An older Santa Cruz home can offer a lot more charm and character than the newer houses of today. They boast gabled roofs, crown moldings, hardwood floors and antique fixtures. Buying an old house is like buying a piece of local history. Its beautiful period features can give it a timeless beauty and grace that is hard to resist.

However, sometimes buying a house from another era is an endeavor fraught with potential problems. Older houses are not necessarily built to the same electrical or plumbing standards of today. If they have not been maintained correctly through the years, they can turn into a serious money pit or a potential hazard.

Here are six tips that you should keep in mind if you are considering buying an older Santa Cruz home:

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As the temperature continues to drop, you might see a decrease in the number of showings for your Santa Cruz home. Don’t get downhearted. Just because the weather is keeping more people indoors, doesn’t mean that they aren’t still looking — the really serious ones are.

There are usually fewer properties on the market this time of year, so this is when you need to make your online presence perfect and make every showing count.

Below are success tips sellers use to warm up their homes and draw buyers in.

• Show your house in different seasons. In your online listing, make sure your real estate agent includes photographs of your house in different seasons, especially if you have a fantastic spring garden or beautiful fall trees.

• Sweep the…

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A good way to save money in your Santa Cruz home is to improve your home’s energy efficiency.  You can save four to nine percent a year on water heating costs by installing a water heater jacket.  They’re quick and easy to install, here’s how:

Prepare to Shop

Before you go shopping, make sure you know if your water heater is gas or electric.  The access panels and materials can be different between the two.  The installation of a water heater jacket on a gas heater is more difficult.  You may want to have a professional do the installation on a gas water heater.

Write down your water heater model number.  Most water heater jackets list the compatible water heater models on the packaging.  Choose a jacket with a value of  R-8. 

Installation

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It is the desire of every real estate investor to make a profit from his or her property.  If you have a home in Santa Cruz that you want to sell, the tips given below will enable you to get a better deal from the sale.

Are you selling at the right time?

Normally, the market value of a home in Santa Cruz is normally high during the spring season because there are a number of potential homeowners searching for homes to buy.  Following the economic principles of supply and demand, the cost of things is normally high when the demand is high and the supply is low.  At this time, the demand is high and the supply is low. Therefore, you are sure of selling at a good price.

Get your home ready to sell

Before listing your home for sale, it is…

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When you look at all the recent improvements in green technology, it is easier than ever before to transform your Santa Cruz home into a green home. If your home is a green energy home, you will use renewable sources for your power, hot water, security and heating. Numerous methods exist to transform your traditional home into that of a green home.

The first step you can implement around your home is that of solar power. In your green home, you can implement a solar heating system to provide heat and help store enough water for usage. Using solar panels can help convert the rays from the sun and turn them into power. If you were to purchase these items and have them installed by a specialist, it could end up costing you a significant amount of money.…

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People love to give advice when it comes to fixing up Santa Cruz real estate to put on the market. However, a lot of those suggestions can include expensive upgrades, costly renovations or pricy professional opinions that you usually don’t want to invest in a home you’re about to leave.

Don’t get frustrated! You can sell your home fast without all the fancy fixer-uppers. With the help of your Realtor and a little hard work, the tips below will increase your home’s appeal to a wide variety of buyers without breaking the bank.

• Improve the curb appeal. You not only need to stage the inside of Santa Cruz real estate, but also the outside. Trim hedges, maintain the lawn, power wash the walls and try to inject some color with a simple holiday wreath or…

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Often, most of us are so caught up on the day-to-day hustle and bustle of life that we forget the common things we need to do to keep our Santa Cruz homes safe guarded from the increase of winter bills and weather.  Relax, below are a few ways to lighten the burden and free up your time as well as adding a few extra dollars back into your pockets.

• Cleaning your gutters – It’s as easy as one, two, three.  When fall sets in it is a good time to grab the spatula or scrapper and ladder and head outside.  Clearing the fall leaves and debris from your gutters will free up any blocking made allowing melting snow and ice to flow freely.  By doing this, you are removing the possibilities of water seepage into your Santa Cruz home that could cost you a lot to…

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A final walk-through is an inspection performed anywhere from a few hours to five days before closing, and its primary purpose is to make certain that the Santa Cruz home is in the condition you agreed to buy, that agreed-upon repairs, if any, were made and nothing has gone wrong with the home since you last looked at it.

It is never a good idea to forgo the final walk-through.

Here is a list of items to check on a final walk-through:

• Turn on and off every light fixture
• Run water & look under sinks for leaks
• Check garage door openers
• Open and close all doors
• Flush toilets
• Do a visual spot check of ceilings, wall and floors
• Run garbage disposal and exhaust fans
• Open and close windows
• Make sure all debris is removed from the home
• Did the…

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Have you ever walked into your kitchen and instantly felt hungry?  Often time’s people do not think about the colors that they choose to paint their kitchens.  They are too busy worrying about whether it will match the rest of their Santa Cruz home, or if it will be what everyone in the home will like.  Take a moment to think about the one thing many do not…color affects the way you eat.  Studies have shown that it is common for certain colors to make you over eat.  Here we have listed different colors often used in kitchens and the effects that they have on your food cravings.

• Red: Yes, it increases your appetite.  Now you know why so many restaurants paint their walls red!  Although red is the color of romance and passion.  Red is also the color…

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Thanksgiving is a time for friends and family to gather in your Santa Cruz home and laugh about the days past.  It doesn’t matter if you are overlooking the ocean or nestled deep in the mountains.  You can achieve that homey feeling that we all love and look forward to when the holidays come around.  Below I have listed some ways for you to create that homey feeling in very little time at all!

• Hanging fall wreathes on the door is the first step to inviting friends and loved ones into your Santa Cruz home.  It gives that warm welcoming invite was they are walking up.

• Simmer Oranges and Cinnamon in a pot on the kitchen stove.  The aromatic smells add a nice comforting smell to your Santa Cruz home.

• Hang colorful children’s artwork threw out…

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