Bay Area California Real Estate Blog and News

I am excited to announce the sale of my client's home at 6040 Diane Court in Rohnert Park. I was able to assist the seller with pre-sale inspections, home preparation and staging. This coupled with the seller's great pride in ownership in caring for the property for the past 28 years made the home highly desirable and sold yesterday for $425,000.00.

Ice skating and Marin County aren't two words you'd typically utilize in the same sentence however I'm excited to let our friends and clients know that this will change in the very near future (at least temporarily)!

From November 10^th, 2012 thru January 5^th, 2013 there will a temporary ice rink setup outside of the Northgate Mall in San Rafael.  Known as "Marin on Ice" this temporary outdoor ice skating rink will be open 7 days a week and will feature more than 5,000 square feet of real ice.    If you don't have your own ice skates - no need to worry - skate rentals will be available.  

If you're interested in getting your ice skating groove on either before or after the Marin on Ice Event, there are a few ice skating rinks fairly...

Marin Landscape Design Ideas

As I am sitting here writing this blog, the contractors are jack hammering my concrete patio in the backyard - so it's a little hard to concentrate at the moment, but perfect time to write about my current dilemma. What to do with the backyard?

The backyard is HUGE and it has so much potential.  There is enough space for a pool, lawn, deck and even a bocce ball court.   Backyards are a huge part of California year round living and the way I end up designing this backyard can make or break my budget.  So I am going to have to consider a few things. How will we be using the yard?  How much maintenance do we want?  And what is our budget?

To get started, I am going to start gathering some...

How to add more living space to your Marin home on a budget?  There is the traditional way of adding on to a home such as adding a second story, finishing off a basement or knocking down walls and extending the foot print.  Most often a team of specialists is needed, not to mention countless design revisions, permit applications, lots of money, lots of time and what seems like never ending delays and a whole lot of patients.

And there is the new hip way-modernly designed pre-fabricated spaces. From storage sheds to full blown houses, the choices are numerous. Recently, the Marin Modern team was fortunate enough to tour one of the design homes by Blu Homes up in Healdsburg, CA. The propertywas an exquisite pre-fab home utilizing state of the artgreen build construction practices and incorporating sleek clean design lines.  The house and separate pod were beautiful to wonder through.  I am looking forward to seeing more from Blu Homes ...

Sales contingent offers, in which a prospective buyer's bid to purchase a home carries the precondition of selling their current home, have never been attractive to sellers and are generally given little consideration. In a low inventory market where multiple offers are common, few sellers see any benefit in linking the fate of their transaction to the sale of another property. Homeowners looking to buy a new residence have a few strategies they can employ to work around this issue. When lacking sufficient income to qualify with payments on both properties, borrowers can sometimes use a rental income off-set on their current home. (See my blog on using rental income from a departing home: Blog link). But many buyers need the equity from their current home for down payment funds on their future residence. An equity line of credit can sometimes work, but these are hard to come by, especially...

Gabrielle Roth,  the creator of "Sweat Your Prayers", recently passed away.She was a huge inspiration to many in the dance world.

Her five rhythms," Sweat Your Prayers" (focused dance meditation) continues to go strong around the country.

I attend the one out in San Geronimo Valley which takes place every Thursday at 7pm and goes til 9 pm. The address is: 6350 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. 94963.  The cost is $15.

There is also one in Sausalito on Sunday mornings at 8:30am and again at 11 am at Martin Luther King Gym, 100 Coloma Street Sausalito, CA 94965. Cost is also $15.

There is another Sweat Your Prayers at the new community center at Pickleweed Park on Saturday mornings at...

120 Crescent Avenue, Sausalito, Just Sold for $1,000,000!

I represented the seller of this attractive 3 Bedroom, 2 Bath Sausalito Tri-level View Home with Decks,Patios, Sauna, Wine Cellar, and 1-Car Garage. The new owners will soon be enjoying the benefits of the Sausalito Lifestyle, including beautiful views of San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz, Treasure Island, and the Bay Bridge. 

This home features hardwood floors, library, office/nursery, living room fireplace, sauna/shower, basement/laundry room, wine cellar, patios and decks. Kitchen amenities include granite countertops, maple cabinets, Bosch dishwasher, stove, Gaggenau oven, Subzero refrigerator. Close to downtown and waterfront....

Superb sophistication describes this masterfully remodeled Atrium-model Eichler home in the Rancho San Miguel neighborhood of Walnut Creek. 

This stunning mid-century home is 1,742 sqft (per tax records) and consists of four sunny bedrooms with custom closet systems, and two full baths, complete with bespoke European vanities, Cifial fixtures, Villeroy+Boch sinks and toilets and Hakatai recycled glass tile.

The kitchen, at the heart of the home, is fitted with Bosch and Fisher+Paykel appliances, granite counters and high-end custom contemporary cabinetry.  It opens to an informal dining room, and flows out to the rear garden for larger gatherings or the open-air atrium for more intimate al fresco dining...

Superb sophistication describes this masterfully upgraded, 4-bedroom/2-bath Atrium-model Eichler home at 32 San Marino Ct in Rancho San Miguel.  This mid-century masterpiece features bespoke European cabinetry throughout, designer baths with recycled glass tile, Bosch/Fisher-Paykel kitchen appliances, dual-pane floor to ceiling glass, and new exterior hardscape.

Stay tuned for more information on my new Eichler listing in Walnut Creek's Rancho San Miguel neighborhood.

Ken Fox, (510) 999-0923 phone