This weekend I will be putting 19 Tanfield Rd on the market. My parents purchased the hilltop Tiburon home in 1962 when cows were still roaming the hills, and it has been in my family ever since. Someone recently asked me how I felt about selling the house, and the honest answer is good. Certainly, I am going to miss visiting my parents on Tanfield, and all our family celebrations, from birthdays throughout the year to the traditional holiday gatherings. We might be letting go of the house, but we’ll never lose our memories and the experiences there will always be part of us.
In 1962 the house cost my parents $55,000. We are hoping to sell it for approximately $3.5 million. Because none of us decided to move into the property after our mom passed in September, due to proposition 19 the adjusted property tax bill on the house is literally more than my current mortgage. Both my parents have passed, and there is no way any of us can buy each other out. We’ve all been well aware of that fact for a long time and as much as we’d love to keep the house in the family it’s just not practical, or affordable, for any of us.
While the house served our purposes very well, it is time for new owners to realize their dreams in the house. Over the years my family did a lot of work to the house and property. We added a pool, and a killer, giant sun deck overlooking Mount Tam. During the spring and summer part of my regular routine growing up was sunning myself by the pool while reading Travis McGee novels, and laying out on the deck.
Back when cows roamed the hills of Tiburon my dad would take us out on the ridge in his Land Rover to gather rocks, which we used to build a retaining wall going down the driveway and in the construction of a Chinese garden. That was a lot of work, and when I was young I wondered if my father didn’t have four boys just so he could use us to work around the house! Some of our friends will remember going on these rock collecting expeditions, which included hunting for scorpions. We’d turn over the rocks, and if there was a scorpion underneath, we’d call my dad over. He had gloves thick enough to resist potential stings, tongs, and a jar with chloroform. As an amateur entomologist he collected some of the scorpions, as well as lots of butterflies from the Amazon.
Growing up in the 60’s and 70’s the world and the neighborhood was completely different. There was a vacant lot at 1 Tanfield where all the neighborhood kids played. In the early 90’s it was sold for $1 million and the new owners put up a replica of a gated castle. Back in the day there were no gates in front of the driveways, and now more driveways have gates than not on private Tanfield Road.
I have been selling houses full time now for 19 years, and it’s different being on this side of a transaction. I’ve bought and sold my own homes, and homes for my brothers, but this is a one time only situation. I feel confident that the upcoming sale will go well, due to the fact that 19 Tanfield Road is such a special property. Also, currently market conditions help. Coming into the spring there is a lack of inventory and what appears to be a good amount of demand in the $3-$4 million range in Southern Marin.
Stay tuned for updates on the sale!