Santa Cruz Condos

Do you know how closing costs actually work? Or, how you’d use CMAs (comparative market analysis) to evaluate Santa Cruz real estate? And, can you decipher all of the abbreviations and acronyms, such as FDR, lo dues and MLS.

Purchasing a home is frustrating enough without having to go through the frustration of decoding all the complicated speak and legalese. If you brush up with a real estate dictionary before your home-buying search, you’ll gain valuable knowledge and save yourself a lot of time and headaches in the long run.

Basic lingo every Santa Cruz real estate buyer or seller should know …

• ARM – This stands for Adjustable-Rate Mortgage, which is a type of mortgage where the interest rate periodically adjusts.

• Closing costs – These are…

Looking to buy a new house? Do you have a specified budget in place? Are you going to need to take out a loan? In such a tumultuous real estate market, there are many frustrating financial hurdles that you need to jump before you can purchase your Santa Cruz home. However, with a pre-approved loan you could reduce stress and move in quicker.

A pre-approved loan is when a bank provides you with an amount they would be willing to lend you for a Santa Cruz home and a period of time for which this offer is good. They determine this amount based on several criteria that you must provide and prove, such as your current income, bank statements, income tax returns and credit history.

Perks from pre-approval

As a homeowner, one of the biggest traps you can fall into is over improving your Santa Cruz home. 

Turn on any home improvement channel, and they will show you all the latest and greatest in must haves for your Santa Cruz home.  What they don’t tell you is that even the best upgrades won’t guarantee an increase in your resale value.  In fact, most remodel jobs only recoup 60% to 70% of their costs.

Here are some tips to help you avoid over improving your home:

Assess the value of homes in your neighborhood. 

Unless you plan on staying in your Santa Cruz home forever, do some research on the home values in your neighborhood before you begin any home renovations. Ideally, you want to add improvements that increase the resale value of your home while…

The ongoing debate as to whether selling your Santa Cruz real estate is better as a FSBO or with the help of a REALTOR® just got some new ammunition.  The new survey supports past findings that using a REALTOR® is more beneficial to Santa Cruz real estate sellers.

The survey, conducted by HomeGain.com, a leading online real estate resource that connects home buyers and sellers with real estate professionals, surveyed over 1,000 homeowners.   Here’s what HomeGain’s survey found:

• 83% of homeowners surveyed said they used a REALTOR® to sell their home and 17% said they tried to sell their home on their own.

• 59% of homeowners that used a REALTOR® to sell their homes were successful vs. 39% of FSBO’s, reflecting a 50% higher closing rate for those home…

Marketing your Santa Cruz home for sale can be tough enough in this economy without having other sources working against you. That’s why you should double-check your property’s public records. Large discrepancies between your property description and what’s listed as public record could be turning potential buyers away.

If the public property report for your house is not up to date, you could appear as if you’re inflating its qualities, such as the square footage or the number of bedrooms and bathrooms. Don’t let something so simple hurt your property’s sale. Consider taking the following steps to ensure your home is being portrayed accurately.

1. Review your property’s public record.  If it matches the information that you and your real estate agent…

It’s the time of year we all dread… time for your 2010 tax filings.  While I am not a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or even a plain old accountant, I do want to share with you some basic tax tips all Santa Cruz home owners should consider before filing their taxes.

• Contact a tax expert.  My motto is always, if in doubt, contact a tax expert.  There’s no way around it; taxes are complicated.  While some don’t want to spend their money on tax experts, I’ve found that they’ve saved me much more money than they’ve cost.  And, the peace of mind they provide is priceless.

• Claim your Santa Cruz home owner’s tax deduction, if you’re eligible.  In 2002, a study was conducted that showed that 61% of eligible home owners did not claim their home owner’s…

You’ve found the Santa Cruz home you want to buy, and you’ve hired a professional home inspector.  But, wait!  You’re job isn’t done.  You still need to personally participate in the inspection on your Santa Cruz home.

Here are 5 reasons why you should attend your home inspection:

1. See for yourself.  There’s a big difference between reading a report and seeing first-hand what’s right and wrong with the home.  Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be able to determine if a problem is serious enough to walk away from the home if the seller is unwilling to fix it. 

2. Learn practical information about your home.  You’ll discover where things such as the water valve and electrical box are located.

3. Experience your prospective home through the eyes of an…

There are a few misconceptions about how to set the sales price for your Santa Cruz real estate.  Here are five common pricing myths and the reality behind them.

Myth #1:  It’s OK to test a high price on your Santa Cruz real estate just to see if anyone will buy it at that price. 

If you’re serious about selling your home, don’t play games.  In this buyer’s market you have a very small window of opportunity to pull in serious buyers when your home first enters the market.  If you play games, like over pricing your home just to test the market, buyers will stay away in droves. 

Myth #2:  You should price your Santa Cruz real estate higher than the market value to allow for room to negotiate.

Truth:  No matter what your reasoning or rationale,…

Despite all the stories you hear on the news, buying Santa Cruz foreclosures doesn't have to be a negative experience.  Here are 3 tips to make the process smoother and more profitable for you:

Tip #1:  Allow plenty of time for the whole process. 

Santa Cruz foreclosures take longer to get to closing than traditional homes.  What takes so long?  As you probably know, there are a lot of foreclosures happening now.  That means there is a large backlog of foreclosures lenders have to process before they get to yours.

Another common problem that extends the buying time for foreclosures is title issues. Before closing, the new mortgage lender needs to prove that you have a clean title so they feel safe lending the money.  Each step of a foreclosure…

Here are a few tips to help your Santa Cruz home for sale show better and sell faster.

1. Get rid of the excess:  Eliminate as much as possible, and then do it again.  Remember when staging your Santa Cruz home for sale, less is best.  Swap out personal photos for framed art.  The main idea is to remove as much as possible and replace personal items with neutral objects so that people can imagine their things in the home.

2. Repair and paint:  Before painting, fix all those minor dings that don't really bother you.  Buyers notice everything.  A missing piece of baseboard, an outlet that doesn't work, or a closet door that won’t stay on track all seem minor, but they can have a huge affect on how a buyer views your home.  The next step is to apply a…