Found 29 blog entries tagged as Renovations.

If it’s time to hire a contractor to add onto or remodel your Santa Cruz home, you need to ensure that you’re hiring a professional you can trust. Here are some important questions to ask when you call:

• How long have you been in business?
• Are you bonded and insured?
• Have you completed a job like this before?
• Do you have a list of references I can contact?
• When can you start my project?

If you find the contractor easy to talk to, set up a time to meet in person. When that time arrives, if the contractor does not show up, or if he or she is late and does not call you, this is a red flag; don’t work with him or her.

When meeting in person with contractors, ask for their permanent business address; if it is a PO Box, ask why. Find out if they…

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Wouldn’t it be nice if all the doors in your Santa Cruz home swung freely and quietly and closed with a neat “click,” just the way they should? Maybe you’ve adapted to all the idiosyncrasies of each door and don’t even notice how they add vexation to your life. But visitors will notice — especially if they’re potential buyers. In today’s market, you can’t afford to have anything working against you, no matter how subliminal. So let’s fix those annoying doors. Pick your problem:

Lock problems.
If the key to the door to your Santa Cruz home is difficult to turn in the lock, don’t try to oil it. This will only attract more dust and make things worse. Instead, get a tube of graphite powder from the key department at your hardware store. Insert the tip of…

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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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Whether it’s your mother’s, mother-in-law’s or grandmother’s Santa Cruz home for sale that needs work, make the effort this Mother’s Day to give her your time and make a few quick improvements. Fixing up a Santa Cruz home for sale can be overwhelming, especially if costly repairs are needed.

To give you some ideas, here are six fast and inexpensive improvements that will have your loved-one’s Santa Cruz home for sale looking better and selling faster:

1. Neutralize the rooms. Your father might take pride in his fly-fishing-inspired man cave, but potential buyers may not love it. Pack away as much of the fishing memorabilia as dad will allow, and brighten the room by painting it a neutral color.

2. Add lighting. Modern track lighting can help…

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According to AARP, seniors overwhelmingly want to stay in their Santa Cruz homes as long as possible.  With innovations in home design, it’s possible for more and more seniors to achieve this dream.

Remodelers trained as Certified Aging-in-Place Specialists (CAPS) can help homeowners adapt their Santa Cruz homes for easier accessibility and improved functionality. CAPS remodelers learn about aging-in-place home design and how to help customers create a more comfortable home.

Don’t have the money to hire a CAPS remodeler? There are accessibility and functionality improvements your handy-person or loved one can inexpensively do for you, such as:

• Installing grab bars to minimize falling
• Adding comfort-height toilets
• Constructing raised-bed…

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Adding a bathroom to your Santa Cruz home may not only improve the quality of your life, it may also increase the value of your home. Although in today’s market you’re not guaranteed to get back the cost of adding a bath, in the long term, it typically boosts your home’s value by about 20 percent, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

How many bathrooms does a Santa Cruz home need?

Most home buyers want an equal number of bedrooms and bathrooms. So, if you have fewer bathrooms than bedrooms, you’ll get a good return on your investment by adding a bath.

Buyers also prefer at least one bathroom on each floor of a house. To get a good return on your investment, add a bath to the second floor of a home without one. Have a finished…

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Home improvement shows tell you that you can add 20 to 40 thousand dollars to the value of your Santa Cruz home by doing a simple remodel on virtually any room or outdoor space.  While you can get a return on your investment for most remodeling projects, the increase to your home value is not always as high as the home improvement shows claim.

Myth #1:  If you put 20 thousand dollars into a kitchen remodel, your home’s value will increase by 40 thousand dollars.

Fact:  The average kitchen remodel costs 40 thousand dollars.  This is on a mid-range remodel, not a high-end remodel.  The average return you can expect is 80 to 95 percent or about 36 thousand dollars on a 40 thousand dollar remodel.

Myth #2: Updating a bathroom can add as much as 20…

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In honor of Labor Day, you may have a few DIY renovation projects planned for your Santa Cruz home. Instead of plunging right into costly home renovations, you might want to take the long weekend to consider the following tips to gain insight before getting down to work.

• Talk to your parents. Give your elders a call to see what they think about your renovation plans. Those of the older generation have usually lived in many houses and did a lot more fixing up than most property owners do today.

• Consult a professional. Talk with a professional who specializes in the type of renovation that you’re planning, such as a carpenter, plumber or electrician. They might charge you for an hour of their time, but you’ll gain valuable insight and maybe even…

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If your Santa Cruz home has been sitting on the market for more than three weeks, it's already an "old property." Being an old property hurts sales because buyers looking in that community wonder what is wrong with your home that's keeping it from selling. Even in today's slower market, that holds true. It's human nature to think something must be wrong with an item that hasn't sold quickly. There are things you can do, however, to spruce up your home to make it more appealing and help it sell faster.

A second look from potential buyers can be a life-saver to you when selling your Santa Cruz home. If a previous looker was on the fence, just a few little changes might make them reconsider. Ask your real estate agent to share negative comments from…

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