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Condos and Townhomes for Sale in Marin County: HOA, Loans, Rules

By Matthew Martinez, Founder, CEO & Managing Broker, Diamond Real Estate Group. California DRE #01869679.

Most of Marin County’s condos and townhomes are in the cities and towns along the Highway 101 corridor: Larkspur, Corte Madera, San Rafael, Novato, Mill Valley and Sausalito. Before you compare price per square foot, compare the associations, because the budget, reserves, insurance and lender approval behind a unit can matter as much as the unit itself. A condo in Marin is usually governed by a city or town for permits and by its homeowners association for almost everything else.

This page explains what you actually buy, which documents California requires the seller to hand over, how FHA, VA and conventional lenders review a project, what the state’s balcony inspection law means for older complexes, and where Marin’s local resale rules treat condos differently from houses. For the county as a whole, start with our Marin County real estate guide.

Condos and townhomes homes for sale

Condos and townhomes market report

Where Marin’s condos and townhomes are

Marin’s attached housing sits mostly in the incorporated cities and towns along Highway 101. Neighborhood labels overlap, so confirm each complex’s address, association and city before relying on any rule below.

Larkspur. SMART’s Larkspur station is at 600 Larkspur Landing Circle, and SMART lists a shuttle link from it to the Larkspur Ferry Terminal, which matters to buyers comparing attached homes near Larkspur Landing. Our Larkspur guide covers the city’s fire and sewer rules.
Corte Madera. Townhome and condo projects in a small town whose sewer service comes from Sanitary District No. 2 of Marin County; our Corte Madera page covers its fire and resale questions.
San Rafael. Downtown buildings, plus complexes in Terra Linda and other north San Rafael areas. Our San Rafael guide and Terra Linda page explain the city’s resale report.
Novato. Townhome-style planned developments and condo complexes across the city; see our Novato guide.
Mill Valley and Sausalito. Smaller buildings, hillside units with decks and stairways, and a few waterfront complexes; see Mill Valley and Sausalito.

West Marin has very little attached housing. If a listing is in an unincorporated area, county rules apply instead of a city’s.

Condo, townhome or planned development

A listing’s word for the property describes its look. The recorded documents describe what you own, and that decides who insures and repairs the roof, siding and decks.

Ownership form	What you own	Who usually covers the building shell	Typical owner’s policy
Condominium	Your unit’s airspace and a share of the common area	The association, under its master property policy	HO-6 for interiors, improvements, contents and liability
Planned development (PUD) townhome	Your lot and the structure on it, plus association membership	Depends on the CC&Rs; sometimes the owner, sometimes the association	Often a full dwelling policy
Stock cooperative or tenancy in common	A share or fractional interest, with a right to occupy a unit	Set by the co-op or TIC agreement	Varies; ask an insurance agent early

Ask for the condominium plan or subdivision map and the CC&Rs at the start. Two townhomes that look alike can carry different repair and insurance obligations.

The HOA documents a seller must provide

California Civil Code section 4525, as amended by SB 410 effective January 1, 2026, requires the owner of a unit in a common interest development to give a prospective buyer a set of documents as soon as practicable before title transfers or the sales contract is signed. The list includes:

All governing documents, and a statement if the association is not incorporated.
The association’s most recent annual budget report and the other financial documents distributed under Civil Code section 5300.
A statement of current regular and special assessments and fees, and any unpaid assessments, fines, late charges or collection costs that are or may become a lien.
Any board-approved change in assessments or fees that is not yet due.
Any unresolved notice of a violation of the governing documents.
Construction defect information the association has sent to members.
A statement describing any prohibition on renting the unit.
On the buyer’s request, board minutes from the previous 12 months, excluding executive session.
The most recent balcony, deck and stairway inspection report under section 5551.

Our guide to California seller disclosures covers the forms that apply to every sale, condo or not.

Reading the budget report

The annual budget report under section 5300 is the most useful single document. It must include an operating budget, a reserve summary and funding plan, any decision to defer repair of a major component, and whether the board expects a special assessment, with its estimated amount, start date and duration. It also lists outstanding association loans with a term over one year.

The same report summarizes the association’s property, general liability, earthquake, flood and fidelity insurance, including each insurer, policy limit and deductible. For condominiums, it must state on a separate page whether the project is FHA-approved and whether it is VA-approved. Read the minutes alongside it, since a special assessment often shows up there first.

Financing: FHA, VA and conventional project review

A condo loan is approved twice: once for you and once for the project. A project that fails review can sink a sale even when the buyer qualifies easily.

FHA

HUD’s condominium search lets a lender or buyer look up approved projects by state, county, city, ZIP code or name. A unit in a project that is not approved, or whose approval has expired, may still qualify through single-unit approval. The project must be ready for occupancy and have at least five units, and FHA-insured loans are limited to 10% of units in projects of ten or more, or two units in smaller ones. The lender submits HUD form 9991 with the case number request.

VA

The Department of Veterans Affairs lists buying a condo in a VA-approved project as an eligible use of its purchase loan. Ask your lender to confirm the project’s VA status before you write an offer, and check the association’s budget report statement as well.

