Patrick Ritter

Now is not the time to purchase in Novato. It has been on a downward trend for a long while, and hasn't reached the bottom. Just take a look at the curve of sales prices and you'll see: It's like sledding on a steep hill and the bottom isn't in sight. Having said that, you don't really want to wait until the curve is going up again, because everyone will be back in the market. Best time to buy is when prices have stopped dropping (flattening curve).

If I were you, I might take a look at certain properties this winter, including expired and canceled listing. See how much the owner owes, and if they have equity, offer 25% below the last asking price.
Otherwise, watch and wait for Novato. - Sat Jun 28 2008, 10:28

For investment, I would look at areas that have an upside, where you could rent it fairly easily, and where you might find more than one unit (house and cottage, or inlaw, etc) on the same parcel. I like Gerstle Park and the West End in San Rafael.

The other investment option I like is tear-down fixer uppers that will eventually be replaced with a larger house built on it. Harder to rent and a lot of maintenance though. There are a number of "pocket" areas for these in Marin. One other possibility: a property in the Ross Valley flood zone that isn't selling or is discounted because of the flood issue, and for which you install your own flood gates, elevated pad, or other form of flood protection, thus adding value and solving the problem for the next buyer. In addition to being a real estate broker I'm a civil engineer with a lot of experience in such things. Call me to discuss. - Mon Apr 7 2008, 09:15

Buying a property through the foreclosure process is a bit challenging. You may not be able to thoroughly inspect the property, have to take it "as is", and may be bidding against the foreclosure sharks (pros who do this all the time).

What I have found to be a better avenue is to approach owners who have just missed one or more payments and have just been issued their first "notice of default (NOD)". They are not in foreclosure yet, but need to take care of their situation and may be interested in selling. I track the NODs regularly, and then compare the amount of their loans to the value of the house. The key thing is that they have some equity in the property. If they don't, it isn't worth pursuing since the banks will have to be paid first. But if they do have some equity, I would then talk to them about possibly selling. Marin doesn't have as many NODs as Sonoma or other counties, but they do come up, even in places like Ross or Tiburon, believe it or not. Let me know if I can help you in your search. - Tue Mar 4 2008, 16:53

Depending on where you live in Marin, there may be local requirements governing drainage from new construction. For example, in certain hillside areas, for new construction an upstream owner must prevent any increase in the one hundred year storm runoff, usually accomplished by construction of temporary storage facilities to reduce the peak discharge. Local codes usually follow basic California and case law regarding water rights. Typically downstream owners must accept the runoff flowing in natural channels, including peak storms. However, if an upstream owner has diverted stormwater from another water course, you may have some recourse for downstream damage. The first thing is to assess the nature of any upstream changes (if any). As a civil engineer and real estate broker, I've evaluated a lot of stormwater issues in the Bay Area, so email me with any specific questions.

Patrick Ritter, P.E.

patrick@PriRealtor.com - Sun Feb 24 2008, 16:19

Depending on where you live in Marin, there may be local requirements governing drainage from new construction. Local codes usually follow basic California and case law regarding water rights. Typically downstream owners must accept the runoff flowing in natural channels, including peak storms. However, if an upstream owner has diverted stormwater from another water course, you may have some recourse for downstream damage. The first thing is to assess the nature of any upstream changes (if any). As a civil engineer and real estate broker, I've evaluated a lot of stormwater issues in the Bay Area, so email me with any specific questions.

Patrick Ritter, P.E.

patrick@PriRealtor.com - Sun Feb 24 2008, 16:16