Calling newly minted Marin Homeowners - Do you know....
How to shave $7,000 off your Marin county home's assessed value from property tax year-in and year-out?
By filing Homestead Exemption on your primary residency by February 15th each year.
Homestead Exemption
The home has to be the primary residence of the owner(s) or co-owner(s) as of 12:01 A.M. January 1 (lien date). To receive the full exemption, the application has to be filed with the Assessor's) Office by February 15th. A partial exemption will be approved, if the application is filed between February 16th and December 10th.
If the home is purchased after January 1st, the exemption is applied to the supplemental assessment, unless the prior owner received the exemption on the secured bill. The claim has to be filed within 30 days of the homeowners supplemental notice. A partial exemption is approved, if the claim form is returned prior to the due date of the first installment of the supplemental bill. More information may be obtained by calling (415) 499-7195.
Veteran's Exemption
Veterans with a 100% disability due to a service-connected injury or illness are eligible for an exemption of $100,000 on the assessed value of their home. Legislation provides the same for wives of such veterans killed on active duty. A letter of proof from the veteran's administration has to be presented at the time of application. In addition to the application form, honorable discharge papers, death certificate and a marriage certificate (if applicable) have to be included.
A $150,000 veteran's exemption is available if the applicant's annual total household income is less than $40,000. Annual filing is required for any year in which the $150,000 exemption is claimed. More information may be obtained by calling (415) 499-7206 or 499-7204,
There are othe exemptions, such as Church, College, Welfare, etc.
Please make sure you check and confirm all the details out with the Count of Marin. See link for County of Marin web page for this subject - www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/AR/main/Administration.cfm
Sylvia Barry
, Realtor, ePRO
Marin Realtor for Marin 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.
Make Dreams Real - Rotary Club of Novato Sunrise Youth Services
As is the tradition of the San Marin High School in Novato, Marin County (famous for eCO friendly and environmental mind); the San Marin SafeGrad committee is running the annual Christmas Tree Recycling Program while rasiing money for our 2009 Graduates.
For two weeks after Christmas, San Marin High community members; consists of students, parents, other community supports; and the Novato Disposal Inc. joined force once again to recycle Christmas Trees for local residents. This has become an annual event for many locals and my company, Frank Howard Allen, has become the third partner in this endeavor since 2007, I am pleased to say!
Novato Disposal provides giant dumpsters through those two weeks and the San Marin SafeGrad committee provide labor for Novatons to either drop off or pick up the XMAS trees after the holidays. Novato disposal runs a giant ad in the local paper to kick off the event and make sure we have enough dumpsters for the XMAS Trees. The trees are then grinded up and recycled.
The San Marin students enjoy dropping the XMAS tress into the dumpsters and thoroughly enjoy jumping on the trees to compress them :-). When it's not raining, it can actually be a lot of fun for the teenagers!
Lucky enough, my company, Frank Howard Allen is a community minded real estate company, and I am able to request my manager to dedicate a phone line for this purpose where people can call in and request tree pick ups. I am really proud of that!
The proceeds go to 2009 SafeGrad eventwhich will be held right after Graduation ceremony at the Novato, Marin Meridian Rolling Hills Health Club(where seems to me, half of the neighborhood belongs to). SafeGrad event, again, staffed by San Marin community, runs from 9:00PM thru 4:00AM after graduation ceremony, allowing the newly minted Graduates a place to be with their classmates one last time while having fun and stay safe and sober during one of the most memorable days in their young lives before going their separate ways!
What a Great Way to Recycle and Benefit the Community and the People We Love Most!
Sylvia Barry, Realtor, ePRO
Marin Realtor for Marin 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.
Make Dreams Real - Rotary Club of Novato Sunrise Youth Services
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 Owned) properties in Marin county, although Rare in comparison to other counties in California, we are seeing more bank owned properties 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 Rafaelare from Canal area, Terra Linda, Spinnaker Point, Santa Venetia 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 your custom touch!
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
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.
REMINDER for Marin County property owners who have illegal second units should consider taking advantage of the 'Marin County Second Unit Amnesty' Program before it expires on 12/31/2008. The goal of the Amnesty program is to ensure the safe and habitable dwelling conditions for the 2nd units with incentive of reduction of up to 50% all permit fees for units that fit the requirements.
The following are required along with the application:
Following are required before permits can be issued.
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:
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.
Dogbone Meadows Dog Park in Novato, Marin County, located en route to Stafford Lake and West Marin, is probably the best dog park in Marin County, or maybe even California. Dogs often bring their people when they are on the way to the beaches.
Built by dog loving people (or shall we say, slaves of dogs), the property is around 1 acre, with tracks for dogs and human alike, and toys for dogs only. The backdrop is Open Space, part of O'Hare Park, great hiking, horseback riding trails.