Conventional (Fannie Mae)

Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide (topic dated August 5, 2026) makes several kinds of projects ineligible. The ones that come up most with older complexes:

Projects needing critical repairs that affect safety, soundness, structural integrity or habitability, including unfunded repairs of more than $10,000 per unit planned within 12 months.
Projects where a structural or mechanical inspection from the past three years shows unaddressed critical repairs; the lender must get and review that report.
Projects where one entity owns more than 20% of units in a building of 21 or more, with smaller-project limits as well.
Projects with commercial or mixed-use space over 35%, or with pending litigation involving the association, unless the litigation is minor.

Lenders must also review each special assessment’s purpose, approval date, amount remaining and payoff date. Our guide to the loan contingency explains how to keep time to resolve a project review.

Balconies, decks and stairways: SB 326

SB 326 added Civil Code section 5551, which requires condominium associations to inspect the raised exterior structures they maintain. It applies to buildings with three or more attached units, and covers wood-supported balconies, decks, stairways, walkways and railings with a walking surface more than six feet above ground.

A licensed structural or civil engineer or an architect inspects a random, statistically significant sample at least once every nine years.
The first inspection was due by January 1, 2025. Buildings whose permit application was submitted on or after January 1, 2020 must be inspected within six years of the certificate of occupancy.
The report covers current condition, expected remaining life and recommended repairs, and it feeds into the association’s reserve study.
If an element poses an immediate threat, the inspector notifies the association at once and the local code enforcement agency within 15 days, and the association must restrict access until repairs are approved.

The report matters most in hillside buildings that rely on decks and exterior stairs. If it recommends repairs and the reserves cannot cover them, expect a special assessment. Rental apartment buildings fall under a separate law covered on our SB 721 balcony inspection page.

Insurance: the master policy and your own policy

In a condominium, the association’s master policy usually insures the buildings and common areas, and your HO-6 policy covers interiors, improvements, contents, liability and loss assessments. The budget report’s insurance summary tells you the master policy’s deductible, which owners may be charged after a loss.

Before you remove contingencies, ask an agent to quote an HO-6 policy that matches the CC&Rs, and ask whether the master policy carries earthquake coverage. If the association has had trouble placing coverage, our page on the California FAIR Plan for homebuyers explains the fallback market and what it does not cover. Diamond may refer you to partners we work with; you’re free to choose any provider.

Local resale rules that treat condos differently

Marin’s point-of-sale requirements are set by each town, sanitary district and fire agency, and several of them carve out condos.

Mill Valley sewer laterals. The city requires a sewer lateral inspection report before title transfers on most sales, but Municipal Code section 17.04.270 says that requirement does not apply to a sale in a common interest development.
Larkspur fire resale report. Municipal Code section 15.40.045 requires a fire inspection resale report before selling residential property in the city’s wildland-urban interface, but individual condominium units and individual townhouses do not need one.
City resale building reports. Several Marin cities issue a residential building record report on resale, and some apply it to condos and townhouses; check the city’s rules for the address.

Our Marin County selling requirements guide lists each town’s inspections, fees and deadlines. Shared laterals and association-maintained sewer lines may still create obligations for the association, so ask the manager.

Selling a Marin condo

Order the association’s resale package as soon as you decide to list; it contains the section 4525 documents and the association sets its own preparation fee. Read it before the buyer does, so a pending special assessment or a balcony repair is disclosed and priced rather than discovered in escrow.

Check whether the project is on HUD’s FHA list and what its VA status is, because that decides which buyers can finance it. If a lender is likely to flag deferred maintenance or litigation, say so early and consider the buyers who can pay cash. Our guide to selling in Marin County covers pricing, preparation and the county’s documentary transfer tax.

Questions people ask

Where are the condos in Marin County?

Mostly in the Highway 101 towns: Larkspur, Corte Madera, San Rafael, Novato, Mill Valley and Sausalito. West Marin has very little attached housing, so when only a few units are listed, compare the associations as closely as the units.

What HOA documents should I get before buying a Marin condo?

The section 4525 package: governing documents, the annual budget report and reserve information, assessment statements, violation notices, any rental restrictions, the balcony inspection report and, on request, 12 months of board minutes.

Can I use an FHA loan on a Marin condo?

Yes, if the project is FHA-approved or the unit qualifies for single-unit approval. Single-unit approval needs a completed project of at least five units and FHA concentration within HUD’s limits.

What is the SB 326 balcony inspection?

It is the Civil Code section 5551 inspection of wood-supported balconies, decks and stairways more than six feet above ground in condo buildings with three or more units. It happens at least every nine years, and the latest report must be given to buyers.

Does a Marin condo seller need a sewer lateral inspection?

It depends on the district and city. Mill Valley exempts sales in common interest developments from its lateral requirement, while other districts have their own rules, so check the address against the local ordinance.

What does a condo master insurance policy cover?

It usually covers the buildings and common areas, while your HO-6 policy covers interiors, contents, liability and loss assessments. The association’s budget report lists the master policy’s limits and deductibles.

Why would a lender reject a condo project?

Common reasons include unfunded critical repairs, a recent inspection showing unaddressed structural problems, pending litigation, too much commercial space or one owner holding too many units.

This page is general information, not legal advice. If the CC&Rs are unclear on who repairs what, or a special assessment or association lawsuit is pending, have a California attorney who handles common interest developments read the resale package before you remove contingencies.

Condos can be the most practical way into Marin, but the association is part of what you buy. If you want help reading a resale package or comparing complexes in two towns, contact Diamond Real Estate Group and we’ll go through the documents with you.

Sources & notes

Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.