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MARIN REAL ESTATE BLOG

 

Dec 19

The Marin Association of Realtors 2015 Installation

By Uncategorized

Good day MAR Members!

I hope everyone made it safely though storm-a-geddon last week. While it didn’t quite live up to the “storm-of-the-century” hype, it was plenty exciting in my neighborhood. Two huge oak trees next door blew down in the wee hours of last Thursday, and three doors down the top of a redwood tree snapped off. One of the oak trees landed on my pool heater! We’ve been slowly cleaning up in between storms.

With all the rain, it sure feels like we’re emerging from the woods as far as our three-year drought is concerned. We’re way above average in both rainfall as well as storage in our reservoirs. Honestly, we were never all that far below average in water storage here in Marin, but it’s nice to be ahead of the program. There is a long way to go in our rain season, however. Two years ago, in 2012, we had a monster December to cap off a strong start to that rainy season. Then, it never rained again once the calendar turned to 2013. So I’m going to hold off on declaring the drought over…but it sure feels like it!

MAR 2015 INSTALLATION

MAR's new President, Matt HughesMAR’s Installation last week was a great time for all! We installed MAR’s 2015 President, Matt Hughes. As I said on Tuesday, I’ve known Matt for a long time, and he will be a terrific president. He has a technology focus, and everything he has been doing has been an effort to enhance member services. He and MAR CEO Andy Fegley have been working feverishly on a new website for the association, and that looks to be ready to roll out in the coming weeks.

This year, MAR assembled a Strategic Planning Committee to define the Association’s focus in the coming years. Since this plan would be rolling out during 2015, I asked Matt to chair the committee. The result is MAR’s updated Strategic Plan, which you can reviewhere. Matt talked about the plan in his installation address, and I expect many components of the plan to be implemented and executed next year.

2014 MAR SPECIAL AWARD WINNERS

Before the installation itself, emcee and MAR member Kevin Patsel handed out some coveted awards, highlighted by MAR Member and 2012 President

David Smadback - MAR Realtor of the YearDavid Smadback winning REALTOR® of the Year. David is a tremendous public servant, and gives of himself throughout our community. David simplycares. Whether it’s manning the Rotary ice cream stand at the county fair or advocating for business community as co-president of the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce, David is always going the extra mile. It’s been a big year for David; earlier this year, he was awarded the prestigious Spirit of Marin award by Bank of Marin.

In between all of this service, and running the Sleeping Lady restaurant, David gives of himself for his real estate clients. I know firsthand how much David cares, after participating with him in a successful transaction a few years ago. David continues to give back to the REALTOR® community, sitting on the MAR Budget, Government Affairs, and Benefits committees.

Congratulations to David Smadback, MAR’s 2014 REALTOR® of the Year!

A new award this year is the MAR Volunteer of the Year award. It is important to recognize members of our association who give back to the community outside of their real estate practice. This year, MAR members Stephanie Witt and Jane Richmond have worked tirelessly raising funds for a needed renovation at The Redwoods Retirement Community in Mill Valley.

Congratulations to Stephanie Witt and Jane Richmond, MAR’s 2014 and first winners of the MAR Volunteer of the Year award!

Mark Machado - MAR Next Generation AwardMAR’s Mark Machado is the 2014 winner of the MAR Next Generation award. Always active in his community and with his kids’ activities, Mark will be starting a 3-year term on the MAR Board of Directors in 2015. In 2014, Mark served on the MAR Volunteer and Community Service committee. An emerging MAR leader, Mark will be a welcome addition to the leadership team in the coming years. [Photo: L-R Kevin Patsel, Mark Machado] Congratulations to the 2014 MAR Next Generation award winner, Mark Machado!

Steve Stickland MAR Affiliate Member Steven Strickland of JCP Natural Hazard Disclosures had a big year at MAR. Hiscompany’s generous sponsorship of MAR events was welcome, and his tireless efforts coordinating the FEMA Flood Summit in September was one of the high points of the year. Always willing and able to help, MAR is lucky to have partners like Steven.

Congratulations to the 2014 MAR Affiliate of the Year, Steven Strickland!