This is a morning with unusual heavy fog from West Marin, a beautiful background for the dog park.
Duke (black, rescued from 2nd Chance Rescue) and Hunter (Golden) love to come here in the morning - Duke, after dropping his brother off at local high school, and Hunter, after dragging his mom for his daily 2 hour walk and play (can't say Hunter does not have a GREAT life, even Duke is envious of him!) - Hunter will chase the tennis ball and Duke will run along Hunter
Makes Happy Dogs and Happy people when their dogs are tired the rest of the day!
It's a foggy morning, but I thought it's interesting, so I snapped the pictures.
Duke and Hunter waiting for Hunter's mom to throw the ball.
Time to chase the ball!
Duke's best friend, Hunter, whose only passion is chasing the tennis ball!
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.
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Sylvia Barry & Associates provide winning real estate service in Marin, Sonoma through leading edge internet technology, experience, knowledge, competence, skills, CARE & old fashioned hard work!
EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE, PROVEN RESULTS
Marin County and South Sonoma Realtor
A Top Producing Agent and multi-year recipient of Frank Howard Allen (#1 Real.Estate. Company in Marin) Client Service Award, Sylvia provides exceptional real estate service through experience, knowledge, competence, skills and old fashioned hard work.
Sylvia brings with her 20+ years of professional experience to real estate; specializing in marketing, negotiation, tax, finance, management and internet technology. Sylvia's clients love her hands on' approach and benefit greatly from their close working relationship and full range of services provided by her team of experts.
Sylvia's clients appreciate her compassion, integrity, knowledge, experience, dedication, thoroughness, and technical background; affording them the best results both as sellers and buyers in this unprecedent economical times; and especially critical in the dynamic, global real estate market!
Frank Howard Allen Realtors One of the major advantages of working with a Realtor associated with Frank Howard Allen Realtors, the number one real estate company in Marin and Sonoma, is that you are guaranteed to receive all the care, knowledge and resource when working with the leading- edge real estate team.
#1 Marin and Sonoma Real Estate Resource
Sellling distressed homes? - Short Sale, Foreclosure, Bank Owned, REO, I handle them all. Buying a first time home, Investment property, 1031 Exchange, moving to great school districts, finding luxury property for your life style change, owning a home with distinct architecture details, located next to open space, million dollar views, plenty of acreage for prized horses; or to make wise investments in the best real estate corridor in the country - you are in god hands!
For a no obligation, free Market Analysis or complete marketing plan for your house, please email me or call me at (415) 717-0293.
Sylvia Barry provides professional Real Estate Consulting Serviice for Marin Real Estate, Novato Real Estate, San Rafael Real Estate, Corte Madera Real Estate, Kentfield Real Estate, Mill Valley Real Estate, Ross Real Estate, Belvedere Real Estate, Tiburon Real Estate, Greenbrae Real Estate, Larkspur Real Estate, Marinwood Real Estate, Nicasio Real Estate, San Anselmo Real Estate, Sonoma Real Estate, Petaluma Real Estate, Rohnert Park Real Estate, Cotati Real Estate, Marin County Real Estate, Marin County Homes, Marin County Home, Marin County Houses, Marin County House, REO, Bank Owned, Foreclosure, Short Sales.
Frank Howard Allen Client Service Award Recipient For Consistently Living Up to The Highest Standards of Service
We wanted to say congrats on all your recent listing activity. You are doing a great job in a difficult real estate year. We appreciate your team player attitude and feel fortunate to have your work ethic on our team. Fondly, Kathleen Hilken, (General Manager), Larry Brackett (CEO), Noreen Smith (CFO) - Frank Howard Allen
You have been working so hard and have a great attitude considering the challenges in the market. So proud of you that you fought and sold 6 Anthony Court. You will do well in the coming years and each challenging transaction will make you a better agent. Spiro is really in your court and very proud of your accomplishments. Keep up the good work. Fondly, Joe and I would like to thank you so much for your help this past year. We sincerely appreciate all that you did to complete the short sale of our Novato condo. As we look back on 2008, we are so thankful that we contacted you to help us. With everything that is happening in the real estate market these days, we felt extremely fortunate and lucky to have been able to sell our condo and avoid foreclosure. I know many other people have not been as fortunate. Your willingness to help us navigate the short sale process and take on this challenging situation is a tribute to you and your commitment to clients. You gave us great confidence (and relief) as you took control and worked directly with our lenders to get our petition for the short sale accepted. Then, through your diligent efforts, successfully put our condo on the market during a difficult time. You were always there to answer questions and we appreciated your sincere concern and advocacy for us with the lenders (and buyers). I know it took a lot of work and time on your part and we really appreciated it. We would gladly recommend you to any of our family or friends. We sincerely believe that without your efforts, we could have not been able to successfully complete the short sale. As in the purchase of our condo in two years earlier, your help was invaluable. Thank you again for your help and your commitment to us. We wish you a very successful 2009.
