Found 43 blog entries tagged as Improve Your Home's Curb Appeal.

Most property owners getting ready to sell their Santa Cruz real estate understand the importance of cleaning, de-cluttering, updating and staging in order to make a quick sale. However, there are also many other steps you can take to ensure your home appeals to potential buyers, draws them in and seals the deal.

Below are five tips to help you not only get your house in tip-top shape, but also make it extremely marketable:

1. Find a good Santa Cruz real estate agent. While many people think they can sell their home themselves and save money, they’re wrong. Relying on a professional’s expertise and experience has been proven to net you a bigger profit — and definitely reduce your stress and frustration.

2. Clean and de-clutter. While this goes…

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If you’re getting ready to put your Santa Cruz home up for sale, it’s time to make all those repairs that have been simmering on the back burner.  When buyers come looking, they want things in tip-top shape, otherwise they think you have not been taking care of the property.

Here are your ten must-do repairs before putting your Santa Cruz home up for sale:

1. Repair the roof.  Maintaining a sound roof literally tops the list of crucial home repairs. Replace missing shingles and fix damaged shingles.
2. Clean, clear and caulk gutters.  When the weather is dry, get on a ladder and clean out all the leaves and debris from the gutters.  Check their condition, repair any loose sections and caulk around the end caps.
3. Fix sagging screen doors and other…

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In this economy, every leg up on other sellers will help your home sell faster and at the price you want.  If you’re not getting the offers you want on your Santa Cruz home, here are nine ideas to get things moving in the right direction:

1. Get an appraisal.  Knowing what a professional appraiser thinks your home is worth gives owners a reality check. It also helps you determine the best price for your home.

2. Get a home inspection before listing your home.  Find out the hidden problems with your Santa Cruz home and correct them in advance. If you get your home inspected and find problems but elect not to repair them, be sure to include the problems on the property condition disclosure form.

3. Consider offering a home warranty.  Everyone likes…

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You’ve cleaned the house, made all the necessary repairs and removed all the clutter. Now it’s time to have an open house to pull in potential buyers for your home in Santa Cruz.

Here are eight tips to help you have a successful open house:

1. Take advantage of new technology.  Advertise the open house on all the popular real estate sites.  With technology what it is these days, most home buyers start their searches online. If you’re working with a real estate agent, he or she will handle this for you.

2. Enlist your neighbors’ help.  Neighbors have friends who are looking for homes too.  Let them know about your open house and invite them over. They will be looking at your home for their friends, their kids’ friends, etc. 

3. Go paperless. …

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When selling a Santa Cruz home, the last thing you want potential buyers to focus on are projects they’ll need to complete. Even though it’s cosmetic, wallpaper — and the thought of long hours stripping it — might make many buyers start questioning whether they really want to buy your Santa Cruz home.

When preparing your home for sale, remove all old wallpaper. This project can be completed in one weekend and will greatly improve your property’s appeal. Below are five steps to get rid of wallpaper and increase your resale potential:

1. Remove the old wallpaper. Renting a wallpaper steamer is an absolute must to save you time and aggravation. It’ll make the job much quicker and is much less likely to damage the wall underneath.

2. Scrub your walls…

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With the first day of spring rapidly approaching, get in the spirit and do a little spring cleaning — especially if you’re putting your home on the market. It’s important for Santa Cruz real estate to be clean and clutter-free in order to show better and sell quicker.

Whether you’re still living in the home or have completely moved out, there are many things you can do before the first open house to ensure everything is showing at its best. Below is a list that every real estate agent would love to see when they first evaluate Santa Cruz real estate.

• Paint walls neutral colors. If your house has a ‘clinically white’ feeling or is on a psychedelic color spree, you’ll need to paint the rooms a neutral beige, tan or gray. Even if your rooms are…

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Your home is usually the most important and sizable investment you will ever make. Whether you’re buying a starter home or the home of your dreams, you can’t afford to invest in Santa Cruz real estate that won’t steadily increase in value over time.
In order to assess a home’s potential and maximize your profit when it comes time to sell, we’ve compiled a list of five helpful questions to ask when choosing a property.

1. Are businesses investing locally? Ask your potential neighbors about new businesses in the area and check the local papers. If businesses are investing, it’s a good sign that the neighborhood will continue to enjoy financial stability.

2. What amenities are in the area? Buyers will pay a premium to be near amenities such as parks,…

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Real estate professionals call it staging, or showcasing, the best features of your home to get top dollar when you sell.  Selling your Santa Cruz real estate is a lot like romance, it pays to set the mood.

Here are some tips to make your home show ready:

1. Clear out as much furniture as you can: Donate it, put it in storage, or have a garage sale. Your home needs to look spacious, not cluttered.

2. Nix the cigarettes: Buyers are sensitive to cigarette smells.  Many buyers will not even tour a home if they smell cigarette smoke.

3. Let there be light: Open the blinds and turn on the lights.  If the whole house is dark, that’s a problem.

4. Get a home inspection: Do it now so you’re aware of any problems and can make any necessary repairs…

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The winter season makes staging, or the concept of showing your Santa Cruz home at its best, even more important.  Follow these tips to make your home irresistible:

1. Make every surface shine: Shine bathroom fixtures, stove, refrigerator and faucets.

2. Sweep your front porch: Sweep away all those leaves stuck in the corners.

3. Clean, Clean, Clean: Everything from lamps and light fixtures to bulbs and baseboards.

4. Add fresh flowers: Put them on the entry table, dining room table and anywhere else that needs a splash of color.

5. Remove all clutter: Put it in a storage locker or a friend’s garage. Take down all your personal pictures.  Buyers want to picture their belongings in the house, not yours.

6. Burn potpourri: Or bake…

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As a seller preparing to sell your Santa Cruz home, you may be busily emptying closets and painting walls, but don't forget about the outside of your house. Home buying is emotional and, like many emotional reactions, it can be heavily impacted by first impressions.

Here are some suggestions on how to encourage love at first sight by increasing the curb appeal of your Santa Cruz home:

• Tidy up – You may be so used to seeing the crumbling stack of firewood by the garbage cans and the old paint cans by the shed that they fade into the landscape, but potential homeowners see the mess.  As you look at the outside of your house, think about what you can throw away or put out of sight. The broken swing on the tree actually takes away from the grandeur of…

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