You’ve cleaned the house, made all the necessary repairs and removed all the clutter. Now it’s time to have an open house to pull in potential buyers for your home in Santa Cruz.

Here are eight tips to help you have a successful open house:

1. Take advantage of new technology.  Advertise the open house on all the popular real estate sites.  With technology what it is these days, most home buyers start their searches online. If you’re working with a real estate agent, he or she will handle this for you.

2. Enlist your neighbors’ help.  Neighbors have friends who are looking for homes too.  Let them know about your open house and invite them over. They will be looking at your home for their friends, their kids’ friends, etc. 

3. Go paperless. …

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When selling a Santa Cruz home, the last thing you want potential buyers to focus on are projects they’ll need to complete. Even though it’s cosmetic, wallpaper — and the thought of long hours stripping it — might make many buyers start questioning whether they really want to buy your Santa Cruz home.

When preparing your home for sale, remove all old wallpaper. This project can be completed in one weekend and will greatly improve your property’s appeal. Below are five steps to get rid of wallpaper and increase your resale potential:

1. Remove the old wallpaper. Renting a wallpaper steamer is an absolute must to save you time and aggravation. It’ll make the job much quicker and is much less likely to damage the wall underneath.

2. Scrub your walls

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When it comes time to sell your home, the person who can ensure a quick sale at top dollar is your Santa Cruz real estate agent. He or she will be the primary person marketing your home, and if your professional doesn’t work hard to sell your home, it can cost you precious time and money.

Choosing the right Santa Cruz real estate agent can be tricky. To help you make a wise choice, below are five simple questions you should ask agents before making your decision:

1. How many other homeowners are you currently working with? An agent with too many properties on their plate might not give your home the individual attention it needs to attract potential buyers. However, if the agent has no listings, that might also be a bad sign.

2. Are you going to…

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Short sales in Santa Cruz are used by homeowners to prevent losing their homes to foreclosure.  When you see an advertisement for a short sale, the home is in pre-foreclosure.

What is a short sale? It is an agreement between the sellers of a home in the beginning stages of foreclosure and their lender which allows the home to be sold for less than the existing loan balance. If an agreement is reached by all parties, a short sale could save the sellers’ credit by avoiding a foreclosure.

A short sale is not a short process, however.  It is a lengthy process with many legal and financial aspects.

The basic short sale process flows as follows:

• The seller contacts the lender to discuss the possibility of a short sale.
• The seller issues a letter…

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You’ve probably heard the terms real estate agent, broker, REALTOR®, listing agent and buyer’s agent. But do you know what they mean and the differences between them? 

Here are the definitions of terms you may encounter on your Santa Cruz real estate agent search:

1. Real estate agent: Agents are licensed sales people. They are not real estate brokers. In fact, they must work for an employing broker and cannot work independently. An agent works under the broker's guidance and legal protection. Real estate agents are required to undergo education pertaining to real estate law and ethics.

2. Real estate broker: A real estate broker has more education than an agent, they can work independently, and they can hire other real estate agents. While many…

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