When you already have a home, you may be interested in determining if a refinance is a good option. You will not have to worry about restrictions on down payments or some of the problems that can occur with a down payment. However, if you are considering purchasing a home in Santa Cruz or the surrounding communities, understanding down payment restrictions is important.

Gifting Of A Down Payment
There are some programs that will allow you to use a gift for your home down payment. However, before you assume this, make sure you talk to your loan officer. Generally speaking, the lender will require the person making the gift to provide a letter stating the money was a gift and does not require repayment.

Windfalls Of A Down Payment
When people hit the…

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Every holiday season when you get out the decorations, there always seems to be a period of organization where you need to untangle lights, sort out the broken ornaments and just get all of the trimmings in order. Next year, skip the hassle of sifting through everything. The year-to-year holiday storage strategies below will help make next December’s decorating easy.

Hide Paper Up High
Utilize a space that is always vacant — the ceiling of your closet. Attach two strings of wire from the front wall above your closet door to the back wall. Make them parallel to each other and about two feet apart. Then you can slide your wrapping paper tubes across the two wires. No more crinkled or torn paper!

Bag Your Lights
The hassle of untangling holiday lights…

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If you are considering applying for a refinance, it is important to understand the mechanics of your mortgage loan. Before you sit down to speak with your loan officer, you should consider preparing a list of questions you feel may need to be answered.

Typically, your Santa Cruz loan officer will be available to assist through the entire mortgage process. Here are some questions that you may need to get answers to before completing your application:

1. What Type Of Loan Is Best For Me?
Your Santa Cruz loan officer can discuss the various loan programs available to help you refinance. Some borrowers will benefit greatly from adjustable rate mortgages while others prefer fixed rate. However, other borrowers may find a fixed rate is the best option.…

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When preparing for a closing on your refinance or home purchase, one of the documents you will be provided with a few days before closing is a HUD-1 Form. This form provides you with valuable information about your loan.

While at first, this three page document may seem intimidating, if you understand what you see in each section, it is not as confusing as you might think. Let's break down the various parts of the HUD-1 and talk about what they mean.

Loan Information
On the first page of your HUD1, you will see your loan information at the top. This includes the type of mortgage (such as FHA or VA), property location, loan amount and the date of closing. This information is very basic but also is very important to review for accuracy.

Buyer And…

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It's coming up on Christmas time, which means that people are decorating their Santa Cruz home with lights and tinsel. It also means that it's time to pick a Christmas tree. If you've never had a real Christmas tree or you never seem to get it quite right, these tips and tricks can help you pick the perfect tree:

Buying Your Tree
Measure where you're going to place the tree in your [city] home, from ceiling to floor. You'll want your tree to be at least a foot shorter than the ceiling, so take a measuring tape with you when you shop for your tree.
When measuring for height, adjust for the star, angel or topknot that you'll be using; most can add as much as twelve inches to the height of your tree.

Measure the opening of your Christmas tree stand, so…

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Christmas lights can be the most festive of holiday decorations, but actually putting them up can be a huge pain. With these easy step-by-step instructions, you can safely hang Christmas lights outside your house in no time. That way you can get back to what’s important, family time.

Buy Your Lights
You’ll need Christmas lights of course. There are a lot of options. You can get colorful lights or classic white lights. There are icicle lights, blinking lights, classic large bulb lights, and more. Just pick whatever looks good. Remember that consistency is important. Pick one or two types and stick with them. Also remember to measure your roof, bushes, trees, or whatever you plan to cover with lights. Without proper measurements you won’t know how many…

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5 Tips On Selling Real Estate Even In The Brisk Cold
AnySanta Cruz real estate agent will tell you that it’s harder to sell your home in the winter. The days are colder and shorter, leaving less time to show your home to potential buyers.

The good news is that most of the buyers who are looking at houses in the winter aren’t just killing time. They’re serious enough about finding their new home to go house hunting at a time that most people would rather stay inside.

There are a few things you can do to make a good impression on home buyers this winter:

• Be sure to place a mat for visitors to wipe their feet on.
• Warm up the house. Buyers will remember the house that was pleasantly warm on a frigid day. In addition, you will be able to…

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Few questions are more important this time of year than which Christmas tree you should buy for your Santa Cruz home. There are some things to keep in mind when looking for the perfect Christmas tree, here are just a few:

Real Or Artificial Tree?
Real Christmas trees require some care; if you're planning to travel this holiday season, you may not want a live tree. You must water the tree to make sure that it doesn’t lose its needles before Christmas day. The live trees are not fire resistant, the dried out pine needles can get too hot from the lights and may burst into flame.

On the other hand, there isn’t any up-keep with an artificial Christmas tree, and many look quite realistic. The plastic Christmas trees have an added bonus of being flame…

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With most of the country easing into full-on winter weather, last-minute outdoor projects need to happen soon. And what better way to enjoy a cozy holiday season than by drinking hot chocolate and roasting marshmallows at your very own outdoor fire pit. In one weekend, the steps below can help you build an outdoor fire pit and get you fired up about the cold!

Determine The Size And Location
The first order of business is to choose where to build your outdoor fire pit. You want to make sure it’s not too close to the house or overhanging trees. Once you’ve found the spot, lay out a ring of stones and mark it with a shovel before you dig the hole. You’ll want it to be between 35-45 inches in diameter. This will allow a roaring fire, but it will also feel…

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"There's always something to be thankful for. If you can't pay your bills, you can be thankful you're not one of your creditors" – Author Unknown

With Thanksgiving being tomorrow, I find myself thinking about everything I have to be thankful for. For instance, I've been a Santa Cruz real estate agent for some time, which is a position that I enjoy and love. I'm also grateful to be able to share the knowledge that I've learned throughout the years with my clients and those of you who read my blog. It's a wonderful and rare thing to do something that you love for a living.

Most of us are so busy reaching our goals, making plans for the future, pushing and struggling to rise to wherever we feel our position in life should be, that we very rarely take…

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