Sylvia,
Sylvia,
Larry Brackett (CEO/Owner), Noreen Smith (CFO), Kathleen Hilkin (GM) - Frank Howard Allen Realtors
Dear Sylvia,
Sylvia - Much thanks for your expert real estate advice. You helped us close the escrow as well as moral support. Frank Howard Allen is lucky to have You!
Warm regards - Suzanne and Bruce
Langston Harris
My wife, Cindy, and I have recently contracted with Sylvia Barry as a representative for the sale of our home at 49 Dowitcher Way in San Rafael, California.
Sylvia worked diligently to market and to complete the sale. We have been extremely satisfied with the results of her efforts. She was instrumental in obtaining a great price (more than we expected) and very quickly, as well. Additionally, we found her to be very easy to work with and formed a close association during the time we spent together.
We highly recommend Sylvia as a realtor who truly cares about providing good service to her clients
Kim Stephen Braun
I first met Sylvia Barry when I interviewed her for a Project Manager position at the Insurance Company I worked for. We worked together for several years afterwards until we went separate ways. When I decided to sell my house and move to Arizona, Sylvia told me that she had become a Realtor and would love to represent me.
She brought the same skills I had admired when she was a project manager to the job of real estate sale person. Thoroughness, attention to detail and follow through, making sure everyone did their jobs correctly and on time. There is an incredible amount of contractual requirements and paper work involved in selling a house. She made sure all the forms were prepared correctly and signed by all the necessary people. She also added the here-to-fore unknown to me skills of a home decorator, making suggestions as to how we could make our home more attractive to prospective buyers.
All in all, the home selling process was made much less stressful by Sylvia's skill and competence. When we got eight offers, seven over asking price, she suggested we take the best two, and ask one of them to be a backup offer. This turned out to be very foresightful, when our first offer fell through. We had already made an offer on our dream house in Arizona, and would have lost it if Sylvia hadn't been prepared.
I would highly recommend Sylvia as your Real Estate Agent. She is honest, hardworking and very competent, the best I've worked with.
Tom and Pauline Tong
We met Sylvia Barry during our first open house when we tried to sell our property in Novato by ourselves. Many realtors came out to meet us, but Sylvia stood out in the crowd. She was pleasant, straightforward and unassuming.
After we realized that we needed professional help to sell our property, we hired Sylvia to represent us.
Sylvia sold our house within two weeks. Through her hard work and persistence, we received multiple offers for our house. Sylvia guided us through the paperwork with patience and she was thorough. While the loan application and house appraisal was processed, Sylvia made numerous contacts with the buyer's agent and loan officer on our behalf. She displayed honesty and integrity. She never pressured us into any deal with which we were not completely comfortable. In the end, we were completely satisfied with the process of selling our house.
We have no hesitation to recommend Sylvia to you and are looking forward to have her represent us again in the future.
* We had to get the house appraised again so I can re-finance. It is now $779K. Thank you for helping me find this house. By the way, my mother's neighbor is planning to sell their house; I told them that they should use you. I am going over this weekend and I will tell them about you again.
* Sylvia: I really appreciate your ownership, professionalism and customer-oriented approach towards this. Sorry that you have to deal with pressures from both sides. I am planning to not just reimburse your expenses, but as I mentioned, give you a very well deserved commission and more.
* I want to said thank you very much for providing so much information. I'm deeply appreciated. I'll keep you in mind for my friends who are interesting in buying or sale real estate in Marin. I think you are very knowledgeable and resourceful about the real estate business.
* I will say that I have had several experiences with real estate agents and you are our favorite. We appreciate the information, communication, and quick responses...... We need an agent as diligent as your are in this area. I hope you can help.
* I just wanted to thank you one last time for helping us get our wonderful house. We are loving it so much and it means so much to be there this holiday season....
* So I mentioned that I have a great agent if she ever needs one...... I also had two showers, one for baby and one for bridal. All these occasions are best to rave about you. I even gave two of your cards away.
* Sylvia did a great job finding a tenant in such a short time and in a slow season..... Special thanks to Sylvia. On Saturday, She drove one hour from her home to the property to clean up the dust left from floor finishing guy. She spent 4 hours here..... Thank you, Sylvia, you've done a great job.
* You, I trust completely. In any business dealings we have had, you have never done anything that you thought was not in my best interest.
* Photos look awesome. Love the 1st MLS one with the leaves framing the entry. Sylvia, thank you so much for putting as much of your time in on our rental as you would a multimillion dollar house sale.
* Sylvia, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your helping me out. I know you are going way beyond what you would normally do for your clients. And we've only met once. We don't even have a history. Thank you again. I feel relieved that I can put the house on the back burner and concentrate on the trip and know that I won't have to worry while we are gone.
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