With the first day of spring rapidly approaching, get in the spirit and do a little spring cleaning — especially if you’re putting your home on the market. It’s important for Santa Cruz real estate to be clean and clutter-free in order to show better and sell quicker.

Whether you’re still living in the home or have completely moved out, there are many things you can do before the first open house to ensure everything is showing at its best. Below is a list that every real estate agent would love to see when they first evaluate Santa Cruz real estate.

• Paint walls neutral colors. If your house has a ‘clinically white’ feeling or is on a psychedelic color spree, you’ll need to paint the rooms a neutral beige, tan or gray. Even if your rooms are…

1584 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

If your Santa Cruz home is on the market, you know there’s an inspection in your future. With that in mind, plan to spend a week or so getting ready for the inspection.

1. Make sure the inspector has access to all areas of your Santa Cruz home. Here are some of the most important places:
a. Attic. If your attic is accessed through a closet, take time to clear away clutter so the inspector can get up there quickly and easily. Have a ladder at the ready if needed.
b. Basement. Clear everything away from the exterior walls of the basement so they can be seen.
c. Utilities. Clear around the furnace, air conditioner, water heater and circuit breaker boxes.
d. Foundation. Clear brush away from the foundation.

2. Keep electricity on. If your Santa Cruz home is…

1581 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Got a squeaky floor in your Santa Cruz home? It can be an aggravation and leave a bad impression on prospective buyers walking through your home. You can fix squeaky floors fairly easily. Here are some options:

• Sprinkle talc or powdered graphite over gaps in wood flooring. If your squeaks are caused by loosened boards rubbing against each other, graphite can act as a lubricant and take care of the squeak.

• Face-nail boards back into place. If your squeak is caused by wood rubbing against loose nails, carefully nail them back down.

• Shim it. If your problem is a gap between your flooring and joist, get someone to bounce on the squeak while you’re in the basement. When you can see where the gap is causing the squeak, insert a shim in the gap.…

1571 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

April begins gardening season, the time we get antsy to start working the soil, thinking about fertilizing the lawn and planting flowers in our Santa Cruz home.

Whether you’re preparing your Santa Cruz home to put it up for sale or just doing general maintenance and upkeep, here is your to-do list:

Annuals and Containers:

• Deadhead flowers to promote more blooms.
• Clean and sanitize summer containers, and plan your design for the summer.
• Plant summer annuals after the last frost.  Bring them indoors or cover with a cloth during a late cold snap.
• Start seeds indoors for annual herbs.
• Plant annual herbs such as basil and cilantro after the last frost.

Lawn:

• Raking should be your first task of spring lawn care. This removes dead grass,…

2203 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

March leaves you anxious for the arrival of spring with its alternating bursts of winter and spring weather.  While there is nothing you can do about Mother Nature’s grip on winter, you can freshen up your Santa Cruz home for the spring that’s just around the corner. Here are a few ideas to brighten the core rooms in your home:

Living/Family Room:
• Change out all dark-colored throws and pillows and add brighter pastels and colors. 
• Remove heavy drapes and replace them with light sheers that let in more light and brighten things up.
• Don’t forget to clean the windows so they sparkle as well!
• Replace candles with vases of bright-colored flowers.
• Add a lush plant in front of or inside the fireplace that will not be used again until fall.
• Replace dark…

1776 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Real estate professionals call it staging, or showcasing, the best features of your home to get top dollar when you sell.  Selling your Santa Cruz real estate is a lot like romance, it pays to set the mood.

Here are some tips to make your home show ready:

1. Clear out as much furniture as you can: Donate it, put it in storage, or have a garage sale. Your home needs to look spacious, not cluttered.

2. Nix the cigarettes: Buyers are sensitive to cigarette smells.  Many buyers will not even tour a home if they smell cigarette smoke.

3. Let there be light: Open the blinds and turn on the lights.  If the whole house is dark, that’s a problem.

4. Get a home inspection: Do it now so you’re aware of any problems and can make any necessary repairs…

1369 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Preventive maintenance is crucial to the value and upkeep of your home.  Keeping your Santa Cruz real estate in great shape with regular check-ups will save you the headache and cost of emergency repairs.

Here are six items to add to your outdoor spring maintenance checklist:

1. Clean the Gutters:  Gutters work best when clean and free of gunk.  Check yours for foliage, tree limbs, etc., especially if trees hang over the roof.

2. Make sure the downspouts are clean:  They should point at least two feet away from foundation walls.

3. Check exterior paint: Look for chipped, cracked paint.  Scrape off any failing paint, sand it down, prime the surface, and paint it with a high-quality, low-VOC exterior paint.

4. Brighten your Santa Cruz real…

1380 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Homeowners and homebuyers want to save money on utility bills and also want to make their Santa Cruz home better for the environment.

Whether you’re prepping your Santa Cruz home before putting it up for sale or you just want to make a few changes so your home is more environmentally friendly, here are 11 ideas to choose from:

1. Put in CFL (compact fluorescent light) bulbs or LED bulbs that conserve energy: CFLs use a quarter of the electricity as regular bulbs.
2. Upgrade your existing windows: Replace them with high-performance, insulated windows.
3. Use green, non-toxic organic, VOC-free paint: Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are found in paint and harm the air we breathe.
4. Remove your old non-green carpeting: Carpeting can emit allergens and…

2019 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

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…

1520 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Spring heralds the arrival of blooming flowers, chirping birds and warmer weather. It is also a perfect time to do some after-winter indoor maintenance.  Here are eight indoor maintenance tips to help keep your Santa Cruz home in perfect operating condition:

1. Change air conditioning unit air filters monthly: Clean air filters help your unit run more efficiently, saving money on your energy bills.

2. Install environmentally-friendly window treatments: Save on utility bills by adding blinds to windows that face south and west. Open windows when the sun sets and close them at sunrise.

3. Examine your sump pump: Make sure the sump pump is operating correctly, and install a battery backup pump. The backup, another pump that floats above the original…

1871 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post