Marin Real Estate Pulse » Fun & News

Great Reasons to Live in Marin County

warren — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 20:56:18 +0000

Marin County is known for its outstanding quality of life. To those of us that live here that means the vast amount of usable Open Space and public parks. We also enjoy clean ocean air from the Pacific Ocean which is just over Mt. Tamalpais. Most of our population is considerate to the environment which means we recycle as much as possible and you will find an unusually high percentage of Hybrid cars.

Our schools are some of the best in California and likely rank among the top in the United States as well. Combine that with low unemployment, proximity to beaches, San Francisco, the Wine County, culture, and great shopping and you can see why this is a great place to live.

If you would like to learn more about Marin, or Marin County Real Estate contact life-long resident and Real Estate Broker, Warren Carreiro at 415-846-7286 or warren@RealtyOfMarin.com .

Favorite Marin County Farmers Market

warren — Mon, 11 May 2009 17:14:16 +0000

Of all the farmers markets in Marin, the Civic Center on Sundays is my favorite. The focus is on food, not crafts, which is what I think a “farmers” market should be. The other plus is the wide variety of lunch and food vendors.

This Sunday after shopping I had a bowl of Green Curry with rice that was out of this world.

The web site for the various Marin farmers markets is well put together and lets you see if your favorite vendors participate.

My kids like the downtown San Rafael farmers market because it is more of a party. They have live music, and an eclectic mix of people. It is also walking distance from our house which means they don’t need mom or dad to pick them up.

Warren Carreiro, Broker

Postage Rates Increase Monday

warren — Fri, 08 May 2009 19:57:04 +0000

On Monday May 11^th first class postage rates increase from 42 cents to 44 cents. You can order Forever stamps online at http://www.usps.com and save yourself the increase. Forever stamps are valid through rate increases so it makes sense to stock up.

The cost of most other shipping with the post office goes up as well on Monday. Must be nice to be able to increase your rates because your cost goes up or utilization down. Not the way the private sector works.

Happy Mother’s Day

Understanding Credit Scores

warren — Wed, 06 May 2009 20:33:15 +0000

“Understanding Credit Scores”

The only authorized online source for a free credit report is www.annualcreditreport.com under federal law, you can get a free report from each of the three national credit reporting companies every 12 months. While the credit report is free they charge a nominal fee (usually $5 to $10) to get the credit score number. Without the number all you see is open and closed accounts, balances, and limits. This is all good information to know.

This link takes you to a government web site that has tips on how to improve your credit score. http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/creditscore/

It is important to know that just having your credit checked multiple times can hurt your credit score. This often occurs when using multiple brokers or banks for home or auto loans. This is not the case when you access your own report via the source cited above.

Today’s tip on Marin housing:

For single family homes $500,000 and under it is a sellers’ market in Marin. As of May 5^th, 2009 62% of those home listed in BARIES Marin MLS are in escrow.

If you hear of anyone interested in homes please remember my tagline.

“Homes you love. Advice you trust.”

Regards,

Warren Carreiro, Broker

www.RealtyOfMarin.com

warren@realtyofmarin.com

Frank Howard Allen Realtors

San Rafael, CA

415-846-7286

Stock Market Allows Bets On Housing Market

warren — Wed, 06 May 2009 17:56:20 +0000

The Wall Street Journal reported on new housing market trust that will be publicly traded soon. One trust bets on house prices going up and the other on downward prices. This is one way to get into the housing market without actually purchasing a home, and of course you will not own any real estate, just a stock.

This is one way for the Bulls or Bears to put their money where their mouth is. And, while it might be use for that purpose it seems more likely that banks or pension funds with large exposure to the housing market might use this as a way to hedge excess exposure to the housing market.

For details of the article follow this link.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124148254611085425.html

Warren Carreiro, Broker