Business Profile

Ruth Bates: MonteRey Bay PRoPeRties Focusing on Aptos Real Estate

By June Smith

Ruth Bates is a top Santa Cruz real estate producer with more than 30 years of experience in sales, marketing, and finance.

She holds a master’s degree in business, a broker’s license, and is “Aptos focused” where she has lived since 1995. Transplanted from Silicon Valley, she worked at Tandem Computer for 20-plus years. There she crunched numbers in marketing and finance, ultimately paving the way for her successful transition to real estate.

She works with buyers, sellers, and all types of properties including homes, condos, townhomes, mobile homes, land, and multi-residential, where her first-time home buyers know she is with them every step of the way. She is familiar with 1031 exchanges, and investor clients

Ruth Bates know that she will help them with their financial homework in terms of achieving their return on investment and cash-flow objectives.

“I explain the nuances of each of those types of transactions in this market,” she said.

She has buyer clients with whom she has worked for many years to find their perfect home.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the showing of homes is done by advance schedule, as open houses are no longer an option. Sellers can post 3D walk-throughs or videos. The buyer and agent must provide a signed form before a showing. Ruth Bates painting en plein air on West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz.

As a full-time 40-hour per week is getting increasingly more difficult right your escrow in less than the typical 30 agent, she balances her life with oil now to be a buyer. Multiple offers are the days with a loan. painting courses and is currently norm, and sellers will usually take a cash Make your best offer first; don’t think enjoying plein-air oil painting as well offer over a financed offer, even though you will be given a chance with a counter. as golf, jogging, and working out. She both offers will end up the same. Sellers Most sellers are receiving 5-8 offers; if you feels it is important to give back to the think cash is faster, safer, and aren’t even competing, to begin community and has been a “Big Sister” less effort on their part. So with, you won’t get a counter. in the Big Brother Big Sister program for what’s a buyer to do? In November, she advised six years and is on the board of the Aptos Use a local lender – Sellers on the passage of Prop. 19 and Chamber of Commerce. will be more confident in a local her urgent reasoning for those

In her monthly advertorial in the lender performing well than an planning a move to act now. Aptos Times, she provides active listings online internet loan provider. This bill passed! and updates for future clients wanting an Have your pre-qualifi- If you are over 55, severely insight into the current market. Here are a cation with your lender taken disabled, or have a home few notes from October: as far down the underwriting road as destroyed by wildfire or disaster, you

Homes are selling as soon as they list possible; you want to be able to remove can now transfer your primary residence and for the above list price with limited your loan contingency in less than the property tax base value to a replacement contingency periods. On the flip side, it standard 21 days so that you can close property of any value, anywhere in the 20 / November 15th 2020 / Aptos Times www.tpgonlinedaily.com state. If your replacement home is less value than your current primary residence (you “down-size”), then your tax is equal to what you currently pay. If your replacement home is a greater value (you “move-up”), then the taxable value is calculated by adding the difference between the value of primary residence and value of replacement residence to the taxable value of the primary residence (in other words, if you “move-up” versus “downsize,” you will pay more in taxes, but not the full taxable value of the new property, only the delta between new and old added to old).

Her slogan is “Get Results from Ruth” and her favorite four-letter word is “Sold.”

Call today: 831-359-2212. n