Finally, MAR Immediate Past President and Special Awards Committee Chairman Jack Wilkinson presented the 2014 MAR Making a Difference award to MAR CEO Andy Fegley and the rest of his team at MAR. As I’ve mentioned in the past, this was a transformational year at MAR, with Andy coming aboard in March. He quickly reshaped the team operationally, and his staff has increased the efficiency of the association on many levels. Long-time MAR staff member Betty Ruth Madsen was singled out by Jack for her teamwork, stability, and knowledge of the organization. We are so lucky to have Betty Ruth! Many of you know Jennifer Abendroth from her years of work at some of Marin’s largest brokerages, and in 2014 she brought all of that accumulated knowledge to her Member Services position at MAR. Jenny has streamlined and automated many of the activities that used to require several people to accomplish, and her positive and can-do attitude has been refreshing. Finally, Richie Cassel came on in September as VP of Operations, and his diligent and steady hand has resulted in operational efficiencies and cost savings throughout the organization.

MAR is fundamentally doing more for our members with less people, and it starts at the top. Please join me in congratulating MAR’s 2014 Making a Difference award winners, CEO Andy Fegley and the MAR staff!

Whew, that’s a lot of big news!

MAR 2015 OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS

Here’s a full list of the MAR Leadership Team, installed by CAR’s Young Professional Network Statewide Chairman Imran Poladi: [R-L] MAR 2015 Officers and Directors

President Matt Hughes;

President-elect Tom Dreyer; Secretary Matt Mac Phee and Treasurer Yoko Kasai; Immediate Past-president Blaine Morris.

 

Blaine Morris and Matt Hughes[2015 President Matt Hughes receives gavel from

2014 President Blaine Morris]

 

 

Installed 2015 Directors are: John Adlam, Sylvia Berry, Jennifer Boesel, Missy Crowe, Margaret Deedy, Kyle Frazier, Jill Hill, Gene Laico, Sharon Luce, Mark Machado and Carolyn Svenson.

Installed 2015 MAR Directors

This is an outstanding team of individuals, who freely give their time and attention to advocate for the best interests of you, our members. Please give them a hearty congratulations and best wishes for the year ahead!

2015 MARIN WOMEN’S COUNCIL OF REALTORS® LEADERSHIP

Marin WCR's 2015 Leadership Team

Finally, the Marin Women’s Council of REALTORS® has installed its leadership team at MAR’s installation the past few years. This year, WCR’s California President-Elect Linda Lee presided over the installation of incoming WCR President John Zeiter. WCR is in great hands with John, with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working at MAR for many years. He is smart, conscientious, and effective. Here is the 2015 Marin WCR Leadership team:

President John Zeiter

President-Elect Jason Holmes

Treasurer/Secretary Dana Kreuzberger

Director of Membership Debbie Bernier

Director of Programs Aileen Tong

Congratulations to Marin WCR’s 2015 Leadership Team!

Thank you again to everyone who came out to support these 2014 award winners and the 2015 MAR and WCR Leadership teams.

That’s it for now, stay dry and drive carefully!

I wish you a safe and prosperous week.

Blaine

Blaine Morris

2014 President

Dec 13

Marin Housing Element and Sewer Lateral Update

By Uncategorized

Good day MAR members!

Great weekend if you’re a Raiders fan or a Warriors fan! For our 49er friends out there…well…let’s just say the swirling drama is at least entertaining.

At long last I can officially say that Marin is well above average for rainfall. In case you missed it, we bid goodbye to the sun on Thanksgiving day, and it’s not been spotted since. As of last week, our local reservoirs were at 93.5% of “normal” storage as of November 30th. We’ve had about six inches of rain since then, so my sense is that we’re very close to being able to flush our toilets again. I like that.

Also, there is supposedly a “monster” storm headed our way later this week. Lots of rain and lots of wind. We used to get these types of storms with some regularity, but it’s definitely been a few years. We might want to remind our newer members of the community to be prepared as the prediction is for lots of trees and branches coming down.

Now, time for one of the final installments in two of our favorite topics at MAR, housing density and sewer laterals!

MARIN COUNTYWIDE HOUSING ELEMENT

Thank you to MAR member Ted Strodder for bringing an underreported bit of Marin IJ news to my attention last week. If you’re an IJ regular, you know they do cute, little, unscientific polls with some regularity. Topics include “What are you doing for the holiday weekend?”, “Who will win at Dancing With the Stars?”, and “Do you support the giant Turkey at Corte Madera Town Center?”. So take this all with a grain of salt when reviewing the results of last Monday’s poll:

“Does Marin need more high-density housing?”

