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

You know that you can lend money to your child to help him or her buy Santa Cruz real estate.  But you’d like to explore some other financial arrangements to determine which option is the most advantageous for you and your child.

Here are four additional ways to help your child buy Santa Cruz real estate:

1. Give the down payment as a gift.

Before deciding whether to make the money a gift or a loan, consider what moral message you may be sending.  You don’t want your child to develop a sense of entitlement and take for granted that he or she can come to you any time money is needed.

If you decide you do want to give part or all of the down payment as a gift, consult with your financial adviser to determine the amount you can give away without…

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You’ve reviewed your finances and have decided you can afford to and want to help your child buy Santa Cruz real estate.  Is lending the money to your offspring your best option?  Here are some questions to consider when making this decision. 

1. Will you need the money later?
If there’s a chance that you might need the money to live on at some point, lending the money to your child is a better option than giving it to them.  You can always forgive part of the loan later on, if you find you don’t need the money to live on.

2. How much should you lend? 
Depending on your financial situation, you can lend part or all of the down payment or part or all of the purchase price of the Santa Cruz real estate.

If you have enough money to lend the entire…

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You want a new home in Santa Cruz, but you’re not sure whether it’s best to build a new one or buy an existing home.  The first thing you should do is identify your priorities.  Do you dream of a customized house built from the ground up, or is living near all the action in your ideal neighborhood most important to you?

Before you make up your mind or put in an offer, take the time to prioritize the following:

• Location - Can you find land to build on in your desired location? If not, are you willing to consider a different area if it means you’ll get a house tailored to your specifications? If you’re extremely location focused, you might have to give up the idea of building your perfect house and concentrate on available homes in the area.

• …

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Buying Santa Cruz homes when you live in another state or country can be challenging.  Here are a few simple ideas to help make things a little less hectic.

• Investigate online.  Most people know to search for Santa Cruz homes online, but what about searching for a neighborhood?  Although you can’t search each and every individual neighborhood, you can research almost any city online.  This gives you a pretty good idea of what the area has to offer in the way of schools, shopping and safety.

• Hire a buyer’s agent.  While you’re searching online, your buyer’s agent can search the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for you.  She or he can email newly listed properties to you daily.

• Use your buyer’s agent as your eyes, ears and nose.  When you find…

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