2072 Ashton Avenue
2072 Ashton Avenue
Menlo Park
Offered at $3,795,000
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Preserving our Open Space with POST
At last week’s RealSmart Realtor Roundtable meeting, we met with Mark Medeiros, Senior Manager of Community Engagement with the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), to chat about the history of POST and the incredible work they do.
POST is a nonprofit whose mission is to create a network of protected lands across the Peninsula and South Bay. Since their inception in 1977, they have protected more than 80,000 acres of permanent open space, farms and parkland in San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties. These lands are now part of the National Park system, National Wildlife Refuge system, California State Parks, county and city parks, regional preserves and private farmland. They have five program areas that define the type of land they seek to protect: Public Access, Redwoods, Wildlife Linkages, Farmlands and Coyote Valley.
Their first project was the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve in Portola Valley, which offers some beloved hiking trails and great views. Other flagship projects POST has worked on which you may recognize include Cowell Ranch, the Phleger Estate, Bair Island and the Cloverdale Coastal Ranches – all of which offer beautiful protected open spaces with public access. The graphics below will give you a sense of just how much land POST has protected over the past 45+ years.
Aside from simply acquiring land, POST will also offer conservation easements to owners of farm/agricultural lands in certain situations. These easements allow the property owner to generate some revenue by agreeing to limit the use of their land, or at least a portion of it. This usually involves preventing all or certain types of development on the land. It’s a great option for property owners who value the conservation of their land, and want to see these values upheld as ownership of the property changes hands.
POST has some great hiking guides and other resources you may find useful on their website at www.openspacetrust.org. And if you’re interested in supporting the incredible work that the Peninsula Open Space Trust does in our community, head to www.openspacetrust.org/support-post.
Of course, we’d like to extend our sincerest gratitude to Mark Medeiros for taking the time to chat with out group and share a bit about POST – keep up the great work!
A Closer Look at EyeSpy360’s Virtual Tour Creator
At this week’s Realtor Roundtable Meeting, we were joined by Andrew Nicholls, CEO of EyeSpy360, for a demo of his company’s 3D virtual tour building platform. We are very excited about this platform, as it offers some great add-ons to the standard Matterport 3D tours that we have grown accustomed to seeing with property marketing over the past few years. Perhaps more importantly, it puts the power of creating these 3D tours in the hands of Realtors, instead of 3rd party vendors who rely on expensive equipment.
EyeSpy360 allows you to upload your own 360 degree photos directly to their platform, and within 24 hours they send you a 3d virtual tour, 3D model of the home and a floorplan. Taking the photos requires a relatively inexpensive device which clips on to your phone’s camera lens. The device spins your phone around and takes several photos, which are then compiled to create the 360 degree view. According to CEO, Nicholls, you only need 1 photo per room, and the process can take as little as 20 minutes. This is vastly different from the Matterport 3D tours that real estate agents are used to, which require many different shots from each room and can take hours to complete.
If you don’t have access to the 3D photo technology, EyeSpy360 has a network of 3d photographers they can refer you to.
The platform also offers several add-ons to the 3D tour experience which allow for a more interactive 3D tour experience. First, they offer a live chat function, so agents can remotely walk through the 3D tour with their client, while answering questions in real time and providing relevant information. They also allow agents to record a narrated tour that buyers can watch as they tour the home. Both of these features could prove to be incredibly useful in the age of social distancing.
Other add-ons to the tour experience include: virtual staging and labels you can place on objects to provide additional information.
This is an exciting take on the 3D tour experience that we plan to test out on a listing very soon – stay tuned!
And of course, a big thank you to CEO, Andrew Nicholls, as well as Account Manager, Frederick Zennor, for taking the time to present to our group! You can learn more about EyeSpy360 at www.EyeSpy360.com
A Legal Perspective: Discussing Prop 19 with the McDowall Cotter Team
During this week’s Realtor Roundtable meeting, we met with Attorneys Bob Vale and Roxanne Jen with the firm, McDowall Cotter, to get a legal perspective on California’s new Proposition 19, which will begin to take effect February 4th (further changes rolled out April 1st). They provided our team with great insight into how to apply these new rules in various different homeownership/transfer scenarios, and what to expect as these changes are implemented.
As a reminder – Prop 19 will make major changes to how your property tax basis can be transferred to family members and carried to new properties. Starting February 4th, property that is passed down to children from parents will be subject to reassessment. This change will be particularly impactful here in the Bay Area, where skyrocketing home values have created huge disparities between tax assessments and current market values.
Also, starting April 1st, qualifying homeowners (aged 55 or over, physically disabled, or a natural disaster victim) will be able to transfer their current property tax basis to new property of equal or lesser value anywhere in the state up to THREE times within their lifetime. They will also be able to transfer the basis to property of greater value, with a partial reassessment for the difference in value.
