real estate: Fabulous Creekside Vineyard Home on 0.43 Acres For Active, Fun Loving Marin County Homeowners - 07/19/10 07:40 PM
This fabulous Vineyard property, sited on 0.43 acres corner lot with a creek running through, is perfect for relaxation and entertainment, and made for an active, fun loving homeowners to enjoy the beautiful outdoor environment Marin County has to offer. 
The 3180sf, 5 bedrooms (or 4 bedrooms plus office) and 2 ½ baths home has all major living areas on street level for easy access.  Formal living, dining combo has an impressive fireplace with granite stonework, beautiful wood mantel as focal point. 
Professional grade chef's gourmet kitchen has slab granite counters, Hickory cabinets, six 15,000 BTU burner Thermador Cooktop, Deluxe Kitchen Aid … (2 comments)

real estate: Leisure Stroll on Mt. Burdell, Marin Open Space, Novato, CA - 02/14/10 03:29 PM
A leisurely stroll on Mt. Burdell, Marin Open Space, on a very fine, early spring day.
Sunny, warm, clear, air fresh, quiet, except for birds chirpping, grasses are green; shining with dew,flowers are budding and tiny leaves peeking out.  Water was flowing and Duke happily splashed in the stream.
We can see miles ahead all the way to the bay......
A picture perfect day!     
This is from the trailhead in Partridge Knolls .... there are many trailheads for Mt. Burdell in San Marin area, Novato, CA.
 
… (1 comments)

real estate: Santa's Little Helper at Rotary Club XMAS Tree Lot - 12/15/09 04:07 PM
A gorgeous day at the Christmas Tree lot today at Saint Vincent's Boy's School in Marinwood, San Rafael, Marin County, CA.  This is one of my Rotary Club's (Rotary Club of Novato Sunrise) annual fundraiser. 
This year we have little helper, sure makes things go faster!
Missy (at time, according to proud papa, Rik Godell (a reputable inspector), mischieve, misbehave), turns five months old tomorrow, and shs is just a bundle of energy, super sweet, and very, very smart, well behaved puppy.
The foreground is a field owned by a farmer.  We get to see cows grazing and wondering back for dinner; the background … (0 comments)

real estate: Sail The San Francisco Bay - 10/18/09 05:01 PM
My Rotary Club, Rotary Club of Novato Sunrise, recently took a sunset sail in the San Francisco Bay. 
We sailed from the dock at the Bay Model in Sausalito, sailed past the Golden Gate Bridge, around the Marin Headland and then cruised back.
The weather was perfect, warm, low wind, clear sky, the bay is as blue as it can be.  Gentle breeze and we sailed into the sun setting against that magnificant bridge.  The day after the Chinese Moon Festival brought an incredible full moon, rising behind Mt. Tam...  The city Sparkled under the moonlight...
A perfect evening with a group of … (5 comments)

real estate: Gorgeous Vineyard Area - Upscale Remodeled Home on 1/3 Creekside Lot - Open Sunday 1-4PM - 01/10/09 01:18 PM
Sylvia Barry, Realtor, ePROMarin Realtor for Marin Real Estate Marin, San Francisco North BayFrankk 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
… (0 comments)

real estate: Madrigal Feast, Novato, Marin - Come and Celebrate the Holidays! - 11/21/08 11:00 AM
There are so much talent in Novato, the north most part of Marin County, San Francisco North Bay area.  Drama, Music, Theater, Band, Choral, Dance, Visual Arts, Creative Writing, and much, much more..
One of the driving force in fostering the interest and young talent is the years-in years-out devotion of the teachers at San Marin High School Music Department; especially the dedicated Mrs. Emily Gates, who was the long term music director at San Marin High, and has recently cut down on her service, but is still the major force, beloved teacher and guidance at the music department.
One of the events Mrs Gates started and has become an … (0 comments)

real estate: Novato Real Estate, Marin Market Overview - May 28, 2008 - 06/22/08 10:45 AM

Interesting Market Trend since April 30, 2008
As there are more Short Sales and Bank Owned (REO) properties on the market, the trend is driving prices for short sales and REO properties downwards; attracting bargain hunters while higher end properties move slower and more cautiously.   
Coupled with the new programs since the announcement of the new Jumbo Loan limits, the consumers are out shopping again and will not wait when the right property comes along.  Instead of two loan threasholds, conforming (up to $417,000) and Jumbo (over $417,000); there are now three brackets - Conforming (up to $417,000), Super Conforming (between $417,000 and $729,250) and Jumbo ($729,250 and … (0 comments)

real estate: WildFire Alert - Guidelines For Mowing Grass on Marin County Open Space District - 05/29/08 05:58 PM
Today, I received the ANNUAL FIRE LETTER from the Marin County Department of Parks and Open Space.
This letter is especially critical at this time of year when fire risk is increasing; particularly with the fact that we are already facing a very dry summer season.
Here is the information on the letter, which can be found on the county website Wildfire Safety Information as well.





