Don't despair if you are short on cash. You can still have a beautiful Santa Cruz home. Sometimes a little elbow grease is a decent replacement for extravagant money, and other times you can get great deals by shopping around for items that are costly.

Indoors

Simple things can mean a lot. You can change the entire look and feel of a room by just changing the window treatments. New drapes or blinds add warmth and appeal and instantly give your Santa Cruz home a fresh new look.

If that's not enough, a fresh coat of paint transforms any room. Paint is one of the least expensive home decorating tools, and you can save even more money by doing it yourself instead of hiring a painter. It doesn't require a lot of skill and is hard to do wrong.

If your…

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Coldwell Banker was recognized once again this Spring by Real Estate magazine as by far the strongest "Power Broker" in the nation, agents truly have to be exceptional to stand out in our company.  Lauren Spencer's performance last quarter was exactly that - exceptional.  Lauren has earned the distinction of being named to Coldwell Banker's Top 1,000 Agents for the first quarter of 2009.  Lauren's superior professionalism and sales leadership has placed her among the elite top 2% of all agents in the industry's strongest company.

Lauren's achievement is even more impressive given that her high-level production occured during what many now feel was the most challenging quarter of our professional life time.  Lauren has truly proven that she is the best of…

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The Santa Cruz real estate market is a homebuyer’s dream right now!  Whether you're looking to buy a new home or to buy investment property, it's the perfect time.  Home prices are down, which means that well-informed buying could benefit you in the long run.  There are several tips I can offer you on how to get the best price when you buying a home:

• Shop around in the neighborhood where you're looking to buy.  The only way to know if you're getting a good deal is to look at home prices in the same neighborhood.  Ask your real estate agent for listings that are similar to the Santa Cruz home that you’re looking at.  Evaluate the two homes and their prices to ensure that you’re getting a good price.  Your real estate agent can help you with this…

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Is this a good time for first time home buyers to consider a Santa Cruz home? It's a familiar question with the economy in the state it is in. Here are a few reasons why a home is still a great investment for first time home buyers.

Pride of Ownership

This will never go away no matter what the economy is like. Owning your own home is the American dream for a reason.  It just feels good to take care of a Santa Cruz home that's yours and yours alone.

Tax Incentives

Owning your own home is one of the best tax deductions. The new stimulus plan makes that tax incentive better than ever before. Not only can you deduct your interest payments on your tax forms this year and for every year during the life of your mortgage, the stimulus plan allows a huge …

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If you're tired of renting but don't want a huge home to manage, consider purchasing a Santa Cruz condo. You can enjoy the benefits of home ownership and leave your renting days behind you.

By owning a condo, you can:

Build equity

When you make payments on a condo you own, you are constantly building equity in the property. With renting, you pay for years and own nothing.

Avoid payment increases

Unlike renting, when you own your Santa Cruz condo and have a fixed mortgage rate, you can feel confident that your monthly payments will remain the same. No more surprise rent hikes. You can just sit back, relax and plan your finances around that peace of mind.

Make upgrades

As a renter, you probably never had the pleasure of painting the walls any color…

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Finding a home may seem like a simple ordeal. There are ads all over the internet, and your local newspaper probably has pages of listings.  So why bother working with a Santa Cruz real estate agent?
Your real agent isn't going to help you just find homes for sale; they're going to help you find the perfect home. So what does a Santa Cruz real estate agent know that you don't know, and how can they find the best homes for sale?

Intimate Knowledge

Finding a Santa Cruz real estate agent who specializes in the area where you want to buy is especially helpful because they have intimate knowledge of the homes for sale. The agent also knows the locale and can give you tips about schools, crime levels, shopping and other necessities.

MLS Searches

While you…

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To get a Santa Cruz home to sell during a buyer’s market, it needs to look better than the other houses on the street.  Making just a few quick changes can make all the difference when trying to best the competition.  Here are a few things to do to make your home stand out:

A Fresh Coat of Paint

Few things can spruce up a Santa Cruz home like a fresh coat of paint.  Be sure to pick a neutral color.  Potential buyers won’t be able to see themselves decorating and living in the home if they see too much of someone else's personality in the wall color.  Most home improvement stores will have color cards you can look through, this will help you find the most neutral color you can live with.  While you’re at it, get rid of all the knickknacks and other items…

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We are all short on time these days, and never does that become more apparent than when trying to buy or sell Santa Cruz real estate.  Deciphering the ins and outs of real estate can seem like a full-time job itself.  That’s why many people decide to hire a real estate agent to guide them.

• A good real estate agent must have a working knowledge of local property values to make sure you get the most for your money.  Having an agent working for you full-time to find the Santa Cruz real estate that you’ve been dreaming of can cut out a lot of hours of research and headaches.  A qualified real estate agent will simplify the search for the right property and can direct you to financing as well.

• If you’re looking to sell your property, your agent will…

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Just because you live in the city doesn't mean you can't have a great garden that not only provides hours of pleasure, but good food for you and your family. With the current desire to get healthy, growing your own fresh vegetables and fruits only makes good sense. You can grow a nice vegetable garden in a very small space right in your Santa Cruz home backyard (or front yard, and even condo patio) if you know how to manage your space well.

Plan Your Space

If you have a huge yard and lots of space, you can experiment with various plants, varieties and tastes. However, if you are limited to a small Santa Cruz home yard or condo terrace it is vital to choose wisely. Select plants that do not take a lot of space, and those that produce vegetables you know…

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We all know it’s important to go green in our Santa Cruz home, but did you know that you can take steps to make your existing bathroom green?  You can pick up everything you need to begin at your local home improvement store. 

Here are a few ideas:

• Change out the showerhead.  You can replace your inefficient one with a low flow showerhead with very little effort.  The unexpected benefit of a low flow is lower water heating costs.

• Install a new toilet. Though toilets are better designed these days, the average fixture uses anywhere from 1.5 to 7 gallons of water per flush. You can reduce your water usage by installing a low flow (or low flush) toilet.  Additionally, you can save up to a gallon a flush by displacing the toilet bowl water.  It’s…

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