how to save money while renting in Santa Cruz

Touted as the 17th hottest market in the U.S. by Realtor.com, the Santa Cruz real estate market is certainly an exciting place to be a buyer or seller. The allure of the ocean, calm coastal atmosphere, and easy proximity to Silicon Valley draws beach-goers and big-city professionals alike, but unfortunately this beautiful area is becoming less affordable for the average Joe. The median and average home prices in the county have trended upward since 2012, and even the rental market is feeling the crunch of a lack of inventory and high demand. That begs the question, what’s a renter to do when they’re trying to save up for their own home?

Here are a few money-saving tips to help you get in to your very own home sooner than you thought was possible.

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What Is A Second Mortgage & Why Would You Need It?

What are second mortgagesA second mortgage is essentially an additional loan that’s taken out on your home or property that’s already mortgaged. Homeowners choose to do this for a variety of reasons, but is always comes down to needing a large sum of money to pay for something, be it home renovations or expensive fixes to the property. Since mortgage rates tend to have a lower interest rate than other forms of credit, like credit cards and car loans, some people choose to consolidate their debts by using a second mortgage to pay off everything else.

Homeowners with good credit and have at least 20% equity in their current home can often receive a home equity line of credit. These interest rates tend to be fairly low.…

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There are many reasons why a mortgage loan for your Santa Cruz real estate could be declined. It doesn’t have to be the end of your real estate dreams. Here are a few things to consider if you’ve been turned down for a mortgage:

Loan-To-Value Ratio
The loan-to-value ratio (LTV) is the percentage of the appraised value of the [city] real estate that you are trying to finance. For example, if you are trying to finance a home that costs $100,000, and want to borrow $75,000, your LTV is seventy-five percent.

Lenders don’t like a high LTV. The higher the ratio, the harder it is to qualify for a mortgage. To reduce the percentage, you can save up a bigger down payment. Some lenders may approve the loan if you buy mortgage insurance, which protects the…

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The last few years have been financially difficult for millions of homeowners, with job losses and decline in home values devastating families all over the US. As a result, a great number of homes have gone through short sales, which has had a detrimental effect on consumers' credit ratings.

If you've considered or experienced a short sale, one of the biggest concerns you may have is how it will impact your ability to purchase another property in the future. Here are five key variables on how a short sale can impact your next home purchase.

Duration Of Delinquency Plays A Big Role

Short sale transactions take a long time to complete, depending on the state that you live in and the bank's policies. During this process, homeowners in a short sale…

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When you already have a home, you may be interested in determining if a refinance is a good option. You will not have to worry about restrictions on down payments or some of the problems that can occur with a down payment. However, if you are considering purchasing a home in Santa Cruz or the surrounding communities, understanding down payment restrictions is important.

Gifting Of A Down Payment
There are some programs that will allow you to use a gift for your home down payment. However, before you assume this, make sure you talk to your loan officer. Generally speaking, the lender will require the person making the gift to provide a letter stating the money was a gift and does not require repayment.

Windfalls Of A Down Payment
When people hit the…

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Being self-employed can sometimes make it trickier to secure a mortgage on your Santa Cruz property. However, it is not impossible.

One of the main reasons that being self-employed works against you when securing a mortgage is if you have a lack of proof of income in the form of tax records. If you are not an employee somewhere, you will not have a regular paystub that allows you to prove your earnings. You will likely receive your income from a number of different sources which can be difficult to track. Also, your freelance income or the profits from your small business will fluctuate over the years, making it even more difficult for the mortgage lender to assess.

This is why keeping your personal tax returns up to date and filed on time will be…

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You have found a home and are ready to apply for financing. Your pre-approval amount comes back not as high as you would have expected and at an interest rate significantly above what your friends just got on their loan. This could be because you have an average to poor credit score.

Mortgage lenders base their interest rates on many things, but your credit score plays a large part. Anything between 720 and 850 will typically get you better interest rates. A mediocre score is usually between 660 and 719, and a low score is 659 and under. If you have a lower score than you’d like, below are a few traits for you to follow of people who receive high financial marks.

They don’t max out their cards.

It’s better to keep a low revolving balance on a few…

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Paying off the mortgage on your Santa Cruz Home faster means that you will not only have the satisfaction of owning your own home sooner, you will also have the benefit of paying much less in interest over the years. The faster you pay off your mortgage, the more money you can save, so here are some tips to accelerate your payment.

Pay Bi-Weekly

Did you know that if you take your monthly mortgage payment and divide it into two bi-weekly payments; you will end up making a full extra month of payments every year? You won’t notice the difference, but over the years this will end up saving you thousands in interest.

Put Any Windfall Toward the Mortgage

Was your tax rebate larger than you expected? Have you received an inheritance from your great…

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With the housing market still making a comeback and many people renting homes, now may be the right time to invest in Santa Cruz real estate as rental property. The additional income could make it a solid investment if you are looking for something long term. When looking for rental property, here are several factors to consider to ensure your investment is profitable.

Financing

If you plan to take out a mortgage to purchase the property, be sure to check your credit report through the three major credit bureaus and clean up any errors. If your score is low, you’ll need to work on improving your credit rating to get the best interest rate on your loan. In addition, consider that you may have periods without a tenant, so plan ahead to cover payments…

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Paying off the mortgage on your Santa Cruz home faster not only means that you’ll be able to enjoy the peace of mind that comes with completely owning your property earlier, but you will also save thousands of dollars in interest payments. Below are seven clever tips to help you get your mortgage payments on the fast track.

1. Save for a large down payment
Pay as large a down payment as you can reasonably afford. The more you can put down, then the less you’ll have to borrow from the bank.

2. Read the fine print
When you are choosing a mortgage, look at the fine print to find out if any restrictions apply to paying early. Some lenders will charge you for making extra payments.

3. Prepay early in the life of the mortgage
This is when the loan is the…

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