Found 84 blog entries tagged as Buying Santa Cruz Real Estate.

You’ve probably heard the terms real estate agent, broker, REALTOR®, listing agent and buyer’s agent. But do you know what they mean and the differences between them? 

Here are the definitions of terms you may encounter on your Santa Cruz real estate agent search:

1. Real estate agent: Agents are licensed sales people. They are not real estate brokers. In fact, they must work for an employing broker and cannot work independently. An agent works under the broker's guidance and legal protection. Real estate agents are required to undergo education pertaining to real estate law and ethics.

2. Real estate broker: A real estate broker has more education than an agent, they can work independently, and they can hire other real estate agents. While many…

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Are you unsure about buying Santa Cruz real estate? Warren Buffet was recently quoted as saying, “If I had a way of buying a couple hundred thousand single-family homes…I would load up on them and… take mortgages out at very, very low rates…it’s a leveraged way of owning a very cheap asset now, and I think that’s probably as attractive an investment as you can make now.”

Homeownership in the United States is dropping and we are becoming a society of renters, according to a Morgan Stanley Housing Market Insights report.  Why is this happening?

• It’s harder to get mortgages: Banks have made it more difficult for people to become homeowners. If they have marginal credit or small down payments, they won’t get approved.

• Some have a fear of buying:…

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When driving through local neighborhoods, you might notice many “For Sale” signs that have foreclosure banners attached to the top. While this distressed financial situation is unfortunate for the owner, a Santa Cruz home in foreclosure could be a great investment for you.

Purchasing a foreclosed property might seem extremely complex. If you’re interested in a great real estate deal, but feel a little overwhelmed, it’s important to cut the confusion and contract with professionals who are experts in distressed properties. They can walk you through the process, eliminate foreclosure frustration and get you the best deal.

Here are a few tips to help you successfully buy a Santa Cruz home in foreclosure:

• Find a good real estate agent. When…

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Consider buying foreclosed properties if you are looking for real estate bargains. Foreclosure is a legal process in which the insurer or lender repossesses the property from the borrower who defaulted on their loan.  Santa Cruz foreclosures are easy to find with just a little work.

Here are nine tips to help you find the best Santa Cruz foreclosures:

1. Find a real estate agent: The first step is to get a reliable and trusted real estate agent.  Never try to purchase a foreclosed property by yourself.

2. Get pre-approved for a loan: If you’re not paying cash, pre-approval is a must. It means you have met with a loan officer and he or she has “pre-approved” you for a certain amount you can afford.

3. Locate foreclosed properties: You can…

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Whether you’ve decided to purchase a new home or list yours for sale, you’ll need to hire an experienced Santa Cruz real estate agent. Selling and buying homes can be stressful, so you need to be able to trust and rely on your Santa Cruz real estate agent to do what’s in your best interest, even if they’re acting as a dual agent.

While ‘dual agent’ might be a confusing term, it’s quite simple — the real estate agent is working for both the buyer and the seller of the home. As both parties will have a lot at stake, this could be perceived as a conflict of interest. Below are some of a dual agent’s obligations which are put in place to prevent a conflict of interest:

• An agent should disclose dual agency – As soon as a real estate agent realizes that…

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You’ve decided it’s time to sell your home. Now you’re dreading the process of finding a Santa Cruz real estate agent. Don’t worry! There are many outstanding agents available. Just be sure to interview at least three agents and call a few of their clients to check their references before making your choice.

To help you through this process, here are six key questions to ask when interviewing Santa Cruz real estate agents:

1. How many homes have you sold in this area in the last year and how long did it take you to sell them? Obviously, the more homes sold the better and the quicker the homes sold the better. Don’t go with a real estate agent who has sold nothing in the last six months. That most likely means they don’t know how to sell in the…

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More and more Santa Cruz homes have several generations living under one roof. Bloomberg News reported that, in 2010, 5.1 million households contained three generations, compared with 3.9 million a decade earlier. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of multi-generational families living together grew by 30 percent from 2000 to 2010.

Whether you have an in-law moving in to save money or an adult child returning after losing a job, you’ll appreciate a growing line of new homes marketed to multi-generational families. Here are some of the features you can find in this new generation of Santa Cruz homes:

• An attached one-bedroom suite with a private living area, bathroom and kitchenette. The suite has a separate entrance, its own garage and…

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There’s good news for buyers and sellers of Santa Cruz real estate: The U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook that came out the end of February is encouraging. According to this research done by Freddie Mac, both the economy and the housing market are showing cautious signs of recovery.

Here are some of the changes stimulating these improvements in both nationwide and Santa Cruz real estate markets:

• Loans that were seriously delinquent or going into foreclosure declined to the lowest quarterly share since the start of 2009, according to the latest Mortgage Bankers Association Mortgage Delinquency Survey.

• In January, existing home sales were at their highest since May 2010, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

• Job gains…

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Whether you’ve bought and sold a dozen homes or you’re a first-time home buyer, you probably know that after you purchase Santa Cruz real estate, there is usually no option to return or exchange it. Because of this finality, you need to be sure your contract spells out all the conditions you want met before the deal can close. In real estate contracts, these conditions are called contingencies.

Contingencies are the requirements that both the buyer and the seller must meet in order for the closing contract to be valid. If something does not meet specific criteria, the contract must be renegotiated or it becomes null. Below is a list of contract contingencies every buyer should include in their bid — so that you don’t end up with an unexpected…

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Recently released figures indicate real estate nationwide and Santa Cruz real estate are continuing to steadily improve. Here are seven signs that demonstrate the upturn:

1. Housing affordability has risen dramatically. This is due to a combination of reduced real estate prices and record-low mortgage rates.

2. Housing starts are increasing, driven mostly by multifamily starts.

3. Existing home sales increased in January. That means we’ve now had three months of gains out of the past four months.

4. Total housing inventory fell to a 6.1 month supply at the end of January. This means that on average it now takes just over 6 months to sell a home, which is an improvement. According to Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, "The broad inventory…

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