The results:

Yes: 11%

Some: 6%

No: 83%

The draft Housing Element for Unincorporated Marin is before the Board of Supervisors, as it’s already been approved by the Planning Commission. The Board will be meeting tomorrow, December 9th at 1:30 to review and discuss this document.

Right after and right down the street from tomorrow’s sold-out MAR Installation.

The Marin Housing Wars of 2014 have proven to be much more polite than their 2013 version. There certainly has been an uptick recently, once it became clear that the planning commission is pushing for 419 units in the housing element…well above the Sacramento-mandated 185 units. There is also some question on what exactly a “housing unit” is; I’ve seen comments recently that a studio will count as half a unit, and a 1BR apartment will count as 2/3s of a unit, etc.

In the IJ, there have been daily, dueling op-ed columns from both sides of the argument. There are petitions circulating the county on both sides of the argument. Facebook sponsored ads. The IJ itself weighed in, politely reminding our local leaders in a recent editorial to pay attention to a public that is intent on retaining the vital “Marin-ness” of our county.

And 83% of the IJ poll respondents feel that we don’t need more high-density housing.

Marin does desperately need solutions for workforce and senior housing, but the community has loudly spoken that it wants such projects to be executed in keeping with the current flavor of our communities. MAR strongly supported Assemblyman Marc Levine in his successful effort to lower the mandatory density of affordable housing projects in Marin from 30 to 20 units per acre. MAR also passed a Housing Density Policy, which you can review HERE.

Now it’s up to the Board of Supervisors to execute the will of the people, and pass a housing element that reflects the desires of the broader community.

So keep paying attention through the holidays, MAR members! Check out tomorrow’s meeting. The MAR Board of Directors also voted to support a countywide Fair Housing conference in late January 2015…more on that later.

Many of our members have been involved in this housing density issue, well beyond MAR’s involvement, giving time and support to the conversation. Great work, MAR members!

ROSS VALLEY SEWER LATERAL UPDATE

As of now, and most likely, the Ross Valley Sanitary District will implement its sewer lateral point-of-sale ordinance on January 1st, 2015.

On Thursday, MAR received a draft version of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for the ordinance that RVSD is working on. After reviewing that document, I had a longer list of still-unanswered questions, which we’ve forwarded back to RVSD.

The issue of shared laterals played a big part in my unanswered questions. According to current code, shared laterals are no longer allowed. In order to get a Certificate of Compliance, RVSD is of the opinion that any house on a shared lateral will now have to run a new, separate lateral to the sewer main. I quickly came up with about 4-5 questions on that requirement alone. Aside from the onerous cost, there is the issue of the private property rights of neighboring properties…particularly if there is no recorded easement: In order to sell my house, I’ve got to get my neighbor to agree to dig up his or her yard? Really?

So we’re continuing to advocate for our members and property owners on this issue. Make no mistake, RVSD is intent on this implementation. Those of you with January listings will unfortunately be the “beta testers” of this policy.

The good news is that RVSD is planning on holding an open house to meet with the REALTOR community and answer questions on this implementation plan. The bad news is that it is currently scheduled for Thursday evening on December 18th. The Thursday before Christmas is a pretty tough date for anyone, and an evening meeting on sewer laterals is going to be a tough date to put on anyone’s calendar. But that’s what we have for now; we are looking for an alternative venue to move the meeting to the daytime. Stay tuned.

That’s it for now. Be careful out there in the rain and wind, and be nice while doing your holiday shopping!

I wish you a safe and prosperous week.

Blaine Morris

2014 President

Dec 13

Marin Housing Element and Sewer Lateral Update

By Uncategorized

Good day MAR members!

Great weekend if you’re a Raiders fan or a Warriors fan! For our 49er friends out there…well…let’s just say the swirling drama is at least entertaining.

At long last I can officially say that Marin is well above average for rainfall. In case you missed it, we bid goodbye to the sun on Thanksgiving day, and it’s not been spotted since. As of last week, our local reservoirs were at 93.5% of “normal” storage as of November 30th. We’ve had about six inches of rain since then, so my sense is that we’re very close to being able to flush our toilets again. I like that.

Also, there is supposedly a “monster” storm headed our way later this week. Lots of rain and lots of wind. We used to get these types of storms with some regularity, but it’s definitely been a few years. We might want to remind our newer members of the community to be prepared as the prediction is for lots of trees and branches coming down.

