Santa Cruz Vacation Home

Love it or hate it, winter is here. If you’re having a hard time appreciating that fact, there are some things you can do to make your Santa Cruz home more comfortable this winter, without running up your heat bill. Here are some to try:

• Check and lock windows. Even if you think your windows are shut, go around and check each one to make sure it’s snug - and lock it.

• Use ceiling fans. Consider adding ceiling fans to every room; they truly make a difference. Set them spinning in the correct direction to pull air up this winter so they displace warm air at the ceiling and send it down the walls. Set on the lowest speed, a ceiling fan evens out indoor temperature without creating drafts.

• Invest in insulated window treatments. Stop…

Here is a painless way to reduce your energy use and your heating bill: Set your thermostat to go down 5 to 10 degrees while you’re gone all day and while you sleep at night. This could reduce your heating bill by 15% without compromising comfort.

Programmable thermostats cost anywhere from $30 to $150, so they quickly pay for themselves. By programming your thermostat to return to  your comfort level before you arrive home or get up in the morning, your Santa Cruz home will be just as comfortable as what you’re used to, and you’ll reduce your carbon footprint.

Here is how easy it is to install a programmable thermostat:

• Turn off the circuit breaker for the thermostat. Since you will be handling wiring, you must cut off 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…

Appraisals are final when it comes to securing money from a bank, so don’t let a poor one ruin your Santa Cruz real estate plans. Be proactive to ensure your appraiser is competent and has all the information he or she needs, because your purchase, sale or refinancing goals could be wrecked with a low-ball appraisal.

Minimize the risk of receiving an inaccurate appraisal by …

• Meeting the appraiser at the house. Show them around your Santa Cruz real estate, just like you’d show a potential buyer. That way you can highlight some of your home’s unique features that they might otherwise overlook. Also, if they have any questions about when things were updated or replaced, you’ll be there to share all relevant information — instead of…

With a new year beginning, it’s time for you to get rid of last year’s baggage and concentrate on making 2012 the best it can be. So if you had a home for sale in 2011 and it’s still on the market, then you only need to have one New Year’s resolution: do whatever it takes to sell that house!

This economy has made it challenging to get acceptable offers from prospective buyers. While this is extremely discouraging, the lack of offers might mean it’s time to bite the bullet and lower the price on your Santa Cruz real estate. Then you might be able to sell quickly and start a new lease on life.

Below are reasons you should lower your price now to sell fast and start anew:

• It costs time and money to keep a house on the market. Maintaining a house and…

Should you try to sell your home on your own as a Santa Cruz home for sale by owner (FSBO)? The 2011 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers has new information about FSBOs that can help you decide if you should try to sell your home without the help of a real estate professional.

Here are the top 4 facts you need to know if you’re considering selling your Santa Cruz home for sale by owner:

1. It’s harder to sell your Santa Cruz home for sale by owner in today’s market. FSBO transactions accounted for 10 percent of sales. That’s slightly above the record low of 9 percent in the 2010 study, but well below the record high of 20 percent set in 1987. The share of homes sold without professional representation has trended lower…

Of the many joys of property management, good tenants top the list.  The top of the headaches list? Bad tenants. Problems from failing to pay the rent in a timely manner to inadequate cleanliness to inconsiderate community habits plague the rental world of Santa Cruz real estate. 

You can find the best tenant for your vacancy by following these few steps. 

1. Advertise

Having plenty of applicants to select from means that you can find a good match for the vacancy. So advertise to collect a crowd of prospective tenants.  It's worth the extra time spent showing the property to more people to find a reliable tenant. 

• Spread the word among your friends and family that you have a space available. Through personal connections, you are most likely to…

Now that winter is here, we’re spending more time indoors and keeping our homes closed up against the cold. These two factors mean we should pay more attention to the air quality in our homes. Here are some things to consider at your Santa Cruz home:

• Ban the use of pesticides in your home. Insecticides are toxic to all life forms, not just insects. Many are carcinogenic. If you have a serious pest problem like roaches, try using boric acid against them. Otherwise, the occasional spider or beetle is not a real threat to you.

• Simplify cleaning. Most commercially available cleaners are a stew of chemicals. You don’t need to be breathing their fumes. Instead, you can use baking soda and/or white vinegar for most jobs.

• Ventilate the bathroom. In order…

The data from the 2011 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers is now available. Here are the significant changes you need to know that will help you market your Santa Cruz real estate and get it sold:

1. Most buyers are married: 64 percent of all buyers are married couples (up five percent from 2010), 18 percent are single women, 10 percent single men and 7 percent unmarried couples.

2. Your property is competing against 12 other homes: Buyers searched a median of 12 weeks and visited 12 homes, both unchanged from 2010.

3. Multiple bedrooms and bathrooms are preferred: The typical home had 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.

4. Most buyers want single-family homes: 77 percent of respondents purchased a detached single-family…

If you’re closing up your summer vacation home to head for warmer climates or leaving your home in Santa Cruz for an extended period, follow these tips to safeguard your home from harsh weather, pests and vandalism:

1. Trim bushes, shrubs and hedges. This isn’t to make your yard prettier. It’s to improve your home’s security by providing an unobstructed view of your doors and windows.

2. Prune tree limbs and branches. You don’t want any branches hanging over your house. They provide easy access to rodents and robbers and could fall during storms, damaging your home in Santa Cruz.

3. Bring in outdoor furniture and decorations. Don’t chance having your outdoor chairs, tables or decorations destroyed during winter storms.

4. Securely store valuable…