Now is a great time to get into the investment real estate market. Not only does investment property give you a real tangible asset for your portfolio, you can also get Santa Cruz County real estate investments at great prices right now.

Here are four ways to make money from Santa Cruz County real estate investments that you might want to consider.

• Rental properties.  Not everyone enjoys owning rental property, but it is one of the most profitable ways to make money from real estate.  Rental properties give you a constant residual income that lasts as long as you keep the property.

• Flipping. While the house flipping craze of the 80s and 90s cooled down with the current mortgage and housing crunch, for serious investors who take the time to know…

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Before you put your Santa Cruz home up for sale, you want to make sure it looks as attractive and modern as possible. Buyers usually walk away from a Santa Cruz home for sale with outdated color schemes and fixtures. This is especially true of bathrooms. Even if you lack the budget and space to turn your bathroom into a spa-like retreat, you can still give this room a quick facelift.

1. Get creative with color. If you don’t have the time or budget to replace dated ceramic tile, try camouflaging it with towels, rugs, and other accessories for a more modern color scheme. For example, you can pair pink with brown or bright blue with light green.

2. Replace your fixtures. Brushed aluminum and pewter bathroom fixtures are more modern than the shiny chrome…

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House flipping is still a profitable way to invest in Santa Cruz County real estate, if you know what you’re doing. I’m going to share one of the biggest mistakes prospective home flippers make and how to avoid it.

Choosing the Wrong Santa Cruz County Real Estate to Flip

Nothing will make your venture into the world of house flipping a bigger nightmare than a finished product that will not sell. To avoid this, learn all you can about what’s currently selling the fastest and for the most money in your real estate market.

It doesn't mean you have to pick expensive homes in up-scale neighborhoods.  In fact, those may be the worst properties to try to flip, depending on your market.  Typically, there are houses you can flip for profit in every price…

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Trends for national and Santa Cruz homes come and go depending on many factors including the needs and desires of buyers, changes in technology and economic issues.

Here are some 2011 design trends predicted for national and Santa Cruz homes.

Kitchens Continue to be the Heart of the Home
People still love kitchens that are open and airy.  Popular kitchen countertops will embrace the green movement switching from granite to crushed recyclable glass under a solid, smooth surface.

Energy Efficiency Remains Important
According to The Joint Center for Housing Studies, homeowners and builders alike continue to make homes more energy efficient.  This is led by regional certification programs as well as national green building standards.

Vintage is Hot
…

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Unless elaborate decorations, gourmet food and mountains of mess are your idea of fun, I have some suggestions for you on how to make your holidays simpler and less stressful this year.

Use Fewer Decorations in Your Santa Cruz County Home

While National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is a fun holiday movie to watch, keeping up with the Griswolds isn’t something you should aspire to. If you’re not sure what to eliminate from your heap of holiday decorations, here are a few tips:

• If it flashes or makes a noise, just say no.  Decorations like that increase stress.
• Display only your most treasured items.
• This year’s mantra should be “less is more.”
• Decorate only those rooms in your Santa Cruz County home that are used during celebrations.
• Instead of…

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Unfortunately, the winter holidays are peak times for thieves and burglars.  Not only are burglaries of Santa Cruz County homes at their highest during the darkest months of the year, there’s also the added temptation of unoccupied Santa Cruz County homes full of expensive gifts.

A recent survey found that 39% of homeowners leave presents under the tree long before Christmas Day, with only 7% of respondents waiting until Christmas Day itself to put the presents on display in their Santa Cruz County homes. If gifts are in full view of passers-by who can see them through the windows, they could provide an incentive for thieves to target the house.

Take greater security measures during the holidays to keep yourself and your property safe.

1. Don’t hide…

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One of the most important maintenance procedures for the exterior of your home is cleaning the rain gutters. Cleaning the gutters can be a tedious task, especially in Santa Cruz County homes that have trees hanging over the roof.

Cleaning the Gutters

1. Gather your gutter cleaning tools.  You’ll need a good pair of gloves to remove the gunk from the gutters, as well as a steady ladder tall enough to put you at a comfortable working height to the gutter. If you have the type of gutters that won’t snag and tear your gloves, you may prefer rubber gloves to keep water from seeping through.  If you don’t like using gloves, consider using a trowel or other tool to scoop the gunk out.

2. Remove all debris from the gutter. Anything removed from the gutter can…

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Rain gutters are essential because they direct rain water away from your home to protect it from water damage. Any home repair professional can tell you about the damage sustained when Santa Cruz County homes don’t have gutters or the gutters haven’t been properly maintained.

Types of House Gutters

• Wood gutters are still in use, especially on older Santa Cruz County homes, but they are perhaps the most difficult to maintain properly. These gutters are prone to rotting, wood and mold. Additionally, they’re an attractant for wood-eating insects. The weight of these gutters requires very strong mounting to compensate in the case of backed-up water. If your home has wood gutters, you may want to update your gutters to one of the more modern options.

…

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There is no simple way to discover which home-improvement projects will yield the highest return when you’re ready to sell your home. There are many variables that come into play such as the state of the real estate market when you put your Santa Cruz County home up for sale, how old your home is, and the style of your home. 

Here are several costly projects to pass up if you want to get the biggest bang for your bucks:

Extravagant Landscaping

Buyers expect a well-maintained yard; they don't expect the home's value to increase because of it. Beautiful landscaping may encourage potential buyers to take a closer look at your Santa Cruz County home for sale, but it most likely will not add to the selling price. If a buyer is unable or unwilling to put in…

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Do you have a small room in your Santa Cruz home that’d you’d like to make larger, but you don’t have the money in your budget to tear down a wall or add on to the room?  By using a bit of creativity, you can make that tiny room look larger without breaking the bank.

Here are 8 low-cost decorating tips to make any room in your Santa Cruz home look bigger:

1. Leave open space.  Place taller pieces of furniture along a wall rather than out in the open space.  To prevent blocking the view into a room, use shorter pieces of furniture like an ottoman or a low table.   The more open space you can see, the larger the room will look.

2. Brighten the room.  A well-lit room looks larger, whether it’s brightened with natural or artificial light.  Remove heavy,…

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