Santa Cruz Vacation Home

Are you unsure about buying Santa Cruz real estate? Warren Buffet was recently quoted as saying, “If I had a way of buying a couple hundred thousand single-family homes…I would load up on them and… take mortgages out at very, very low rates…it’s a leveraged way of owning a very cheap asset now, and I think that’s probably as attractive an investment as you can make now.”

Homeownership in the United States is dropping and we are becoming a society of renters, according to a Morgan Stanley Housing Market Insights report.  Why is this happening?

• It’s harder to get mortgages: Banks have made it more difficult for people to become homeowners. If they have marginal credit or small down payments, they won’t get…

Flowering shrubs add interest to any landscape and early spring is an ideal time to plant them. Shrubs are relatively maintenance free. Once you plant them, they are a perennial source of beauty.

Keep these tips in mind as you plan how to dress up your Santa Cruz home with shrubs.

• Plan ahead. Make sure you know how tall your chosen shrub will grow. Don’t place a tall selection in front of a window where it will block your view.

• Coordinate colors. Consider how well the color of your new shrub’s flowers will complement the color of any established flowers that will be blooming nearby at the same time.

• Go for fragrance. Flower color is not the only thing to consider. What could be nicer than having the scent of lilacs wafting…

Whether you’ve bought and sold a dozen homes or you’re a first-time home buyer, you probably know that after you purchase Santa Cruz real estate, there is usually no option to return or exchange it. Because of this finality, you need to be sure your contract spells out all the conditions you want met before the deal can close. In real estate contracts, these conditions are called contingencies.

Contingencies are the requirements that both the buyer and the seller must meet in order for the closing contract to be valid. If something does not meet specific criteria, the contract must be renegotiated or it becomes null. Below is a list of contract contingencies every buyer should include in their bid — so that you don’t end up with an unexpected…

Even though we’re celebrating St. Patrick’s Day this month, do not count on the luck of the Irish when it comes to selling your Santa Cruz home. Finding the right buyer in this housing market can seem about as easy as spotting a leprechaun. However, with a little bit of research, you can identify the type of buyers most likely to purchase your home and develop a marketing strategy to target that group.

Pinpointing the buyers most likely to purchase your home and marketing specifically to that group is a tool that real estate professionals use all the time. Below are two crucial steps to identifying potential buyers of your home, appealing to the people most likely to purchase your property and selling your house quicker — which means claiming…

A brand new Santa Cruz home is better than a used home, isn't it? For most people, that's a matter of preference. If you’re unsure which you prefer, consider these five reasons to buy a newly constructed home:

1. You want to pick out everything: Do you want granite or cement countertops? Perhaps you'd like a skylight in your family room or a fireplace in your master bedroom. You get to choose all the fixtures, flooring and faucets. Plan to spend a lot of time making these choices and probably some additional money for upgrades.

2. You want a Santa Cruz home that comes with high-tech and energy-efficient features: You’ll save energy and money with low-flow toilets and shower heads, energy-efficient appliances and higher-efficiency HVAC, doors…

If you have easy access to your attic, a quick inspection will either put your mind at ease or alert you to situations that need to be remedied before they cause problems. Why is now a good time to check your attic? If you’ve ever been in an attic in the summer, you know why you should do it now.

Here are just some of the things you should check out in the attic of your Santa Cruz home:

• Insulation. Is it adequate? Has it shifted around into peaks and valleys? Is it properly installed? Are there gaps that need to be filled?
• Ducts. Are there open joints in the ductwork? Are the ducts insulated?
• Ventilation. Are vent openings blocked? If you see frost on roofing nails, or rust stains or mildew around roofing nails, it means the attic…

Love it or hate it, winter is here. If you’re having a hard time appreciating that fact, there are some things you can do to make your Santa Cruz home more comfortable this winter, without running up your heat bill. Here are some to try:

• Check and lock windows. Even if you think your windows are shut, go around and check each one to make sure it’s snug - and lock it.

• Use ceiling fans. Consider adding ceiling fans to every room; they truly make a difference. Set them spinning in the correct direction to pull air up this winter so they displace warm air at the ceiling and send it down the walls. Set on the lowest speed, a ceiling fan evens out indoor temperature without creating drafts.

• Invest in insulated window treatments. Stop…

Here is a painless way to reduce your energy use and your heating bill: Set your thermostat to go down 5 to 10 degrees while you’re gone all day and while you sleep at night. This could reduce your heating bill by 15% without compromising comfort.

Programmable thermostats cost anywhere from $30 to $150, so they quickly pay for themselves. By programming your thermostat to return to  your comfort level before you arrive home or get up in the morning, your Santa Cruz home will be just as comfortable as what you’re used to, and you’ll reduce your carbon footprint.

Here is how easy it is to install a programmable thermostat:

• Turn off the circuit breaker for the thermostat. Since you will be handling wiring, you must cut off the…

Many people are downsizing these days, either because they're empty nesters and no longer need the room, they’re getting older and want a smaller space to maintain, or they’re reducing their financial burdens or environmental impact.

If you’ve made the decision to downsize to a smaller Santa Cruz home, here are five tips to help you make the transition:

1. Start early: Downsizing to a smaller home is much less stressful if you have plenty of time to sort through your belongings to figure out what you’re getting rid of and what you’re keeping. Plan to do this at least a month before you put your home up for sale. (Bonus benefit: it makes your house less cluttered and more desirable to buyers.)

2. Evaluate your needs: Take an honest…

Appraisals are final when it comes to securing money from a bank, so don’t let a poor one ruin your Santa Cruz real estate plans. Be proactive to ensure your appraiser is competent and has all the information he or she needs, because your purchase, sale or refinancing goals could be wrecked with a low-ball appraisal.

Minimize the risk of receiving an inaccurate appraisal by …

• Meeting the appraiser at the house. Show them around your Santa Cruz real estate, just like you’d show a potential buyer. That way you can highlight some of your home’s unique features that they might otherwise overlook. Also, if they have any questions about when things were updated or replaced, you’ll be there to share all relevant information — instead of…