Is 2013 the year to put your Silicon Valley home on the market? If so, especially if you are planning to take advantage of the spring market, it is not too early to do a little planning ahead.
Many homeowners in the San Jose area do not really want to spend much time or energy thinking about real estate in December & during the holidays generally. But a small amount of time now – even an hour or two – can pay off big dividends in January and February, allowing you to be ready to take advantage of the year’s typically best months to sell: the February to April window.
Great return on time investment: a few phone calls
What can make such a big difference? More than anything, setting an appointment (or a few appointments) for early January so that a little groundwork is laid in the new year. Do you already know who you’d like to hire to represent you in the listing, marketing, and sale of your house, townhouse or condo? If so, he or she would love to know about it a few weeks ahead of time so that a good marketing analysis can be prepared, real estate market statistics gathered, paperwork drawn up and a general marketing plan for your home can begin to be sketched out in advance of your meeting. Realtors also get busy during the holiday seasons, but love to have something lined up for the new year, so don’t be misled into thinking that your agent won’t want to hear from you now.
If you are not yet sure which real estate professional you’d like to employ, now’s a good time to do a little research and then call or email a few (3-4, from different brokerages, usually) to set up appointments for early January. They will appreciate the “lead time” and be better prepared to see you then.
Additionally, some Realtors will give you a few quick ideas on things to do to get underway in advance, should you have time and the desire to jump start the process. (Often that involves decluttering, a good job for a rainy day.)
When should you contact a real estate professional?
Many Silicon Valley home owners who’d like to sell in the next year or two think about doing it long before contacting a Realtor by phone or email
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