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I recently listed a 4 bedroom view home located in the hills of San Rafael, California. The home consists of 2 separate units on a spacious 3/4 acre lot. Panaromic water, mountain, and town views from this mid-century home located at 77 Upper Fremont in Marin County. The updated lower unit consists of 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom, the upper unit (which requires some basic finishing work) includes 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, Both units have spacious decks for enjoying the outdoors, The property a... Read Full Post

Showcasing the best of Bay Area design, the San Francisco Winter Market: World View is the design extravaganza of the year. With entries from the American Institute of Architects, landscape architects, and interior designers, this is one of the top design trade events in northern California. Small Firms, Great Projects Exhibition One venue provides the opportunity to see the diversity of residential design and architecture available throughout San Francisco, Marin County, and the greater Bay ... Read Full Post

It's that time of year again to begin looking for inspirational ideas for renovating or redecorating your home. While countless trips to local service providers and big box retailers can be fruitful, its always nice to be able to see many of them in one central location! If you live in the Bay Area, mark your calendar for the 2008 Spring Homes Show in San Francisco which will be held later this month at the Cow Palace. Event and venue details are as follows: EVENT: San Franciso Spring Home Sh... Read Full Post

Even traditionally stable Marin County hasn’t totally escaped the credit meltdown. Sales for single-family homes priced under $1 million were down 21% in 2007, as compared with 2006, and condo sales were down 32%. Hard as it is to imagine, just under the $1 million mark is the target price for first-time home-buyers looking for real estate in Marin County. Luxury home sales remain invulnerable. Sales for Marin County homes priced over $1 million jumped by 32% last year, while $3+ million ho... Read Full Post

If the result of a recent poll of Marin County residents is a reliable indicator, Marin may be the first county in California to form a countywide power authority and plug homes and businesses into a green grid that is powered by wind, sun, and gas generated by waste products. In the poll, 74% of the 1000 people questioned were in favor of forming a Marin Cooperative for energy, and 58% said they would be willing to pay more for green power. Estimates project that the average household would ... Read Full Post

A recent study evaluating the health of California families and children has given Marin County high scores. In the 2008 State of the State’s Children report, Marin ranked above other counties throughout the state in 27 out of 31 categories, including high scores across the board for meeting educational goals and state standards. The study ranked Marin County as number 1 in the percentage of elementary school students that meet or exceed state standards in English and Math. The 2007 school ... Read Full Post

Marin County’s reputation as being innovative and progressive has once again received national recognition. Recently the American Planning Association acknowledged Marin’s efforts to involve the community in sustainable living, and named Marin County as the winner of its 2008 National Planning Excellence Award for Implementation. In announcing the award, a spokeswoman for the Association is quoted as saying “Marin County’s contribution to sustainable living merits national attention.�... Read Full Post

Imagine making a profit of $27.5M on the sale of your house. That is what a Belvedere California man is set to do when escrow on his $65M home closes next month. After purchasing the house for $5.5M in 1995, mining mogul Robert Friedland, spent nine years and $32M renovating the house before deciding to put it on the market. Even by Marin standards $65M is impressive. Admittedly the neighborhood is exclusive -- homes for sale in Tiburon are pricey and real estate in Belvedere California is ev... Read Full Post

"Happy Holidays....now take those Christmas lights down" is a message that select residents of Dillon Beach are hearing this holiday season. Located just northwest of San Francisco in Marin County, Dillon Beach is a small beach-front town popular with vacationers and Bay Area homeowners looking for a second home on the Pacific Ocean. Many residents of this intimate, sea-side community are also members of the Dillon Beach Neighborhood Association. According to the neighborhood CC&R's which... Read Full Post

To mitigate damage in its loan portfolio, Washington Mutual is closing its home loan center in San Rafael this week. The bank will, however, continue to finance homes in Marin County through its Corte Madera office. Other mortgage companies in Marin aren’t as fortunate, however. GreenPoint Mortgage in Novato, for example, has been shut down and other brokerages are laying off employees. This leads to the question “What should I do if my mortgage lender goes bankrupt?” Since your loan wi... Read Full Post