Found 45 blog entries tagged as buying a home.

When it comes to buying a Santa Cruz house, should you be looking toward a brand new recently built property or considering an older historic home?

There are many advantages to either option and the best choice for you will depend on what you are looking for in a home. If you are wondering whether buying an older property is right for you, here are some questions to ask yourself:

Are You Willing to Invest in Renovations?

A historic home will be more likely to need upgrades when it comes to electrical wiring, plumbing and central heat or air. When you are making your choice whether to purchase in the home, don’t forget to factor in the costs of the upgrades that need to be made.

Do You Have the Time for Maintenance?

Buying an older home…

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When you are buying your new Santa Cruz home, you will not only need to consider the house itself but the neighborhood that it is located in. The old real estate cliché about “location, location, location” is true, as the area of the city where your home is located will have an impact on its future value as well as your lifestyle.

So what factors should you consider when you are choosing which neighborhoods to house hunt within?

Proximity to Your Daily Needs

If you work downtown, living out in the suburbs means that you will be adding time for a commute onto your day. While this might be worth the cheaper prices for properties out of the town centre, it is something to consider when making your decision. You will also need to consider whether the…

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If you have purchased a new Santa Cruz house and are going to move in soon, what are the first things that you will need to do when you arrive at your new home?

Change Your Address

You will need to change your address for all magazine subscriptions, bills and other services. Visit your post office to find out what needs to be done.

Set Up the Utilities

When you move into a new home, you will need to get all of the contact information from the previous homeowner for the utility companies. Be sure to change the services into your name before you move in, such as gas, cable, electricity, internet, telephone, sewer and water.

Change the Locks

You have no way of knowing who the old homeowners gave a copy of the key to, so having the locks…

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So you have just purchased a brand new Santa Cruz home and you are packing up your things and preparing to move in? Make the move easier by getting rid of any unnecessary stuff and clutter that has collected at your old home.

Let’s face it, we all have a surprising amount of stuff that we don’t really use or need. Why spend the time packing these extraneous possessions, pay to have them transported and spend time unpacking them just so they can sit in your new storage cupboards or garage collecting dust? De-cluttering before a move will save you a lot of valuable time and money and the less stuff you have the more space you can enjoy in your new home.

However, getting rid of stuff can sometimes be an emotional and difficult process. Here are some…

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Paying for the mortgage isn’t the only expense that you will need to consider when you are buying a Santa Cruz home. There are many other costs that you will have to think about and these can come as a shock if you haven’t planned ahead for them. Some very enthusiastic first-time homeowners will gloss over these costs and later find out that their budget and paycheque is overwhelmed.

Here are a few of the costs that you should consider when you are becoming a homeowner for the first time.

Moving Costs

Once the home purchase is complete, you will have a whole new wave of additional costs concerned with moving into your new home. You might be able to ask your friends for a favor, but usually you will have to spend thousands on a moving company to…

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Once you’ve found a house you are interested in buying, it’s difficult to know when to make an offer. If you like the Santa Cruz home, there are likely other buyers who like it too. You’re not the only one who can spot a good buy. If you take too long to make a bid, someone else could beat you to the prize.

If the property you are looking at is in good condition, priced right and is in a good location, it will likely be snapped up quickly. This means that you should place your offer as soon as possible — as long as you have cancellation rights.

Advantages of immediately making an offer

Of course, the main advantage of placing a bid quickly is to prevent anyone else from buying the [city} home that you love. The seller may accept your offer and…

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open house questions

An open house gives you a great opportunity to get a first-hand look at the property you might be interested in buying. It also affords you the chance to chat with the selling agent so you can bring up any questions or hesitations you have with the home. Knowing exactly what to ask in the moment can be a challenge, so here are examples of questions at the next open house you attend: 

Why has the seller decided to sell now?

If you ask the REALTOR® why the seller is moving, you could learn valuable information to help determine your bid. Knowing whether the owners are about to go into foreclosure or they’ve retired south and completely paid off the home can help you decide how urgently they need to sell their property. 

Have you had any other…

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When looking to buy Santa Cruz real estate, confusing terminology can leave you feeling like a dunce. From a multitude of numbers to marketing jargon, property listings can provide you with an overwhelming amount of information — and it’s hard to know what’s important. So, brush up on the terms below and don’t get fooled this April!

Sale-to-List Ratio

This is an important number to pay attention to when choosing a REALTOR. The percentage is calculated by what a home was initially listed for, divided by the actual sale price. The closer an agent’s percentage is to 100, the better. If it’s low, that could be an indication that they routinely list homes too high.

Median Days on Market

The median days on market is the midpoint of how many days it…

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With the housing market still making a comeback and many people renting homes, now may be the right time to invest in Santa Cruz real estate as rental property. The additional income could make it a solid investment if you are looking for something long term. When looking for rental property, here are several factors to consider to ensure your investment is profitable.

Financing

If you plan to take out a mortgage to purchase the property, be sure to check your credit report through the three major credit bureaus and clean up any errors. If your score is low, you’ll need to work on improving your credit rating to get the best interest rate on your loan. In addition, consider that you may have periods without a tenant, so plan ahead to cover payments…

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Buying Santa Cruz real estate for the first time is a very exciting step in life. It is likely to be one of the biggest financial commitments that you make, so it’s very important to navigate the purchasing process wisely.

Many first-time homebuyers make rookie mistakes that bring on negative consequences and a lot of frustration. Outlined below are common errors homebuyers make, so you can learn from their missteps and avoid them yourself.

Buying more than what you can afford
Just because the bank says that it will give you a certain amount for a mortgage doesn’t mean that you have to choose a house at the very top of this price range. Many people get carried away and close on an expensive house. Then they find it difficult to keep up with their…

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