Now, time for one of the final installments in two of our favorite topics at MAR, housing density and sewer laterals!

MARIN COUNTYWIDE HOUSING ELEMENT

Thank you to MAR member Ted Strodder for bringing an underreported bit of Marin IJ news to my attention last week. If you’re an IJ regular, you know they do cute, little, unscientific polls with some regularity. Topics include “What are you doing for the holiday weekend?”, “Who will win at Dancing With the Stars?”, and “Do you support the giant Turkey at Corte Madera Town Center?”. So take this all with a grain of salt when reviewing the results of last Monday’s poll:

“Does Marin need more high-density housing?”

The results:

Yes: 11%

Some: 6%

No: 83%

The draft Housing Element for Unincorporated Marin is before the Board of Supervisors, as it’s already been approved by the Planning Commission. The Board will be meeting tomorrow, December 9th at 1:30 to review and discuss this document.

Right after and right down the street from tomorrow’s sold-out MAR Installation.

The Marin Housing Wars of 2014 have proven to be much more polite than their 2013 version. There certainly has been an uptick recently, once it became clear that the planning commission is pushing for 419 units in the housing element…well above the Sacramento-mandated 185 units. There is also some question on what exactly a “housing unit” is; I’ve seen comments recently that a studio will count as half a unit, and a 1BR apartment will count as 2/3s of a unit, etc.

In the IJ, there have been daily, dueling op-ed columns from both sides of the argument. There are petitions circulating the county on both sides of the argument. Facebook sponsored ads. The IJ itself weighed in, politely reminding our local leaders in a recent editorial to pay attention to a public that is intent on retaining the vital “Marin-ness” of our county.

And 83% of the IJ poll respondents feel that we don’t need more high-density housing.

Marin does desperately need solutions for workforce and senior housing, but the community has loudly spoken that it wants such projects to be executed in keeping with the current flavor of our communities. MAR strongly supported Assemblyman Marc Levine in his successful effort to lower the mandatory density of affordable housing projects in Marin from 30 to 20 units per acre. MAR also passed a Housing Density Policy, which you can review HERE.

Now it’s up to the Board of Supervisors to execute the will of the people, and pass a housing element that reflects the desires of the broader community.

So keep paying attention through the holidays, MAR members! Check out tomorrow’s meeting. The MAR Board of Directors also voted to support a countywide Fair Housing conference in late January 2015…more on that later.

Many of our members have been involved in this housing density issue, well beyond MAR’s involvement, giving time and support to the conversation. Great work, MAR members!

ROSS VALLEY SEWER LATERAL UPDATE

As of now, and most likely, the Ross Valley Sanitary District will implement its sewer lateral point-of-sale ordinance on January 1st, 2015.

On Thursday, MAR received a draft version of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for the ordinance that RVSD is working on. After reviewing that document, I had a longer list of still-unanswered questions, which we’ve forwarded back to RVSD.

The issue of shared laterals played a big part in my unanswered questions. According to current code, shared laterals are no longer allowed. In order to get a Certificate of Compliance, RVSD is of the opinion that any house on a shared lateral will now have to run a new, separate lateral to the sewer main. I quickly came up with about 4-5 questions on that requirement alone. Aside from the onerous cost, there is the issue of the private property rights of neighboring properties…particularly if there is no recorded easement: In order to sell my house, I’ve got to get my neighbor to agree to dig up his or her yard? Really?

So we’re continuing to advocate for our members and property owners on this issue. Make no mistake, RVSD is intent on this implementation. Those of you with January listings will unfortunately be the “beta testers” of this policy.

The good news is that RVSD is planning on holding an open house to meet with the REALTOR community and answer questions on this implementation plan. The bad news is that it is currently scheduled for Thursday evening on December 18th. The Thursday before Christmas is a pretty tough date for anyone, and an evening meeting on sewer laterals is going to be a tough date to put on anyone’s calendar. But that’s what we have for now; we are looking for an alternative venue to move the meeting to the daytime. Stay tuned.

That’s it for now. Be careful out there in the rain and wind, and be nice while doing your holiday shopping!

I wish you a safe and prosperous week.

Blaine Morris

2014 President

Dec 01

Realtor Ethics, MAR Installation Luncheon and Open House Hours

By Marin Association of Realtors

Good day MAR members!

