Belvedere, Marin County
Austin Fernald is a California Certified Residential Appraiser based in San Rafael who inspects and appraises homes in every Marin County city and town, West Marin included. Send the address and the purpose, and you'll have a fee quote and turnaround time within one business day.
Each report is a private appraisal, prepared for the person who has to rely on it: a successor trustee, a family law attorney, a CPA, or a seller deciding on a price.
Most Marin estates pass through a living trust instead of probate, but the successor trustee still needs a value as of the date of death. The report documents the stepped-up basis and supports any estate tax filing.
When an estate does go through probate, executors and probate attorneys use the report for Marin County Superior Court filings, trust accounting, and distributions to beneficiaries.
Fair market value for dividing community property, as of the date of separation, the date of trial, or both. Family law attorneys use these reports to settle or to present in Marin County Superior Court.
Market value as of the January 1 lien date, for an appeal to the Marin County Assessment Appeals Board. Typical clients bought near a market peak or lost value to wildfire, flood, or hillside problems.
Plenty of Marin homes sell off-market or after a single weekend of showings. A pre-listing appraisal tells the seller what the comparable sales support before a price goes on the listing.
Value on a past date for a gift reported on IRS Form 709, a capital gains calculation, litigation, or a Proposition 19 parent-to-child transfer.
Austin also appraises current market value for private sales, buyouts between co-owners, refinancing outside a lender, and financial planning. Date of death values set the new basis under IRC section 1014, gifts are reported on Form 709, and the Board of Equalization covers parent-to-child transfers on its Proposition 19 page.
Marin housing is older, hillier, and less uniform than most of the Bay Area. Two houses on the same street can sell for very different prices because of slope, permits, or a view. Austin accounts for the things that move value here:
Austin has appraised in every one of these sub-markets and picks comparable sales by neighborhood. A countywide average would miss most of what's on this list.
A private appraisal of a Marin single-family home or condo starts at $500, and a 2 to 4 unit building starts at $700. Hillside, luxury, multi-unit, and West Marin properties cost more. You get an exact quote within one business day.
| Property type | Starting fee |
|---|---|
| Single-family house | From $500 |
| Condominium or townhome | From $500 |
| Residential land | From $500 |
| 2 to 4 unit building | From $700 |
Size and scope set the final fee. An exterior-only inspection costs less than a full interior one, and a large house costs more than a small condo.
Appraisals with a past effective date, like a date of death or a date of separation, need historical market research. They often cost more than a current-date appraisal of the same house. The quote you get is the fee you pay, with no add-ons after the inspection.
Call or text 415-233-6925 with the property address, the purpose, and the effective date if it isn't today.
Within one business day you get a fee and a turnaround time for your assignment.
Austin inspects the home and researches Marin comparable sales, public records, and neighborhood conditions.
A USPAP compliant report arrives, most often 4 to 5 business days after the inspection.
Austin appraises residential property throughout the county, including:
Property types include single-family homes, condominiums and townhomes, 2 to 4 unit buildings, residential income property, residential land, and rural and coastal property in West Marin.
Austin Fernald is a San Rafael appraiser licensed by the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers as a California Certified Residential Appraiser, license AR3002942.
After 14 years of full-time appraisal work and more than 3,000 reports, Austin still does every inspection and writes every report. When an attorney or CPA has a question about a report, they talk to the appraiser who signed it.
Austin grew up in a family that invested in and appraised residential property. Clients today include trustees, executors, family law and estate attorneys, CPAs, and homeowners. Attorneys and CPAs can order on a client's behalf.
Check the license in the BREA license lookup. Insured. Reports follow USPAP and IRS appraisal guidelines.
Usually, yes. Avoiding probate doesn't remove the need for a value. The successor trustee needs the date of death value to set the new cost basis for the beneficiaries and to support an estate tax return if one is due.
A private appraisal of a Marin single-family home or condo starts at $500, and a 2 to 4 unit building starts at $700. Hillside, luxury, multi-unit, and West Marin properties cost more.
Yes, when the purpose of the appraisal allows it. An exterior-only appraisal costs less than one with a full interior inspection.
Yes. Austin appraises rural and coastal property in Stinson Beach, Bolinas, Point Reyes Station, and the rest of West Marin, including homes on septic or well water. Expect a higher fee than for a house in central Marin.
The January 1 lien date for the tax year you are appealing. The appraisal values the property as of that date, using sales from around it.
You get a fee quote and a turnaround time within one business day of your request. Most reports are delivered 4 to 5 business days after the inspection.
Call or text with the address, the purpose, and the effective date. Austin replies with a fee and turnaround time within one business day.