If you have questions about how Prop 19 will affect you and your family, and would like to ask a legal expert, we will be hosting a free webinar with the McDowall Cotter Prop 19 Solutions Team on February 4th @ 5:30pm. Attendees will get an overview of the new rules taking effect, and the opportunity to have any questions answered by a legal expert.
To register for this free event, go to www.realsmartproperties.com/Prop19
A big thank you to Bob Vale, Roxanne Jen and the McDowall Cotter Team for sharing your time and insights.
30 Avondale Avenue
30 Avondale Ave, Redwood City
Tasteful Craftsman, Edgewood Park
Offered at $2,998,000
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California’s Prop 19: What You Need to Know
California’s Proposition 19 passed by a slim 2% margin in the November election (51%-49%), and it will officially take effect on February 16th. The measure will amend current legislation establishing rules for how property owners can carry and pass on their property tax basis. If you own property in California, it is important you understand these changes, and how they will affect you and your family. Here’s a quick rundown of what will be changing come February 16th:
LIFE BEFORE PROP 19 (Current Laws)
• Property tax increases limited to 2% annually unless reassessed due to sale or other transfer. As a result, most homes in California are taxed at a basis much lower than their actual current market value.
• Property owners have the ability to transfer property to their children and grandchildren while maintaining the low property tax basis. This applies to their personal residence (regardless of value or who will live there) plus $1 million in additional property. The new property owner would then be subject to the 2% annual tax increase.
• Qualified homeowners (aged 55 or over, physically disabled, or a natural disaster victim) have the ability to move to a participating in-state county ONCE, and carry the assessed value of their property with them, provided they are moving into a home of lesser value.
LIFE AFTER PROP 19 (Beginning 2/16)
Once Prop 19 takes effect on February 16th, it will make some key changes to the rules described above:
• Starting Feb. 16th, all real estate will be reassessed at death, with the exception of a primary residence worth less than $1 million that a child actually moves into (if worth over $1M the balance is reas- sessed). So now instead of children/grandchildren inheriting property at the lower tax basis (subject to 2% annual increase), the tax will be reassessed based on the home’s current market value.
• Qualifying homeowners (over 55 years of age, physically disabled or natural disaster victims) will now be able to sell and move into a home any- where within the state up to THREE times while still carrying their old property tax assessment.
• This assessment can now be carried to properties of greater value (with an upward adjustment).
It’s worth noting that all the way up until February 16th, you can still transfer property to your children or grandchildren without facing reassessment to current market value. Of course, there are other factors to consider when transferring property to a family member (i.e. gift tax). If you have any questions about how Prop 19 will affect you, I’ll be hosting a webinar on February 4th – save the date!
10+ Acres, Belmont
3300 Lower Lock Avenue
Belmont, CA 94002
Offered at $3,200,000
Midway between San Francisco and Silicon Valley, you can build a ridgetop home with an unspoiled, 300 degree panoramic view of San Francisco Bay, Sugarloaf Mountain, and natural open space.
Build your own custom home or use city-approved, shovel-ready plans for a 4,000 sq. ft. (372 sq. m) contemporary home designed by architect and fine artist James Shay.
From your patio, hike or ride on your own private professionally designed trail system sprawling across 10+ acres of coastal oak woodland—with connections to many more miles of public trails in the Mid-Peninsula network.
And enjoy amazing privacy and quiet in natural beauty only minutes from the I-280 and US 101 freeways and all amenities of urban life.
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1021 Rosewood Avenue
1021 Rosewood Ave.
Walking Distance to downtown San Carlos
Offered at $3,198,000
This beautiful 4BD/3BA home is located on a highly sought after tree-lined street just blocks from downtown San Carlos. It was extensively remodeled in 2018, with upgrades throughout the home, including a new kitchen and appliances, wood flooring, downstairs bathroom, brand new windows, fireplace and chimney, recessed lighting, air conditioning, upgrades to patio firepit/BBQ and much more. The home enjoys an excellent floorplan with open kitchen/family room, 2 bedrooms down and 2 bedrooms up, plus a lovely sun-soaked backyard perfect for entertaining. The prime San Carlos location offers a serene location on a picturesque tree-lined street, all while placing you just a short walk from all that San Carlos’ beloved downtown shopping and dining district has to offer. On MLS next week but available to show today!
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4BD/4.5BA, West Menlo Park
203 Leland Ave, Menlo Park
Modern Farmhouse, West Menlo Park
Offered at $4,550,000
This professionally designed home is due to be built by Thomas James Homes, and you can choose your finishes. The new construction build will be hand crafted to fit your needs, completed with a full 10 year new home construction warranty. The four bedroom, four and one half bath farmhouse home is tucked away in an ideal West Menlo Park location. Featuring crisp white board and batten siding and black trim access with a welcoming covered front porch.
As always, feel free to reach out for more information on this home, or dozens of other new homes being built all across Silicon Valley.