It’s official: Happy Holidays! With a late Thanksgiving this year, it will be a mad dash in the coming weeks as we try to cram five weeks of the holiday season into a little over four weeks. I myself tried to get a little extra exercise this past weekend, but mother nature got in the way with this pesky weather. We certainly need the rain, so no complaints here. My lawn is green again, which probably makes my neighbors happy.

I texted one of my clients who bought a house this year that happens to be in a flood zone: make sure your sump pump is working! When he asked why, I told him it was supposed to rain Marin-style this week. While it’s been a slow and steady rain so far, the internets are telling me that big things might be in store for us mid-week. So clean those gutters, test the sump pumps and clear the drains.

We have this nice Maui-like rain flow…no cold. The last few years, it’s been downright frigid this time of year, with temps regularly getting down into the 20s every morning at my house. This year, there has only been one morning in the 30s, and at 39 degrees it’s a far cry from the dry, cold winters we’ve been having. Personally, I don’t care if it freezes once this winter, but a nice cold snap would get rid of the flies, which seem much more numerous this year. When breaking down and purchasing a fly swatter a couple of weeks back, the woman at Fairfax Hardware told my wife that there has been a crazy run on fly swatters this year…worst ever. She theorized it was because of everyone’s fashionable backyard chickens…

LAST CALL FOR MAR INSTALLATION LUNCHEON

There are still spots left for next Tuesday’s MAR Installation Luncheon. Come join in on the fun as we install MAR’s 2015 President Matt Hughes and the rest of his leadership team. You’re in for a treat with Imran Poladi as the installing officer and MAR member Kevin Patsel as our Master of Ceremonies. Imran is always inspiring, as a super successful REALTOR® and a young man who has battled cancer and come out on the winning end. MAR will also be presenting the 2014 awards, including the coveted REALTOR® of the Year, and the Marin Women’s Council of REALTORS® will be installing WCR 2015 President John Zeiter and his leadership team. You can click HERE to register.

BROKERS’ OPEN HOUSE HOURS UPDATE

Last week, I wrote again about the hours throughout Marin on brokers’ open houses, and encouraged all of you to keep your houses open the first week for the full scheduled time of the tour. Just as last time, a bunch of you reached out to thank me for bringing up the issue, particularly that of the increasingly popular and ever-annoying 11-1 brokers’ tour during the first week of a listing.

Thank you also to MAR Board Member Sylvia Berry for bringing to my attention the revised hours of the Novato Tour. Apparently, our Novato members recently voted to change the hours of the Novato tour to 10 AM-1 PM, which moves the previous start and finish back 30 minutes.

Thanks again to everyone for your feedback on this issue!

REALTOR® ETHICS

Last year, MAR’s 2013 President Jack Wilkinson talked a lot about Realtor ethics. Jack is very proud of his Realtor pin, and takes the increased responsibility of being a Realtor very seriously. Without a Realtor designation, you’re simply a licensee…someone who has to obey the law but who can shrug off the added responsibility that the Realtor Code of Ethics brings.

2013 was the year we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Realtor Code of Ethics. Be proud of your Code of Ethics. It differentiates us from the other licensees who have the freedom to run a “looser” business model. There is accountability, and consequences for bad behavior. MAR runs a Grievance Committee and a Professional Standards committee under the leadership of our Professional Standards Administrator Linda Bianchi. If you have a beef with someone, there is a forum and a process to get that issue heard and resolved within the constructs of the Realtor Code of Ethics. This includes members of the public: they too can have any grievance addressed.

By and large, the members of the Marin Association of Realtors are a pretty darned ethical group. When I go away to CAR, I hear stories of questionable behavior that I honestly don’t hear about here. Ethical lapses do occur, however. Earlier this year, I learned that an agent who had clients in backup position on one of my listings went into escrow on another property two days later with those same clients and remained in backup position on my listing for two more weeks. No harm was ultimately done, as the primary buyers purchased the house, but this was bad behavior to say the least.

It’s good every once in a while to review what we stand for. The Realtor Code of Ethics is also a long list, an 8-page pdf that deals with the added responsibility of being a Realtor. As we reflect on our year and plan for 2015, take a minute and review the Realtor Code of Ethics. You can read it here, and I’d describe it as a good use of your time.

That’s it for now. I hope to see you at next week’s MAR Installation!

I wish you a safe and prosperous week.

Blaine

Blaine Morris

2014 President