Excerpt from Marin County Open Space District:
GUIDELINES FOR MOWING GRASS ON MARIN COUNTY OPEN SPACE DISTRICT LAND ADJACENT TO YOUR HOME
It is extremely important that your … (2 comments)

real estate: Marin County Farmers Market Up and Running - 05/17/08 05:37 PM
MARIN COUNTY FARMERS MARKET UP AND RUNNING 
May marks the opening of most Marin County Farmers Markets, other than the newly approved Ross Farmers Market which received the authorization from the Ross Town Council on  4/10/08.
The Ross Farmers Market will run from 4 to 8PM, Thursday nights from June through September.  The market will begin after Ross School goes on summer break, to avoid traffic issues downtown. 
The following is the list of market and respective schedule as reported by local Marin paper, Marin IJ. www.MarinIJ.com
Corte Madera Farmers Market, Town Center courtyard in Corte Madera noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays year-round.. Call … (4 comments)

real estate: Pumping Gas - How to Get The Most Out of Your Money - 05/06/08 05:42 PM
With Gas price skyrocketing ($4.00+ per gallon in Marin County, CA), I really appreciate getting the follwing tips on how to effectively pump gas and save the precious commodities - money and Gas.  And yes, I have been doing everything wrong until now, and probably still will ...
1) Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold.
Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground, the more dense the gasoline. When it gets warmer, gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the … (21 comments)

real estate: Marin County Population Marks Growth in 2007 - 05/04/08 06:03 PM
According to Marin Independent Journal (Marin IJ), the populaton in Marin Country grew by 2,326 in 2007, almost a 1%  growth, the largest jump in 4 years.
Marin population grew from 255,080 to 257,406; a 0.9% growth from 01/01/2007 to 12/31/2007; which is in line with those of the state of California, which measures growth from 07/01/2006 thrun 06/30/2007.
Mill Valley had the largest growth percent wise at 1.1%, or 154 residents; San Rafael, on the contrary, saw the smallest growth of 0.7% or 392 residents. 
Property type wise, Novato has the most single-family detached homes, at 12, 196; and the … (1 comments)

real estate: Novato Real Estate, Marin County Market Overview, Week of April 30, 2008 - 04/30/08 07:07 PM

Novato Real Estate Market Review as of April 30, 2008
Novato Real Estate Market changes since March 19, 2008.  Available units changed from 376 to 436 (16% increase), in escrow changed from 82 to90 (10% increase), so we have a loss of 5% in percent in escrow. 
The biggest gain in In-Escrow is in the your bread and butter single family home price ranged from $600K to $800K and not surprisingly, the $1M to $1.25M range where the rich but not super rich are looking for homes.  The fixers and very small homes (1,000 sf or slightly more) see a drop in houses under … (0 comments)

real estate: Immaculate, Functional Updated Home - Move In Ready - 04/29/08 03:16 PM
Property Website   www.621NikkiDr.com
Starter Home, Priced at $399,000
Light and bright, extensively remodeled 3 bedrooms/3 full baths home is ready to move in. 
Family room has vaulted ceiling and brick fireplace with energy-efficient insert.  A display shelf separates family and dining area.  Sliders in the family open to back patio.    
Beautifully updated kitchen with new appliances, new cabinets, new sink/faucet, lighting.  The kitchen has an eat-in breakfast area with sliders opening to the side patio.
Vaulted ceiling in Master Suite.  One set of bedroom and bathroom conveniently located on the main floor.  Tastefully remodeled baths.
Large office in converted … (5 comments)

