if we all could be winners? Well, now you can!

Mark Cooper and his commercial leasing team help clients negotiate great deals on office, industrial, and retail space in Mill Valley and Sausalito. Today's blog will be slightly off topic.

Mark Cooper was contacted by "Montessori De Terra Linda" last fall, asking for a donation to the school auction. Rather then come up with the average prize, Mark donated something really unique, 3 days and 2 nights camping in his 1965 Vintage airstream Safari trailer the weekend of August 14th 2009.

Response to the prize was overwhelming, rather then just allow, one winner. Mark decided to book the Olema Ranch Campground near Point Reyes for almost Two Full weeks and extend an invitation to his friends, family, clients, and business associates to camp in his Airstream at no cost other then the nightly campground fee of $42.

Its pretty booked up, but there are still some openings:

Tuesday 8/18 and Wednesday 8/19 OR Sunday night 8/23 and any consecutive nights you desire.

Check in is at 2pm, Check out the following day is at noon.

the trailer is 22' feet long, one queen bed & one full bed, fridge and small freezer (electric power) heat is gas or electric, microwave, gas stove, gas BBQ grill, gas hot water heater for sink or bathtub.

This trailer was in the 2008 Concours D' Elegance in Palo Alto. It has Mahogany Cabinets, Sunbrella upholstery, and Hawaiian bark cloth curtains.

Contact Markcooper@kw.com by email or call 415-608-1036 if you would like to discuss this once in a lifetime opportunity, camping in a vintage airstream!

Be sure to contact mark if you seek an office, industrial, or retail space in Mill Valley or Sausalito.

June and July of 2009 have been big months for Mark Cooper and his commercial real estate team in Sausalito. Leasing activity has really picked up, rates have dropped to $2 to $3 per square foot with lots of inventory on the market.

Mark Cooper specializes in Office, Industrial and Retail leasing in Sausalito and Mill Valley. Most leases are for five years, that means the 20% of all leases come due every year. Mark Cooper would be glad to come to your Marin County office, review your lease, and discuss your options and no cost. Mark's in depth leasing questionnaire will help determine what works and what doesn't with your current space. There has never been a better time to be in the market for Sausalito Office space.

Contact Mark Cooper with Kw Commercial at 415-608-1036 or email markcooper@kw.com

Mark Cooper and his commercial real estate team work with landlords and trusts to determine values and strategies with estates of five or more properties. Keep in mind, Mark Cooper is commercial real estate agent in San Francisco and Marin counties. He specializes in leasing for office, industrial, retail, luxury homes and condos in Sausalito, Mill Valley, and Corte Madera. Mark can't give tax advice, but the following are things to ask about with your tax advisers.

1) If the date of death for an estate is this year (2009), the first 3.5m is excluded from inheritance taxes.

2) you can prevent property tax reassessment by using "parent to child" and "grandparent to grandchild" exclusions. There are limits to the amount not being reassessed, but the limit is not the total of the fair market value of the property in an estate, but the total of the assessed values of all properties from property taxes, A building may be worth 5 mil today, but the property tax bill is used for value, (which is a very good thing for properties that have been in the family for years, thank you prop 13).

3) If heirs opt to buy each other out of properties, be careful of capital gains and property tax reassesment. The selling partner will either be required to pay capital gains on the difference between the basis and the sale price, or do a 1031 exchange.

4) keep in mind a 50% or greater transfer of ownership will trigger reassessment on the fair market value of the portion transferred, If an heir intens to purchase a trust property, rather then buying a partner out of a property, consider deeding it directly when it comes out of an estate and paying the other beneficiary with cash or another property. Another choice would be to leave the partner on title for 5% and only buy him out of 45%, (avoiding reassessment).

5) when multiple heirs inherit a property, it can be appraised, then a "fractional ownership deduction" may be taken from the value, this can be a reduction of up to 25%. The theory is, if the property were to be sold, its less likely that multiple owners could agree on sale terms, price, and a time frame. This reduces the likely hood of the property selling.

call or email markcooper@kw.com 415-608-1036 for a valuation of your commercial and investment properties. Mark Cooper works closely with real estate attorneys and tax advisers allowing him to step back and look at the big picture when determining a game plan to buy, sell, lease, or refinance.