Have you made it your New Year’s resolution to find that perfect Santa Cruz home for you and your family? You might have thought that you needed to wait until spring to start house shopping, but the fact is that January is a great time to begin. Put on your winter jacket and get out there while the leftovers from the New Year’s party are still in the fridge – you’ll have the upper hand.

House hunting in January offers a number of advantages that will work in your favour. Here are some of the main reasons

Busy Social Calendars
First of all, most other people will be busy with parties, holidays and getting back to work after Christmas and they won’t want to venture out in the cold weather to go look at houses– so there will be fewer competition when…

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While the winter season isn’t necessarily the best time to list your home for sale, there are a few advantages. Fewer people want deal with the hassle of keeping their houses in order for showings this time of year, which means there will be less competition. So take advantage of the lagging market and implement the tips below to help sell your home this winter.

Price It Fairly
Buyers who are searching for a home during the busy holiday season are serious about finding a new place to live. So if you price your home fairly, a determined buyer will sniff out the deal quickly and be offering a bid before you know it.

Hire A Professional Photographer
Redfin posted last month “that homes with listing photos taken with DSLR cameras sell for $3,400 to…

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Your Santa Cruz home is your castle and its decor is a unique artistic expression of your tastes and aesthetic. In order to keep your home decor looking fresh and up to date rather than stale, it’s important to pay attention to the trends as they shift and change. This is especially important if you are selling your home, because outdated décor can make a negative first impression on the buyer. 

If you are planning to redecorate this year, what are the hottest trends when it comes to home décor in 2014?

A Breath Of Fresh Air
Benjamin Moore Paints has announced their 2014 Color of the Year, which is a powdery sky blue hue called “Breath of Fresh Air”. It’s a gentle pastel colour that works well with neutrals such as brown, grey and white and can also…

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One of the challenges you will face when deciding how much money to put down on your new home is whether to put down a larger down payment or to take a bit of money from your down payment and use it to pay "discount points" to lower your interest rate. There are pros and cons to doing both and each borrowers’ situation will be different so it's important to understand which option is best for your individual need.

Some factors you should consider include:

• Cost of borrowing - generally speaking, to lower your interest rate will mean you pay a premium. Most lenders will charge as much as one percent (one point) on the face amount of your loan to decrease your mortgage interest rate. Before you agree to pay discount points, you need to calculate the…

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