Santa Cruz County Home & Community Information

RENTING VS BUYING A HOME IN SANTA CRUZ COUNTY

With the high rents in Santa Cruz it is always a good idea to look at your options for renting vs buying a home in Santa Cruz.  It is a well known fact that rents in Santa Cruz are some of the highest around.  We can attribute that to many factors:  Santa Cruz is beautiful and highly desirable place to live, overflow of UCSC students, commuters with high paying jobs in San Jose and Silicon Valley. 

A recent article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel just came out stating that Santa Cruz has that 3rd highest rents in the nation!  Wow!  An interesting point that the article brings up is that while the prices of homes in Santa Cruz has dropped considerably over the past few years, rents have actually gone up compared to last year. 

When considering buying a home versus renting a home in Santa Cruz you really have to look at your personal situation and finances.  One good question to ask yourself is:  how long am I planning to live in Santa Cruz?  If the answer is 5+ years it is time to take a good look at buying a home.

Another good thing to do is get a estimate of what your mortgage payments and property taxes will be at various prices.  I can easily estimate these for you.

If you earn a good income and don't have many tax deductions, the mortgage interest deduction that you may be able to use when you buy a home could help you pay less in taxes.  I recommend speaking to your accountant or CPA about how the mortgage interest tax deduction may help you save $.  I have several that I can refer to you to help you make this determination.  These calculations will help you decide if renting vs buying a home in Santa Cruz is better for you.

You will also need to have funds available for a downpayment and closing costs.  If your parents or family can help you with these funds that is allowed by most lenders.  Many people get help buying their first home. 

I specialize in working with first time home buyers and find it to be one of the most rewarding aspects of being a Realtor.  There is nothing like the feeling when you buy your first home and you have a shift in mentality to becoming a homeowner.  Additionally, with the drop in home prices in Santa Cruz, many of my first time home buyers are actually paying LESS for their mortgage than they were paying for their rent AND living in a nicer home.

There are FHA loans and USDA loans that you can use in Santa Cruz County to buy a home with 0% to 3.5% downpament which is a good option if you do not have a lot of savings for a downpayment.  You can use an FHA loan to buy certain FHA approved Condos in Santa Cruz which is nice because condos go for much less than a single family home.

Also, as a First Time Buyer you may qualify for some of Santa Cruz County First Time Home Buyer Assistance programs.  Read here about my recent success story using the Santa Cruz County First Time Homebuyer program.

I believe that knowledge is power and exploring your options for renting vs buying a home in Santa Cruz County can't hurt, it is good to know where you stand and what the possibilities are.  Before you know it you many be on your way to buying your first home!

Feel free to call me anytime with help running your buying vs renting a home in Santa Cruz scenarios.