Now that the weather is improving, potential buyers will once again head out to shop for new Santa Cruz homes. Make sure all your spring cleaning is finished and everything is spruced up to get ready to sell.

To help you prepare, here are some spring-cleaning tips for Santa Cruz homes:

• Be objective: Think of your house as a product. If you distance yourself, you’ll be able to recognize and correct its faults that you’ve gotten used to.

• De-personalize: Pack up your family pictures and personal mementos. Remember, you want buyers to imagine they live in your house, and pictures of your family everywhere won’t help.

• Clean: Scrub, dust and vacuum like you haven’t in years! Nothing makes a better impression than an immaculately clean house. Buyers…

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The Santa Cruz real estate market is still a buyer’s market which means, as a buyer, you can get a good price on a home.  However, if you know what to look for, there are properties on which you can get a great price.
Here are three areas of the Santa Cruz real estate market that generally offer the best prices:

1. Homes that have been on the market for several weeks (or months!) -  Have your real estate agent send you homes that have been on the market for several weeks or months.  These property owners are more motivated to sell than the owners of newly listed homes.  They’re more willing to negotiate for lower prices or even give you extras such as home warranties or paying a portion of your closing costs.

2. Bank owned properties.  Bank owned…

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With the overabundance of properties for sale these days, your Santa Cruz home for sale needs to stand out from the crowd.  One of the easiest things you can do to make your home shine is to finish all the basic repairs you’ve been putting off.

Here are 5 little repairs that make a big difference to potential buyers who visit your Santa Cruz home for sale:

1. Perk up the exterior:  As we all know, first impressions are crucial.  Give your picket fence, mailbox and front door a fresh coat of paint.  Missing roof shingles and hanging gutters frighten potential buyers, so fix them.  Give buyers the opportunity to think, “Where’s the best place for our couch?” rather than “Oh no, there’s a problem with the roof!”

2. Fix dripping faucets:  A dripping faucet…

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If your home is sitting on the market month after month, or you’re only receiving ridiculously low offers, then you might be committing one of several common selling slip-ups. Some homes almost sell themselves, but if you don’t have that amazing home in the perfect location, you’ll need to be especially careful that you’re not committing one these four easily-avoidable Santa Cruz real estate mistakes.

1. Your home is priced too high. If no one’s even looking at your house, it may be priced above market value. Check out the competition, and reevaluate how badly you need to sell. If you’re unwilling to drop the price to get buyers through the front door, maybe it’s not a good time for you to sell.

2. Your house isn’t marketed well. Make sure you and your…

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Finally, it’s spring!  With this winter’s record setting snow and rain, it’s more important than ever to perform some spring maintenance tasks.  You’ll reduce frustration and save money by touring your property to head off problems that may have occurred during the cold winter months.

Here’s a list of my top 10 Santa Cruz home maintenance tasks for the spring:

1. Cut shrubs and trees.  Remove dead or broken limbs.  Have a professional tree service remove large trees that are dead.  Trim overgrown trees and shrubs away from your home to discourage the growth of mildew and moisture.

2. Check your gutters and downspouts. You know the old adage “April showers bring May flowers.”  Don’t let all those April showers cause your basement or crawl space to…

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According to Remodeling Magazine’s 2010-2011 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report, nine out of the top 10 most cost-effective projects (based on value recouped) are exterior replacement projects.  Here are the four most cost-effective exterior replacement projects:

1. Steel entry door replacement.  This project returned the most money, with an estimated 102.1 percent of cost recouped when the Santa Cruz homes were resold.  It’s the only project in this year’s report that is expected to return more than the cost. 

2. Midrange garage door replacement.  This is the first year this project ranked high enough to make it into the report.  It’s expected to recoup 89.9 percent of costs.  According to the report, a “midrange” price for a garage door replacement is…

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Today’s turbulent real estate market means the days of selling Santa Cruz homes without any planning or preparation are a distant memory for most people. Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket, because there is tons of competition and buyers are not hunting Santa Cruz homes in a hurry like they once were. To sell your house quickly, staging and well-thought-out marketing plans are now necessities — not luxuries.

Do you know how to best present your property? What are the most effective ways to get buyers in the door? Using the tips and techniques below, you can begin to emerge from your rabbit hole and quickly move on to your next home with as much money in your pocket as possible.

Selling techniques for Santa Cruz homes:
• Price it Right – No amount…

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Spring is here and there is no better time to give your yard a fresh look.  Here are a few simple tips to make your Santa Cruz home sparkle this spring.

Tip #1:  Everything is blooming; take advantage of it. 
Clean out the flower beds and let them shine.  Don't have a flower bed?  Now is the perfect time to create one (or more).  Visit your local nursery to purchase small starter plants, large mature plants and everything in between.  Mix them to make your beds look their best.

Tip #2:  Get a lush lawn.
Reseed your yard, or if you don't want to wait, purchase sod rolls.  If your lawn is in good shape, take the time to edge the sidewalks and driveway.  Mow in a pattern to give your lawn a manicured look.  To keep your grass healthy, alternate the mowing…

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Are visions of renovating a stately, older Santa Cruz home dancing in your head?  Older homes offer a unique beauty that can’t be found in newer homes. And, rehabbing them can be rewarding.  But, think twice before taking on this difficult and expensive task.
Here are six problems to look for in the older home you’re thinking about buying:

1.    Plumbing problems.  The plumbing in older homes can be inefficient or downright unreliable.  Homes that are 25 years old or older almost always have plumbing problems with the most common problem being lead pipes.  Even after lead pipes were replaced in the late 1940s, the earliest galvanized steel pipes still contained lead. Lead also was present in much of the solder used to join copper pipes as recently as the…

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In this competitive real estate market, how do you make your Santa Cruz home for sale shine without breaking the bank?  Here are three inexpensive projects to help your Santa Cruz home for sale rise above the competition.

1. Low-cost kitchen countertops.  Simply upgrading the countertops can change the whole look of your kitchen.  Even on a limited budget, you can have granite.  Shop around for the best price on granite slabs.  Some colors are less expensive than others.  To save even more, go for granite tiles.  Both options provide the granite countertops buyers love.

2. Economical bathroom projects.  There are many reasonably priced products available to bring your bathroom into the 21st Century.  New tile, whether on the floor or the walls, is an…

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