Real Estate Blog- Santa Cruz Edition - santa cruz

225 Heath Street-Your Blank Canvas Awaits

225 Heath St, Santa Cruz, CA

$1,500,000

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225 Heath Street, Santa Cruz Open Sunday 10-3pmYour Blank Canvas awaits… imagine how you will transform this home! Nestled in the heart of the lower westside, this diamond in the rough offers the perfect opportunity for those looking to create their dream home in a superb location. With some TLC and a dash of creativity, this home has the potential to become a true masterpiece.Fixer-Upper Opportunity, renovate and customize it to your heart's desire. The potential is limitless! Reports are available and while the home is solid it needs some love and design. The…

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Seabright Duplex!

201 Gault St, Santa Cruz, CA

$1,199,000

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Cute Duplex right in the middle of town. This is the way to sneak in to the real estate market. Maybe the only Net Zero energy efficient Duplex in town! Over 600 sq ft each side with large primary bedrooms with walk-in closets, large bathrooms, and storage! Mud rooms great for pantry, and storage. And this place has SOLAR, that powers the heat/AC pumps. YEP AC! And the attic has been air sealed to increase efficiency of energy and manage the temperature. Newer wiring, water heaters, appliances, and bamboo flooring.  Easy maintenance great owner/rental property. Each…

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Buying a vacation rental property

When I first started real estate 20 years ago, you could buy a home for a rental, or whatever you wanted, wherever and rent, rent, rent. And as time has gone by, it has become more and more restrictive to buy a home just to rent it out, especially for a short-term rental.  “The magic sentence, which is” 29 days or less. The journey of a “29 day or less rental home has become very restrictive” and there's a lot of things that need to be in place and a lot of things that need to be done.

The first step of buying a rental is establishing the area you want to be in. Next step is to call the county who has a dedicated permit rental employee on staff. Here you can find out about the wait for the permit, the length of the list and how it works in the area…

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Iconic Beach Hill, Santa Cruz

Where else can you come home to views of the sea, stroll to the beach, enjoy dinner downtown or stay in and enjoy the comfort of a luxurious home? This Single level townhome is sumptuous and large and sits atop iconic Beach Hill! Here you can nestle up to the custom fireplace in the living room or take in the views and ocean breeze from the dining room or kitchen. Each window looks out onto the Monterey Bay, Cowell's Beach, the Santa Cruz Wharf and the hills. The Kitchen has a timeless art deco design with breakfast nook, or office space and pantry area. Two En-suite bedrooms and one extra space that could be an office, guest area or project space. The primary bedroom has a full walk-in closet with custom shower and bath. Full laundry inside and lots of…

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Just Listed 502 Errett Circle, Santa Cruz

Catch the aloha vibe here! This lovely home in the heart of the lower westside, has an island feel. 2BR/1BA home well apportioned with, large bath, warm cork floors and amazing outdoor space with privacy fence of lush passion fruit vines, gracious outdoor deck with space for entertaining, slides or sandboxes. The home has gorgeous features such as Saltillo tiles in the bath, crown molding, space efficient refrigerator, surf board storage, planter boxes and outdoor shower. The outdoor deck allows for enjoy the evening ocean air and stars and hosting grand dinners.  Possibility for more outdoor storage. Enjoy this amazing area with trails, surf, sun and beaches. Circle by!

One amazing feature to this home is the proximity to the ocean, one can enjoy…

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Real Estate Predictions 2022 | Santa Cruz Edition

The largest fires in California this year maybe housing prices in key areas. With record amounts of snowfall and large downpours our drought maybe fixed for a while and forest fires may retreat for a year, yet the spring housing market will take it’s place. Here in Santa Cruz there are a lot of reasons for the coming home price scorcher I see blowing our way.

There are a few factors that drive housing prices and rental prices to rise so steeply.

The great resignation of landlords.

For rentals it is the lack of them, a few years ago there was a push to pass rent control in the city of Santa Cruz. This caused a large amount of mom-and-pop rental owners to sell as they did not want to be caught in a very punitive rental market, where even…

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UCSC Off Campus Housing-Renting or Buying Tips

Congratulations! Did you get accepted into UC Santa Cruz? Yay! Wait, where am I going to live? After the first year of on-campus housing, where do you go?

Full disclosure: I'm a realtor. I don't do property management; I'm not a property manager. I do know a little bit about the rental situation here in Santa Cruz, but I know more about buying a home for your student to live in while they go to school. So I'm going to give you some resources for renting and some ideas, things to keep in mind when you're looking to rent. I'm going to talk about when the rental situation just gets too crazy, what else you could do, which would be buy.

I have a couple websites I'm linking. That is the student housing services for UCSC. It really is very…

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Where to live between buying and selling!?

Do I sell before I buy or buy before I sell? This is such a chicken and egg question, I hear very often "I want to move to another home, another area or even out of state but I have to sell my house first." There is always a fear of being without a place to live it sells too quickly which is touted in the media as quite of phenomenon of homes flying off the shelves. It can be a scary proposition not to mention the idea of moving twice. 

Let me first say trying to sell your home and buy at the same time is now extremely difficult, the market is so competitive, the buyers you will be competing against will mostly likely not have a home to sell and that is your first strike. Your second strike maybe your funds are tied up in your home and you cannot…

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Is the real life or is this just fantasy...

 I have an adorable listing up in the Santa Cruz mountains. And it is priced below $500,000 this is a popular price range for buyers, understandably so as it is affordable. At this price point it is probably better than renting.  And I get a ton of calls from very hopeful buyers and I feel like I'm somehow put in some position to educate them on what this home at this price point in this area really truly means. There is a bit of reality that needs to be understood in this price range I want to bridge the gap of reality and fantasy. 

I don't want to tell people they cannot get what they want in fact it's one of the worst parts of my job besides telling them there's something horribly wrong with a beloved property.  I do want people to understand…

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Why selling your home yourself may cost more than you save.

Do-it-yourself projects are in vogue these days. You can find advice online for everything from investing in crypto-currency to tearing down the living room wall. When considering the cost of moving, it’s natural to wonder if real estate commissions are one way to save money, but it would be a mistake. A good real estate agent might make it seem easy, but the fact is that selling your own home could actually cost you thousands of dollars.

5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Sell Your Home without an Agent

• 1. The Safety of Your Home and Family is a Priority – Real Estate agents control access to your home. When I put a lockbox on I know who is at your home and when.
• 2. Most Serious Buyers Start their Search Online – As a professional listing agent I will…

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