Marin County Real Estate Advantage

Buying in Marin is not like buying in many other places. This is very regulated and complex real estate market, shaped by permitting layers, construction constraints, high fire hazard zones, coastal commission, fire insurance considerations, flood zones, point of sale requirements, and land-use limitations. Marin is not transactional real estate. It is advisory real estate. And who represents you matters.

Yet many buyers still choose an agent based on convenience instead of competence. They click a button, talk to whoever answers first, or follow a rebate or discount without realizing what they may be giving up. Real representation.

Hiring a buyer’s agent should be a thoughtful decision. Buyers should feel comfortable asking real questions: How long have you been in real estate? Do you work full-time in real estate? How experienced are you in navigating Marin's nuanced areas? What is your understanding of construction and of reading reports and disclosures? Who is in your professional network when problems arise? How many sales did you close in the last 12 months? How many local real estate networks are you apart of? These are not aggressive questions. They are responsible ones. They provide the filter for competence.

Once you have all the above questions answer to your satisfaction. You will want an agent or team who is connected to a brokerage which gives you a further advantage. Deirdre and I moved to Compass because of their significant technology advantage and their being the largest brokerage by volume in county. This gives our buyers a further advantage because we know about 20% of the listings not displayed on Zillow or Realtor.com. This gives are buyers and sellers an advantage.