remodel

Buying a Santa Cruz home can be a great investment. And growing that investment by making it more valuable before you sell means more money in your pocket. While a lot of projects can be expensive and time consuming, there are a few quick and easy upgrades to make your property worth more to buyers.

Update Kitchen Cabinets
You don’t need to completely replace kitchen cabinets to make them appealing. Switching out the doors and drawer fronts can make them appear new. You can also add a fresh coat of paint and replace the hardware on the front of the cabinets to create a new look.

Replace the Front Door
The entry point of your Santa Cruz home is the first and last thing potential buyers see. If your front door is old, outdated or looks like it has…

Remodeling and updating Santa Cruz real estate makes a lot of sense in today’s market. Even if you’re planning on staying in your home for years to come, don’t make the mistake of spending your home improvement dollars unwisely. You never know when something like illness, unemployment or a job opportunity in another city may force you to sell.

You don’t want to sink a lot of money into expensive upgrades or additions that you won’t recoup when it’s time to sell. So here are five tips to make sure your investment makes good financial sense.

1. Keep pace with the neighbors, but don’t pass them. Any real estate expert will tell you that it’s hard to get the maximum value out of a home when it’s the nicest one in the…

If you’re considering remodeling your Santa Cruz home, whether it’s a project as small as adding a bay window in the kitchen or as big as adding on a new bathroom, here are a few items you should consider before making the decision to remodel:

• Budget for success – However much you think the renovation might cost, realize that it will likely cost more. Keep that in mind when considering whether you can truly afford to make the changes.

• Put your money toward your priorities – If you live to travel, and you spend very little time in your Santa Cruz home, is the best use of your funds really a renovation? Think about the return on investment as it applies to your happiness. 

• Remodeling only goes so far – If you want to rip…

Wouldn’t it be nice if all the doors in your Santa Cruz home swung freely and quietly and closed with a neat “click,” just the way they should? Maybe you’ve adapted to all the idiosyncrasies of each door and don’t even notice how they add vexation to your life. But visitors will notice — especially if they’re potential buyers. In today’s market, you can’t afford to have anything working against you, no matter how subliminal. So let’s fix those annoying doors. Pick your problem:

Lock problems.
If the key to the door to your Santa Cruz home is difficult to turn in the lock, don’t try to oil it. This will only attract more dust and make things worse. Instead, get a tube of graphite powder from the key department at your hardware…

If your Santa Cruz home’s bathroom is looking dull and dingy, you don’t have to wait until you win the lottery to give it a facelift. All you need is a little creativity, a lot of elbow grease and a weekend.

The best part about updating your bathroom is that it’s usually the smallest room in your Santa Cruz home, which means it’ll take less time and effort to give it a makeover. Here are seven tips to update your bathroom quickly and inexpensively:

1. Wash the shower walls: You want to remove soap scum and hard-water stains.

2. Re-grout the tub: If the grout joint, where the wall meets the tub, is damaged or discolored, scrape it out. Use a grout saw to remove the top 1/8 inch of grout from between the tiles. Wash the shower again and…

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…

Many people are downsizing these days, either because they're empty nesters and no longer need the room, they’re getting older and want a smaller space to maintain, or they’re reducing their financial burdens or environmental impact.

If you’ve made the decision to downsize to a smaller Santa Cruz home, here are five tips to help you make the transition:

1. Start early: Downsizing to a smaller home is much less stressful if you have plenty of time to sort through your belongings to figure out what you’re getting rid of and what you’re keeping. Plan to do this at least a month before you put your home up for sale. (Bonus benefit: it makes your house less cluttered and more desirable to buyers.)

2. Evaluate your needs: Take an honest…

If you need to replace flooring, countertops or a backsplash in your Santa Cruz home, consider ceramic tile. Here are some of the great attributes of ceramic tile:

• Natural, renewable and very green. The production of ceramic tile is non-polluting and energy efficient.

• Durable. It can last the lifetime of your home.

• Non-flammable. Great around the fireplace, woodstove and kitchen stove.

• Wide variety to choose from. Ceramic tile is available in a multitude of textures and colors. You can also create tile patterns to add interest to any décor.

• Easy to clean. Spills are no big deal.

• Non-allergenic. Carpet is a fur magnet and provides breeding grounds for mold and insects such as fleas.

• Beautiful. Whether you’re the creative type and…

In honor of Labor Day, you may have a few DIY renovation projects planned for your Santa Cruz home. Instead of plunging right into costly home renovations, you might want to take the long weekend to consider the following tips to gain insight before getting down to work.

• Talk to your parents. Give your elders a call to see what they think about your renovation plans. Those of the older generation have usually lived in many houses and did a lot more fixing up than most property owners do today.

• Consult a professional. Talk with a professional who specializes in the type of renovation that you’re planning, such as a carpenter, plumber or electrician. They might charge you for an hour of their time, but you’ll gain valuable insight and maybe even tips…

Recently, environmentally friendly or “green” remodeling has become more and more popular. Nearly every day you see a TV show or online article giving tips on how to make your home and life more eco-friendly.

The catch is that green building can sometimes be extremely expensive. And, in most areas there really aren’t enough buyers specifically looking for features like rain water catch basins and solar panels to make it worth your investment. However, there are some relatively inexpensive ways you can remodel your Santa Cruz real estate that will benefit the environment and go easy on your wallet at the same time.

• Refurbish what you can while remodeling. If it’s possible to refinish existing cabinets and woodwork instead of replacing them, you’ll…