real estate: Upscale Town Home in Desirable Partridge Knolls. Nature Lovers' Choice, Great Schools! - 04/29/08 02:45 PM
Sought-after Townhome in Courtyard at Partridge Knolls
3 Bedrooms, 3 Full Baths, over 1700sf Living Space
property website:  www.30LittleCreek.com
Lovely Townhome, priced at $699,000.  Private and serene, this wonderful townhome is conveniently located on a PRIME location in sought-after Courtyard at Partridge Knolls nestled in the hills of Mt. Burdell.  Sited off path from foot traffic and adjacent to a strip of greenland, this home offers rare privacy. 
The house has three bedrooms and 3 full baths with one bedroom and one full bath downstairs.  The tastefully remodeled kitchen has gleaming granite counters, maple cabinets and stainless-steel appliances, with gas range and Pure Water Filtration System.  The … (3 comments)

real estate: KEY TO YOUR FUTURE - A GREAT EDUCATION - Four Marin Schools Selected as 2008 California "Distinguished Schools" - 04/10/08 04:09 PM
                    
              KEY TO YOUR FUTURE IS A GREAT EDUCATION!
        Come to Marin County - We Care for Our Children
Looking for GREAT Schools for your clients when moving to Marin County, San Francisco North Bay>?
Four Marin Schools have been selected as the 2008 California ‘Distinguished Schools' by the California State Department of Education.  
The newly minted Distinguished schools in Marin are Lu Sutton and Rancho elementary schools in Novato, Ross School in Ross and Bayside Elementary School in the Sausalito Marin City School District.
Only 343 of the states 5,250 elementary schools received the honor in 2008, which recognizes the … (2 comments)

real estate: The Two Coolest Robots Ever! Penguin Empire and for Jerry the Dog! - 04/10/08 11:38 AM
I am fortunately enough to be one of San Marin High School (Novato, Marin County, CA) Robotics Club, Penguin Empire team's mentors. 
This rookie team won the 2nd place in the First Robotics Compeitition (FRC) Davis Regional event in March, 2008; an exciting event - Check out the Video.

The chief mentor, Dave, in search of inspriring Robotics videos for the students and mentors alike, came upon a video of this robot.  Thought you'd all love it.
The Coolest Robot Ever! is the title of the email from Dave; and I would have to agree with him :-)   Duke would want … (2 comments)

real estate: Trulia Real Estate Unleashed Integration with Google Street View - 04/09/08 04:05 PM
Being one of the regular Trulia (a real estate website dedicated to providing buyers and sellers with advise and providing tools for realtors and consumers alike) contributors, it is of great interest to watch Trulia grow by leaps and bounds through the year (I think this is Trulia's second year ?).
The latest innovation unveiled is the Integration of Trulia and Google Street View.
This allows you to take a closer look of the house /areas you are interested in and from different angles.  Some may argue that this is not a difficult thing to do; however, the thought of Trulia taking the step to … (16 comments)

real estate: Great Schools, Cheap Homes - Don't Forget to Check Marin County Schools - 04/01/08 09:52 AM
Trulia took a shot at researching for affordable homes and great schools in and around the country.  The top choices are Philadelphia, Dallas and Boston.  While those are great selections, I feel that my hometown of Novato in Marin County, San Francisco North Bay was over looked.
While being in Marin county, San Francisco North Bay, we can not claim that we have the ‘Cheap Homes', but Trulia might have overlooked a couple recent articles about the Town of Novato in Marin and the quality of Marin county schools.
Marin County Schools was voted the best schools for the money by Forbes Magazine
And … (0 comments)

real estate: Green Facts About Your Marin Home - Did You Know This? - 04/01/08 02:58 AM
I came upon this fast facts about your home on the GreenBuilding.com website; thought I'd shar the Green Facts.    Did you know that -
Older toilets use 3.7-7 gallons per flush
Dishwashers use 8-14 gallons per cycle
Top-loading washers use 45 gallons/load
A dripping faucet waste 15-21 gallons per day
US water users withdraw enough water to fill a line of Olympic-size swimming pools reaching around the world EVERY DAY (300 billion gallons)
Although our planet is 71 percent water, humans depend on a mere .65 percent of the water for survival - much of which is polluted.
About a quarter of the nation's largest industrial plants … (4 comments)

real estate: Red Skelton "Pledge of Allegiance" - 03/27/08 03:00 PM
A friend at my Rotary Club sent us the link to the meanings of Pledge of Allegiance, beautifully done by Red Skelton; 30 years ago.  A Class Act!
I thought I'd share this with you all at the time of great changes, divide, worries, insecurity; here is something we should all reflect upon.  
This is a great country and let's keep it great for us and for our future generations!   
Red Skelton's Pledge of Allegiance … (3 comments)